North Island, Seychelles

North Island is part of the Seychelles chain of islands, and like the others is surrounded by reef. The past three decades have seen remarkable developments on North Island as well, in the name of evironmnetal success. Abandoned in the 1970s as a useless island after its use as an agricultural source for coconuts was no longer necessary, North Island has become something of an environmental experiment since then. The collapse of the coconut industry in the 1970s may have been the best thing to happen for North Island after all. It actaully lay neglected for about twenty years after the coconut farmers left, then in the past decade it has become a vital natural resource and bounced back better than ever, with species reintroduction, of both animal and plant variety. Developers wanted to recreate the island, back to its original state centuries ago before human hands altered the state of the environment here on North Island. Native species had been obliterated by introduced species, which means when humand arrived on the island, they brought wtih them plants and animals that weren't native to the island, and these non-native species overran the native species. Developers also built a 500-acre resort comprised of huts and villas with top-notch luxury. The resort performs community service such as hosting local kids while they tour North Island and learn about environmental conservation and environmental issues concerning Seychelles and North Island.