Researchers who have studied the island for decades describe it as a key ecological buffer for Aldabra, helping to protect the atoll from pollution, invasive species, and light disturbance. If Assomption’s natural systems collapse, they warn, Aldabra could be next.
The luxury resort now under legal challenge on Assomption Island is being developed by Assets Group, a Qatar-based real estate company that advertises the project on its own website as a collection of high-end villas and spa facilities in the Seychelles. According to multiple reports, including Mongabay and The Seychelles Nation, the developer is tied to Qatari investors and has relied on the London-based PC Agency to promote the project internationally. Environmental groups allege that Assets Group’s expansion near the UNESCO-protected Aldabra Atoll risks introducing invasive species and undermining decades of conservation work.
Sea turtle expert Dr. Jeanne Mortimer warns that unchecked development on Assomption Island threatens Seychelles' most critical nesting beach. With over four decades of research, Mortimer advocates for science-based, turtle-friendly development to protect endangered species. Her quiet, persistent work underscores the urgent need for conservation-led planning in fragile island ecosystems.
This is the story of Dr. Yaniv Levy, founder of Israel’s Sea Turtle Rescue Center—the world’s only government-supported turtle hospital and breeding center unlike any in the world. But to understand why his work matters, you have to go back nearly 30 years, to another coastline altogether: Aldabra Atoll, part of the Seychelles, one of the last untouched Edens left on Earth.
Portland-based environmental journalist Kevin Gepford, currently researching a book on global tortoise conservation spent two months on Seychelles’ Aldabra Atoll between December and January, living at the island’s remote research station with 16 other people.
As controversy brews over a Qatari-backed development on Seychelles’ remote Assomption Island, questions are being raised about environmental transparency, geopolitical influence, and the future of conservation. I reached out to Dr. Nirmal Jivan Shah, CEO of Nature Seychelles, for his unfiltered perspective.
A remote coral island in the Indian Ocean is quietly being transformed into a luxury resort and international airstrip for Qatari royalty—allegedly sold off in a secretive $50 million deal to Seychelles President Wavel Ramkalawan, without public consent or environmental oversight.
Off the powder-soft sands and turquoise waters of the Seychelles, a quiet storm is brewing—one that involves royalty, rats, and the last truly wild places left on Earth.
The fate of Assomption Island may determine not just the survival of its biodiversity, but the integrity of Seychelles’ commitment to sustainable development in the face of land grabs and neo-colonialism by powerful foreign interests.
The Middle East’s leading clean energy developer, Masdar has launched the very first renewable energy plant to be built in The Seychelles – the 6MW Port Victoria Wind Farm.
Not content with their ambitious achievements in Abu Dhabi, now Masdar is spreading clean energy worldwide. A small 6 MW wind farm in the Seychelles has broken ground and will start start providing 11 percent of the languorous tropical resort islands’ modest electricity needs, thanks to Abu Dhabi’s Fund for Development (ADFD) and Masdar, the […]