Moyenne Island now a national park
by STB

 
Moyenne Island has officially been declared a national park.

This comes a year after the island’s owner, Brendon Grimshaw, signed an agreement with the Seychelles’ Ministry of Environment to designate the island as a national park.

According to Mr Grimshaw, a well-known British author who adopted Seychelles as his second home several decades ago, the island has changed a lot during the past 35 years since he got there.  Back then, there was waterless bush everywhere and only a few trees but today, lush vegetation adorns the island.

Mr Grimshaw initiated a project to plant a total of 16,000 trees all around the island, including 45 endemic plants which are now everywhere.

The government for its part, has described the occasion as an important event in the history of conservation in Seychelles and said it looked forward to supporting other private island owners with their conservation projects.

Moyenne Island national park boasts over 40 endemic palm trees, including 13 coco de mer. A total of 110 giant tortoises were brought to the island where they now live in their natural habitat and there is also a variety of bird species