Construction has begun for a luxury resort on Seychelles’ Assomption Island, near a UNESCO World Heritage coral atoll that’s one of the most remote and pristine places on the planet.

Assomption (also spelled Assumption) is the gateway to Aldabra Atoll, home to the famous Aldabra giant tortoises (Aldabrachelys gigantea) that can live for more than 100 years. Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) migrate to the waters around these islands between July and November to give birth, and green turtles (Chelonia mydas) nest on the beaches. Seychelles’ only known dugongs (Dugong dugon) are residents of Aldabra’s lagoon and its coastal waters.

The project, backed by Qatar-based real estate development firm Assets Group, will entail constructing a resort complex comprising 37 villas and four restaurants, and enlarging the existing airstrip on Assomption. It threatens the entire cluster of islands and atolls (Aldabra, Assomption, Cosmoledo and Astove — known collectively as the Aldabra Group), according to activists.

“There is a high biosecurity risk,” Victoria Duthil, a Seychellois youth activist and campaigner for Friends of Aldabra, who is currently studying in Australia, told Mongabay. “Invasive species could completely devastate Albabra’s ecosystem. Just because of its isolation, it’s been this one functioning system that’s been kept as pristine as possible.”

Groups that oppose the resort have come together under the banner of Friends of Aldabra. The campaign is animated by Overstories, a PR agency that focuses on environmental issues, where Duthil works as social media manager. Other environmental organizations that oppose the resort include Greenpeace Africa, Re:wild and Seychelles at Heart, a local nonprofit.

Through a website run by its PR firm, the PC Agency, Assets Group has made it clear it is offering tourists an Aldabra islands package not limited to Assomption Island.

Seychelles is an archipelagic country of more than 100 islands, with the outermost islands being the farthest from the main group of islands where most Seychellois live. These 16 far-flung Seychellois islands occur in five distinct bunches. The Aldabra Group is more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from the country’s main island of Mahé. It lies off the eastern coast of Africa, at the mouth of the Mozambique Channel.

Tourists (who can afford it), researchers and other visitors can take a flight from Mahé to Assomption and then travel onwards by a chartered boat to Aldabra Atoll, which doesn’t have an airstrip of its own or any permanent habitations for humans. This is currently the only way to reach the atoll.

Assomption island also has no permanent settlements, only a handful of staff from the government’s Islands Development Company (IDC) who help maintain the airstrip. Astove and Cosmoledo both have relatively small lodges, and Astove has an airstrip.

“The islands around Aldabra offer the most beautiful beaches, incredible wildlife, and some of the best diving in the world,” Abid Butt, CEO of Assets Group, told a trade publication. “It is a perfect and pristine destination to create one of the finest and unique resorts for those who appreciate the best in relaxation and rejuvenation while we also focus on protecting and preserving the marine life and wider ecosystem.”

The group declined Mongabay’s interview request for this story via a spokesperson, who said the company was not yet ready to share more information about the project.

While Assets Group is investing in the resort, construction is being done by the IDC, a Seychellois government-owned enterprise responsible for 14 of Seychelles’ outermost islands, including Assomption.

IDC’s mandate is to develop the islands under its purview sustainably. One of the ways it does this is by installing tourism facilities. Assets Group was the only investor to respond to IDC’s 2023 call for an expression of interest in developing a tourist facility on Assomption Island.

An IDC report pegged the cost of upkeep for Assomption Island at around 9 million to 10 million Seychellois rupees (around $660,000) and highlighted the company’s attempt to turn the island into a “vibrant revenue-generating asset.”

Those opposed to the development of Assomption Island say this attempt to make money comes at the cost of environmental prudence. In particular, conservationists warn about the impact of increased human presence on the giant tortoise population, on the pods of humpback whales that come to give birth to and nurse their calves in these waters, and on nesting sites for sea turtles.

Duthil said the project’s environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) was rushed, did not meet global standards, and was marred by conflicts of interest. The ESIA for the project was carried out by the Island Conservation Society (ICS), a Seychelles-based nonprofit, “despite sharing leadership and receiving funding from the IDC,” Duthil said.

Glenny Savvy, IDC’s CEO until the end of 2024, was an ICS co-founder and vice chair of the ICS board of trustees. IDC also finances some of ICS’s work.

The current IDC CEO, Cyril Bonnelame, told Mongabay the project is “going full speed ahead.”

Bonnelame said it was up to the environment ministry to approve or deny the project, taking the ESIA into consideration. “The environment ministry gave the green light. We have no say in this. If there was a conflict [of interest] that should have been addressed by the environment ministry,” Bonnelame said.

The environment ministry did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.

The ESIA report raised the prospect of the resort development causing environmental harm to all islands and atolls in the Aldabra Group, including Assomption.

It cited the threat to Aldabra giant tortoises, which are also found on Assomption island, noting that the smaller members of the species were at risk of being “crushed during land clearing and construction operations.” Giant tortoises can run into danger wandering onto Assomption’s airport runway. The runway also creates a physical barrier for the slow-moving tortoises by splitting their habitat, and a bigger runway will pose an even bigger hurdle.

Among other measures, the report recommended building an underpass below the runway for the tortoises, enforcing speed limits for vehicles, and practicing greater vigilance at night to avoid collisions with these ancient inhabitants of the land.

Most of the resort development work is happening on a part of the island that hosts “the longest and most important green turtle nesting beaches in Seychelles,” the report said. The projected increase in boat traffic (including tourist boats, supply vessels and recreational crafts) could be detrimental to the marine habitat of humpback whales, it added.

The report also flagged the possibility of chemical contamination of water sources and of marine habitats from the construction work, and down the road from waste and sewage from the resort.

“As such, the scale of the Assomption development has the potential to cause adverse effects not only to Assomption but to Aldabra and the other islands in the group if the proper mitigation measures are not implemented and adhered to,” the ESIA said.

Yet even mitigation measures like protocols for biosecurity may not be enough to protect either Assomption or Aldabra from invasive species, the report authors noted. “Due to UNESCO world heritage site classification introduction of any foreign species to Aldabra could have significant global impacts,” their report said.

The issue of conflict of interest was raised multiple times during stakeholder consultations, according to the ESIA report prepared by ICS. “To address this concern, ICS has been fully transparent with all stakeholders throughout the process,” the report said.

Activists, however, allege that the Seychellois people were not adequately consulted about the project.

IDC plans to construct some accommodation for Seychellois people, which Bonnelame said will allow them to visit Aldabra for day trips while staying at Assomption. “We will have villas for locals, for when they want to visit the island at a subsidized cost,” he said.

Duthil said she’s not convinced. “The reality is that the planned development is a luxury resort, which will be far beyond the financial reach of most Seychellois citizens,” she said. “It’s really about attracting high-end tourism and maximizing profit, not about local accessibility.”

The airstrip on Assomption, maintained and operated by IDC, has already been extended from 1.2 km to 2 km (0.75 mi to 1.25 mi). Clearing of land for construction of the villas is in progress.

“There was basically almost nothing [on the island], but the resort development will significantly increase activities on the island,” Bonnelame said.

“The scale of the project is unprecedented and detrimental to not only the island but also the surrounding ecosystem,” a petition circulated by Friends of Aldabra said. The campaign is calling for the construction activities to be stopped immediately and another ESIA to be conducted.

Friends of Aldabra is also urging people to petition high-end luxury hotel chains to turn down any proposals to become the resort operators. Duthil said they’ve identified five potential operators: U.K.-listed IHG Hotels & Resorts; Canada-based Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts; Hong Kong-headquartered Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, and U.S. hospitality giants Marriott Hotels & Resorts and Hilton Hotels & Resorts.

The resort is expected to open in 2027.

Banner image: An Aldabra giant tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea). These long-lived tortoises are found on both Assomption island and the neighboring island of Aldabra, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Image courtesy of Celina Chien/ Overstories.

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