D’Arros Island is so tiny that you can walk totally around its perimeter in less than 2 hours. It is also exceptionally flat, wih its highest points not even reaching ten feet. However its history and current status belies its actual size.
D’Arros was discovered in 1771 by a french exploratory mission and it was named after Baron D’Arros, a Marine Commandant of what is now Mauritius. By the mid 1800’s a coconut plantation was established. Tragically, over 90% of the natural vegetation was destroyed and cleared in order to make space for the plantation as well as guano mining and logging. By the 1970’s the global market for coconut oil collapsed and the plantations were abandoned.
Then, in 1975 Prince Shahram Pahlavi Nia , an Iranian loyal, purchased the land and kept it as his own private playground for 23 years.
In 1998, L’Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt purchased D’Arros Island from the Prince for $18 million. This purchase became a major scandal when a French police investigation discovered Bettencourt never declared her purchase to tax authorities (read: tax evasion). After widespread legal investigations into Bettencourt’s offshore assets, Bettencourt agreed to pay $8 million in taxes against her property.
Don’t feel sorry for Liliane – in 2012 she sold D’Arros Island for $60 million to Swiss-based Save Our Seas Foundation, which had founded the SOSF D’Arros Research Centre in 2004.
D’Arros Island was also a key winner in this sale:
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The SOSF-DRC is an ocean observatory dedicated to marine research, tropical conservation, and environmental education. It’s objectives:
- Marine Research: It serves as a base for scientists to study threatened marine life, including sharks, manta rays, and turtles.
- Conservation: The center runs monitoring programs focused on coral reef health, sea turtles, fish and seabird populations – all which are thriving today
In 2014, the Seychelles government officially designated the island and its neighboring St. Joseph Atoll as a nature reserve.
Whew! Enough of scandals – let’s get to why we snorkeled in the waters of D’Arros;
PARADISE SAVED!
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