of 1964-65 focussed on birds and insects. The contribution of Royal Society to the knowledge of Aldabra from 1966 is legendary and work on Aldabra continued under the custodianship of Seychelles Islands Foundation Present day conservation In more modern times, International Council for Bird Preservation (ICBP, now BirdLife International) conducted a great deal of research on Cousin Island. In the second half of the 1980s and during the 1990s, many reports and published papers for the granitics were the result of work conducted on Aride Island first by Royal Society for Nature Conservation (now Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts) and then by the local NGO Island Conservation Society in Ramos national park, summarized in Annual Reports from 1987 to the present. Extensive scientific research is carried out since the 1990s and much of this is published in Seychelles in the scientific journal Phelsuma (published by Nature Protection Trust of Seychelles). Although many of the conservation laws date back to British colonial days, the Seychelles government has strictly protected the natural heritage of the islands for many years. Seychelles is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites run by the Seychelles Islands Foundation. They are the atoll of Aldabra, which is the world's largest raised coral atoll and also the Vallée de Mai on Praslin island, billed as the original site of the Garden of Eden. The Cousin Island Special Reserve, purchased by International Council for Bird Preservation (ICBP, now BirdLife International) in 1968 and managed by Nature Seychelles, is an internationally known bird and marine sanctuary which has won several awards for conservation and ecotourism. Seychelles has six national marine parks including the St. Anne National Marine Park located adjacent to the capital, Port Victoria which are managed by the government parastatal, Marine Parks Authority. Much of the land territory (about 40%) and a substantial part of the coastal sea around Seychelles are protected as National Parks, including Marine Parks, and Reserves. Seychelles will soon become the first country to have half its land protected. A World Bank/Environment Facility project in 1999 and a project for rat eradication has led to a programme of restoration of private islands by the government, Nature Seychelles and private island owners. These islands include Fregate, Denis and Cousine. The management of these islands now employ full-time conservation officers and fund conservation programmes. The island restoration program has now been taken to the outer islands