Seychelles, an Indian Ocean archipelago about 900 miles off the coast of East Africa, is about as close to heaven on Earth as it gets — with 115 tropical islands renowned for their lush landscapes and unique biodiversity. But even paradise is vulnerable to climate change.
Forests across Praslin, the nation's second-most-populous island, have been decimated by fires in recent decades, exacerbated by increasing drought, erosion, and agricultural land clearing. With blazes as recent as August 2020, roughly 40 percent of the island’s forests are now unlikely to recover without an intervention.
An aerial view of the lush green North Island (Seychelles), surrounded by bright blue water