Nature lodge: 26-room wilderness beach reserve proposed on Seychelles' Silhouette Island

A partial view of Grand Barbe beach. (Antoine de Comarmond) 

(Seychelles News Agency) - Details of a proposed 26-room wilderness beach reserve at Grand Barbe on Silhouette Island were presented to Bel Ombre inhabitants and other interested parties on Saturday in a public meeting. 

The meeting was held at the Bel Ombre District Administration’s office and is the second phase of the assessment process before the Seychelles' government gives the go ahead for the construction of the eco-hotel on Silhouette. 

A representative of the operator for the project, Kenya-based Arijiju, Richard Smith, revealed that they plan to incorporate the natural rocks and features as well as existing historical buildings into the property. 

Since there is a turtle nesting area at the Grand Barbe beach, Smith stated that they would be staying away from the beach and stressed that the property would be a “wilderness beach reserve and not a beach resort.” 

Grand Barbe is located on the northwest coast of Silhouette and is seen as one of the most captivating parts of the island, benefiting from the grandiose backdrop of Mount Dauban, the second-highest peak in Seychelles at 740 metres. 

Meanwhile, the Island Conservation Society (ICS) has been appointed as the environmental consultant for the project and it already submitted a report to the Department of Environment in January. 

“As it is earmarked to be built in an area of high ecological value, it is for this reason that we have decided to hold a class one Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA),” said the director for environmental assessment and permit in the Department of Environment, Myron Meme. 

It is estimated that the property will be spread over a 10 -12 hectares area of Grand Barbe, which will include the rooms, back of house operations and staff quarters. 

The developers expect to have around 100 construction workers on site to complete the property due to open its doors in 2026. 

“We will be examining all areas in the environmental context of the assessment, from its biodiversity, its operations and even the social and economic aspects,” said Meme. 

“We are still in the assessment phase as we are still scoping, and we are still doing our own analysis internally at the ministry," said Meme. 

He went on to explain that it is only after all the information is gathered from all concerned that they will be able “to determine what needs to be preserved in the area at all costs and to what extent we will allow the development to proceed”. 

Meanwhile, those attending the meeting were able to voice their concerns as to what would happen to the two cemeteries on the proposed development site, the fate of the two remaining Grand Barbe inhabitants and the impact of the construction work on the area’s ecosystem among others. 

Meme explained that “if there is a resettlement issue, this is something that we will have to discuss with the authorities concerned, gather as much information as possible about the situation, in order to determine what are the appropriate steps we will have to take.”

The Island Development Company (IDC) chief executive officer, Glenny Savy, reassured those present that despite the development at Grand Barbe, that they will preserve and restore all the historical aspects of the area. The state-owned IDC manages the island. 

“Silhouette is a place rich in history and we want to keep it that way,” he said. 

Those attending the meeting were given a scoping form to fill out, and hand in by October 31.