Conservation / Silhouette
Although Silhouette is the third largest island of the Seychelles, the island's steep slopes have prevented significant development. It is regarded by conservationists as one of the most important biodiversity hotspots in the Indian Ocean. Most of the island is formed from 63 million year old granite rock formations, vestiges of the ancient southern supercontinent Gondwana. This geological history means that the islands are the sunken remnants of the mountains of a continent once joined to India and Madagascar. Clinging to these mountaintops are the remains of flora and fauna that coexisted with the dinosaurs.
The Nature Protection Trust of the Seychelles established its headquarters on the island in 1997. The project aims to protect the forest environments and to restore them to a natural state. A large part of the conservation work involves research into the diversity and ecology of the forest animals and plants.
