ORF-E
English, German
1 x 43 min, 1x 52 min

“Paradise” – this is the most common association with the Seychelles – for locals and travellers alike. The sentiment refers to the natural beauty of the archipelago. It boasts 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, which look like emeralds fallen from the sky from a bird’s eye view. Only a few places on this planet enjoy comparable ecological diversity.
The coral and granite islands are proverbial wonderlands of marine biodiversity. Sea turtles visit the often-untouched beaches here during the day to lay their eggs. Rays, sharks and rare fish species inhabit the largely preserved coral reefs. Entire islands belong to the bird world, where people are only welcome as temporary guests.
But even these remote tropical islands are now often threatened paradises. How much they are part of this massively changed world is not only evident in the rapidly growing garbage mountains, but also in the shrinking mangrove forests, the most important protection against rising sea levels caused by global warming. This adds to the coral bleaching events endangering the reefs, destroying these “kindergartens” or “nurseries” of marine life.
This film tells of both: the almost extraterrestrial beauty of the island state and the impending dangers. The central focus, however, is on people’s efforts to preserve “their” paradise. This includes the protection and restoration of coral forests as well as the reforestation of mangrove populations, human „midwifery“ for turtle nests and efforts to preserve bird life.