. 24/7 Space News .
FROTH AND BUBBLE
In Seychelles, nature is prized above mass tourism
By Nicolas DELAUNAY
Anse Bazarca, Seychelles (AFP) Jan 16, 2020

In a shady patch along a pristine white beach on Mahe Island, a radio spits out reggae and snapper sizzles on the barbecue, as Seychelloise Nareen tops up her rum and coke on time off from her job aboard a luxury yacht.

Her family is spending the weekend at the beach where a couple dipping their feet into the turquoise waters off in the distance are the only foreign tourists in sight.

"We don't have mass tourism in Seychelles, and that's great. That is how we want it," says Nareen, 32, who asked for her full name not to be published.

Nevertheless, like most citizens, she earns her living from tourism, which makes up more than 60 percent of GDP in the Seychelles, the only country in Africa considered "high income" by the World Bank.

The Indian Ocean archipelago, a chain of 115 islands, is a byword for luxury holidays, Instagram-perfect beaches and has gained a reputation as a honeymoon idyll.

But it is confronting a tug-of-war over how to keep the economy growing, while protecting its fragile ecosystem.

"More tourists means it's better for the economy, but it's not the only thing that comes into play," Nareen says.

- One island, one resort -

High-end tourism, from Europe mainly, helped pull the Seychelles from the brink of financial ruin after the 2008 economic crisis.

Visitor numbers almost doubled in the decade that followed, to around 360,000 in 2018, nearly four times the country's population.

But now the Seychelles is grappling with how many visitors it can realistically accommodate. An official study commissioned into the matter is due to begin soon.

In the meantime, the government placed a moratorium in 2015 on the construction of large resorts on the three main islands of Mahe, Praslin and La Digue.

It wanted both to protect the environment and encourage the growth of smaller, locally-run hotels.

On further-flung islands, the Seychelles practises a "one island, one resort" policy.

"It's about controlling the number of tourists that come here, through controlling the number of rooms in the hotels that exist," Tourism Minister Didier Dogley told AFP.

The Seychelles has 6,000 hotel rooms, but another 3,000 are in the pipeline, having been approved before the moratorium took effect, Dogley said.

"We believe that we can go up to 500,000 tourists, that is just an estimate for the time being," he said.

- World heritage -

Nearly half of the Seychelles 455 square kilometres (176 square miles) are classed as protected areas.

By later this year, 30 percent of its 1.3 million square km of marine territory will have protected status too, under a special arrangement in which conservation groups agree in return to pay a small portion of Seychelles' national debt.

The country has two UNESCO world heritage sites: the Mai Valley and its indigenous coco de mer palm trees, and the Aldabra Atoll, home to the Seychelles' famed giant tortoises.

With a few exceptions such as the popular Beau Vallon Beach on Mahe or Anse Source d'Argent on La Digue, regularly named one of the world's most beautiful beaches, tranquility reigns on the islands.

Most beachside resorts keep a low profile, blending into the jungle backdrop that reaches into the island's interior from the white sands bordering the azure shores.

"It all depends on the standards that you want to maintain," said Nirmal Shah, executive director of environmental NGO Nature Seychelles.

He believes that some of the more popular sites have already reached their full capacity.

The Seychelles, he said, "really do not want to become" an eyesore like some beaches in Europe, crowded by umbrellas and edged by concrete.

- Room to improve -

On Grand Police, in the south of Mahe island, locals have been angered by a Gulf company's plans to build a new resort, approved before the 2015 ban.

The project is unpopular over concerns about the health of a local marshland but also because most large resorts are owned by foreign groups.

The government has promised to talk to those behind the new resort to explore how the proposal could be dropped.

Despite environmental pledges and efforts, Dogley said that much still had to be done in Seychelles to ensure a sustainable tourism industry.

Large hotel groups have put measures in place to limit their impact on the environment, such as having their own vegetable gardens and reducing plastic and energy use.

Smaller, Seychellois-owned establishments, though not leaving the same ecological footprint, sometimes lack the resources to match these efforts, despite government incentives.

"Given our small population, the number of tourists is huge, and it is difficult to absorb the footprint of so many visitors," said Shah.

More than a quarter of the workforce is foreign, he pointed out, especially in the tourism and construction industries -- unemployment is only around 3.5 percent.

The tourism industry faces other constraints, too.

The small, hilly country is forced to import more than 90 percent of its goods, and most of the energy needed to keep the islands running is derived from oil-powered generators.

Still, the pursuit of eco-friendly growth over profit alone has struck a chord with some visitors.

"We didn't know much about the ecological side of tourism in the Seychelles... but once here, it really hit us," says Romain Tonda, a 28-year-old French tourist on his honeymoon on Cousin Island, fringed by coral reef.

"It's not perfect, but we can see that it's something that is important for the Seychellois."


Related Links
Our Polluted World and Cleaning It Up


Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly


paypal only
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal


FROTH AND BUBBLE
New obstacles ahead in China's pollution fight: report
Beijing (AFP) Jan 16, 2020
China's fight against pollution faces new threats from rising levels of harmful ozone gas despite an "impressive" reduction in other airborne particles, according to a report released Thursday. The country cut its national average level of airborne PM2.5 - tiny particles that can penetrate the lungs and enter the bloodstream - by 27 percent between 2015 and 2019, according to the Finland-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). China also reduced its average sulphur dioxide le ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

FROTH AND BUBBLE
In Seychelles, nature is prized above mass tourism

London heads European investment in tech sector: study

Crew ready for spacewalk while working Earth and Fire Research

Boeing: Starliner capsule can return to flight with minimal work

FROTH AND BUBBLE
NASA rings in busy new year in Florida to prepare for Artemis Missions

SpaceX, NASA gear up for in-flight abort demonstration

Elon Musk praises results after SpaceX intentionally blows up Starship tank

Collaboration on development of next-generation rapid launch space systems

FROTH AND BUBBLE
NASA's Mars 2020 Rover closer to getting its name

Impressive cloud formations over Mars' northern polar ice cap

Rippling ice and storms at Mars' north pole

Mars loses water to space during warm, stormy seasons

FROTH AND BUBBLE
China may have over 40 space launches in 2020

China launches powerful rocket in boost for 2020 Mars mission

China's Xichang set for 20 space launches in 2020

China sends six satellites into orbit with single rocket

FROTH AND BUBBLE
Maxar Technologies to sell MDA to Northern Private Capital for CAD$1 Billion

Search is on for young space entrepreneurs across the UK

Iridium is Now Formally Authorized to Provide GMDSS Service

Euroconsult forecasts satellite demand to experience a four-fold increase over the next 10 years

FROTH AND BUBBLE
Nestle to invest 2bn Swiss francs in recycled plastics

Four nations to be protected with Lockheed Martin's next generation radar

Slow light to speed up LiDAR sensors development

Skin-like sensors bring a human touch to wearable tech

FROTH AND BUBBLE
Cold Neptune" and 2 temperate Super-Earths found orbiting nearby stars

Cosmic origins of phosphorus, a building block for life, traced by scientists

Telescope upgrade, move will aid in search for exoplanets

Goldilocks stars are best places to look for life

FROTH AND BUBBLE
Looking back at a New Horizons New Year's to remember

NASA's Juno navigators enable Jupiter cyclone discovery

The PI's Perspective: What a Year, What a Decade!

Reports of Jupiter's Great Red Spot demise greatly exaggerated









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.