National Geographic Traveler World Legacy Awards - North Island

WINNER: CONSERVING THE NATURAL WORLD

Can an island resort be a haven not only for humans, but also for endangered wildlife? North Island, Seychelles demonstrates that a successful luxury tourism business in a fragile ecosystem can actively rehabilitate its environment. Once used as a plantation island producing copra (coconut kernels), North Island's Noah's Ark rehabilitation program is undoing the resulting significant loss of flora and fauna and restoring the island's natural habitat. Alien plant species are continually cleared and have been replaced with 120,000 native seedlings grown in the resort's nursery. The result: many indigenous wildlife species have returned or been successfully reintroduced, including the Seychelles Sunbird, the endangered Seychelles White-Eye, as well as both green and hawksbill turtles. Successful rat removal has allowed ground-nesting seabirds to thrive, while fishing protocols for guests and local fishermen ensure sustainable management of ocean resources. A team of environmentalists lives on site, monitoring all aspects of the island's ecology, from tide levels and beach movement to wildlife censuses and coral reef health – data which contributes to greater global understanding of migration patterns, sea temperatures, and the impact of climate change.