Assumption Island is a small island in the Outer Islands of

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, ...

north of

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

, south-west of the capital, Victoria, on Mahé Island. In 2018,

and

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

signed an agreement to build and operate a joint military facility on a portion of the island, which the National Assembly of Seychelles refuted the agreement and deemed after protestation by the citizens of Seychelles. As protests continued, the Seychellois president endorsed the Assumption Island deal with India. The plan caused public protests by activists who believed that the islands should stay out of the brewing India-China regional conflict. The agreement was declared "''dead''" by the Island's opposition party.

History

Assumption Island was discovered by Captain Nicolas Morphey on 14 August 1756, and was named after the religious feast of the next day. In 1908, the island was leased to Mr H. Savy of Mahé, who built a coconut plantation there. The first settlement was in the northern part of the island. During a visit two years later, he realized the guano potential of the island. The villagers transferred their labor force to

guano Guano (Spanish from qu, wanu) is the accumulated excrement of Seabird, seabirds or bats. As a manure, guano is a highly effective fertilizer due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant ...

mining camp that operated from 1907 until 1983. The camp was the location of the current village. Later, the villagers were employed as fishermen, usually of bêche-de-mer, until it was declared protected. In the mid 1960s, the island was proposed as an American military base, including a deep sea port. After strong protests from environmental organizations, this plan was rejected. In 1990, the airfield was built.

Geography

Assumption Island is located about 27 km south of Anse Takamaka on

Aldabra Atoll Aldabra is the world's second-largest coral atoll, lying south-east of the continent of Africa. It is part of the Aldabra Group of islands in the Indian Ocean that are part of the Outer Islands of the Seychelles, with a distance of 1,120 ...

and is part of the

Aldabra Group The Aldabra Group are part of the Outer Islands of the Seychelles, lying in the southwest of the island nation, around from the capital, Victoria, on Mahé Island. Population and area The group contains four islands and atolls. The largest in ...

. It is a single coral island in area. The western shore features an almost uninterrupted sandy beach 5.5 km. Two large

sand dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

s are prominent on the southeastern coast of the island, one of them high. The 5.5 km, white, sandy beach that stretches on the southeastern side of the island has been several times named the best beach in the world''' for its white sand, crystalline waters, diversity of marine life and lack of crowds. Due to the disruptive effect of

mining which lasted until 1983, the island is dominated by expanses of bare rock and caves, and is sparsely covered with low-growing vegetation.

Administration

The island belongs to the Outer Islands District.

Transport

The island is bisected by a concrete airfield running between the two sand dunes on the southeast point to the village on the western coast. The island is occasionally serviced by an Island Development Company (IDC) aircraft from Mahé, usually with scientists which have a boat take them to

. The island has a small port called ''St. Thomas Anchorage'', which is currently enlarged by the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four ...

to a large port.

Joint Military Facility

In 2015,

and

signed an agreement for constructing and operating joint military facility on the Island. A coast surveillance radar system built by support from

became operational in 2016. A revised agreement was signed in 2018 and the Seychelles President has endorsed its ratification. The

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

has also stated that this was a joint project on the request of the Seychelles government and would be jointly managed by both countries.

plans to invest $550 million in building the facility. Recently, the deal for an Indian military base in

was declared as ‘''dead''’ by the Island's opposition party. The leader of the opposition also clearly stated that this was the end of the ‘''assumption agreement''’ and no further discussions on India's military base were on the agenda.

Flora and fauna

Assumption Island was once home to a great diversity of seabirds, including the

Abbott's booby Abbott's booby (''Papasula abbotti'') is an endangered seabird of the sulid family, which includes gannets and boobies. It is a large booby and is placed within its own monotypic genus. It was first identified from a specimen collected by Wil ...

, which is now confined to a single breeding island:

Christmas Island Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an Australian external territory comprising the island of the same name. It is located in the Indian Ocean, around south of Java and Sumatra and around north-west of the ...

, in the eastern Indian Ocean. Efforts are now underway by the Seychelles Islands Foundation, in conjunction with

Island Conservation Society The Island Conservation Society (ICS) was registered as an NGO in Seychelles on 25 March 2001. The Head Office, known as The Island Conservation Centre, is situated at Pointe Larue, Mahé. ICS focusses on protection and rehabilitation of the small ...

and the Islands Development Company, to restore the habitat of the island. The first successful step in this process was the removal of invasive, introduced bird species, Madagascar fody and red-whiskered bulbul. A notable feature of this island is the Assumption Island day gecko, a subspecies of

gecko Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from . Geckos ar ...

found only on this island. An endemic race of

souimanga sunbird The souimanga sunbird (''Cinnyris sovimanga'') is a small passerine bird of the sunbird family, Nectariniidae. It is native to the islands of the western Indian Ocean where it occurs on Madagascar, the Aldabra Group and the Glorioso Islands. ...

once bred on the island. The nature documentary of

Jacques-Yves Cousteau Jacques-Yves Cousteau, (, also , ; 11 June 191025 June 1997) was a French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author. He co-invented the first successful Aqua-Lung, open-circuit SCUBA (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus). T ...

and

Louis Malle Louis Marie Malle (; 30 October 1932 – 23 November 1995) was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in both French cinema and Hollywood. Described as "eclectic" and "a filmmaker difficult to pin down," Malle's filmog ...

, ''

The Silent World ''The Silent World'' (french: Le Monde du silence) is a 1956 French documentary film co-directed by Jacques Cousteau and Louis Malle. One of the first films to use underwater cinematography to show the ocean depths in color, its title derives fr ...

'' was partially shot on Assumption.Island guide
The island is known for its rich fish life.

Image gallery

File:Seychelles large map.jpg, Map 1 File:Outer Islands in Seychelles.svg, District Map File:Assumption Island (rotated 45 degrees clockwise, cropped, corners filled).jpg, Assumption Island File:Seychelles outer islands 25.08.2009 10-17-46.jpg, Assumption Island with its runway File:Seychelles_outer_islands_25.08.2009_10-17-59.jpg, Assumption Island closer look

References

External links

National Bureau of Statistics

Gallery of Aldabra and Assumption
{{DEFAULTSORT:Assumption, Seychelles Coral islands Islands of Outer Islands (Seychelles) Indian Naval Air Stations Indian Navy bases Indian Air Force bases Indian Army bases