Seychelles and the battle with royalty, rats, and the last truly wild places left on Earth

A Fine Line in Paradise: Bird expert Adrian Skerrett on Cautious Development in the Seychelles

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.

At the heart of it all is Assomption Island, what could be a jewel of an island in the remote Aldabra Group in the Outer Seychelles islands. While its neighboring atoll, Aldabra, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site home to rare flightless birds and thousands of nesting turtles, Assomption is scarred from a history of guano mining, a failed Indian army expansion plan, and is now the center of a controversial luxury development funded by Qatari investors –– linked to terror funding.

Adrian Skerrett, a long-time Seychelles resident on Mahé and a leading authority on its birdlife, has been watching over these islands for decades. He’s not against development but is for balance. As Chairman of the Island Conservation Society and editor of a number of definitive field guides on the region’s birds, he knows the tightrope between development and destruction better than anyone.

I know that if I am going to get any reliable information about the Seychelles, birders are the best choice. They are usually modest elders with experience, meticulous in documentation and they have a keen sense for the beautiful and fragile balance of life on earth. As a bonus, Skerrett is an accountant.

“We’re not against development,” he tells Green Prophet. “There are positives to come out of it. Some of our most successful conservation efforts are supported by tourism—eradication of rats, monitoring of turtles, even full-time conservation staff on islands like Alphonse.”

But Assomption is different, he says. And its development has roused a handful of international conservation organizations who believe that the development of Assomption will lead to a catastrophic downfall of nature. A lesson like that was learned in Thailand after The Beach movie turned Maya Beach into an over-touristed spot that devastated the nature around it. Thailand was able to roll back development, but will the Seychelles?

A Royal Playground Disguised as a Hotel?

Seychelles decided it wanted to develop and put out a tender which Qatar answered. It was the only group to answer. The proposed resort is being developed on Assomption Island by the Qatari Assets Development Company, part of the Assets Group, whose leadership—Moutaz and Ramez Al-Khayyat—are currently embroiled in UK lawsuits over alleged links to terrorist financing.

The development, Skerrett says, is “seemingly for private use, for members of the royal family.”

The concern? “There is no way this is a commercially viable hotel. The original plans were horrendous including jetties, construction and lighting right on top of the beach and development on the dunes creating nightmare risks of disturbance to nesting turtles and damage to fragile ecosystems. There was an apparent lack of concern for planning procedures.”

Despite early enthusiasm from the developers, Skerrett and his team were hired to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment—and what they found was alarming. (You can find the report here)

“We used our scientists and hired a number of other experts under the umbrella of ICS. I am Chairman, but the authors had a free reign to write what they saw without me,” he says.

“They wanted to build directly on the beach, on top of dune ecosystems. Some damage had already begun before we arrived.

“To be fair, following discussions, the developers made amendments to their original plans and agreed to a minimum 40-metre setback from the high-water mark while the proposed two jetties would be reduced to one, involving the rebuilding of the historical jetty to its former size and adding a floating pontoon to the end. The dune system had already been damaged prior to arrival of the ICS team and we are very concerned there will be further damage. We are also deeply concerned that the EIA beach set back will not be respected.

“Unfortunately we now have no access to Assomption to monitor the situation.”

In documentation and videos that Green Prophet found online through a hired “explorer” and which is being used to advertise the developer’s plans, we see photographers going on missions and walking around nesting sites on the islands while baby turtles are trying to make their way to the sea.

Who is overseeing the private explorations and fact-finding missions?

Assomption once boasted one of the most significant nesting beaches for endangered green turtles. Exploitation in the early 20^th century saw thousands taken. Every year thousands would be culled, until they crashed and disappeared. “Turtles take 30 to 40 years to mature. It was only much later that we started to see the impact of what happened decades ago,” says Skerrett.

He recalls a previous proposal to hand Assomption over to the Indian government for use as a military base—an idea that was met with strong public and environmental resistance. “It would have been an absolute disaster,” he says. “A deep-water port, heavy infrastructure—it was horrific.”

That plan was eventually scrapped due to public outcry, but now the concern is that tourism may be used as a political mask. “There is no way this is a commercially viable hotel.

“If the EIA is not respected, it will be an absolute disaster for the turtles.”

The development threatens a resurgence of turtles. Plans show construction stretching across the island’s best beaches, about a 3-mile stretch where turtles nest. Worse still, there’s currently no conservation presence.

“The Qataris want development along the entire stretch of beach,” says Skerrett.

“What we’re fighting for now is a model like Alphonse—where the investor pays a conservation levy, enabling year-round conservation presence, biodiversity monitoring and rehabilitation projects. Without it, this becomes a private playground with no accountability.”

Conservation Requires Teeth—and Cash

Skerrett and his colleagues have already created a foundation for Assomption, which has been merged with other existing foundations to create the Aldabra Group Foundation. Trustees would include government representatives, NGOs, and even Qatari stakeholders will be invited onto the board. The goal: fund full-time staff, implement rehabilitation programs, and, critically, eradicate invasive rats.

“If you’ve ever been to a rat-free island,” he says, “you feel the difference in the whole biodiversity. Lizards, birds—rats devastate everything.”

The rats on the outer islands, he adds with a dry laugh are “Arabic rats,” while those closer to Mahé are “French.”

The distinction is genetic—but poetic, given the geopolitical stakes.

Aldabra: What Could Go Wrong?

The ripple effects don’t stop at Assomption. Conservationists worry the project will increase traffic to Aldabra, potentially compromising biosecurity and fragile ecosystems.

“Motorised sports of any kind are strictly prohibited in the  Aldabra group for a reason,” says Skerrett. “But we have been advised that the promoters propose a comprehensive marine recreation facility on Assomption involving over two dozen boats and motorised water sports, as well as a marine workshop and repair facilities and additional accommodation, none of it envisaged under the initial masterplans which were subject to the EIA.

“We’re concerned this could bring pressure—more frequent helicopter visits, uncontrolled access, seeds on shoes, invasive species.”

The Seychelles Islands Foundation has promised oversight for biosecurity, but with no current supervision on Assomption and reports of construction crews already active, Skerrett is deeply uneasy.

“They initially wanted 1,500 workers. That’s insane. We said 500 max, but who knows what’s actually happening there right now.”

How You Can Help

The Island Conservation Society has established a UK-registered charity to support conservation in the Seychelles. Donations are tax-deductible, and funds go toward island-specific endowments—building a financial buffer for the future of biodiversity in the region.

For conservationists and ecotourists alike, Skerrett’s vision is clear:

“Tourism has brought us wealth, stability. You don’t see begging or homelessness here like in the West. But if we let private development run rampant, the cost will be our wildest places—and the creatures that call them home.”

Prior to the project, Assomption Island was not permanently inhabited by a civilian population. The only people who resided on the island were a small number of personnel from the Islands Development Company (IDC) who maintain the airstrip and oversee basic infrastructure.

The Islands Development Company (IDC) of Seychelles is a parastatal organization owned by the government, tasked with overseeing the sustainable development of the nation’s outer islands. The company plays a vital role in managing islands such as Alphonse, Assomption, and Farquhar, focusing on eco-tourism, conservation, and agricultural development.

The IDC is run by a board of directors: Cyril Bonnelame, who was appointed CEO in January 2025, leads the operational direction of the company, bringing over 25 years of experience in various sectors. The board, including directors such as Naadir Hassan (Chairperson) and Astride Tamatave (Vice-Chairperson), ensures strategic decision-making and policy implementation to align with national and environmental objectives.

IDC and ICS have signed an agreement, recognizing ICS as conservation advisors on all IDC islands.

The company plays a vital role in managing islands such as Alphonse, Assomption, and Farquhar, focusing on eco-tourism, conservation, and agricultural development.

There is no established community, and no public facilities like schools, hospitals, or stores on Assomption Island.

With limited oversight and major concerns voiced by local conservationists like Skerrett, this island will quietly become a playground for the ultra-rich without public scrutiny or ecological safeguards.

Green Prophet uncovered footage from Swedish photographer Jesper Anhede—hired by Qatari developers and now based in Qatar according to his LinkedIn profile —freely roaming turtle nesting sites on the islands during peak turtle season. He is also reaching out to his network on Instagram looking for developers who can help the Qatari investors build glamping sites for Qatari royalty.

This raises serious questions: who authorized these excursions? Who is regulating the access?

Green Prophet reached out to Anhede about environmental oversight when he is at the Seychelles and he quickly deleted his Instagram profile shortly thereafter and stopped replying to our messages.

If you believe in the power of transparency and storytelling to protect fragile ecosystems, reach out to the The Island Conservation Society. Let’s help them find the right allies —journalists, scientists, conservationists, and funders. Assomption may not have a population, but its silence doesn’t mean it has no voice.

It’s time we amplify it.

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