kélonia     The Observatory of Marine Turtles constellation.tif
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About Kélonia



Get Astonished
and Understand


Built on the site of the former turtle breeding farm, Kelonia was inaugurated on 16 August 2006 with a double mission:

- encourage the public to be aware of the value of the conservation of our natural and cultural heritage, especially with respect to marine turtles;

- participate in and develop research and conservation programmes for marine turtles and their habitats.

FROM CORAIL TO KELONIA

In 1989 The Reunion Regional Council decided to lend its support to marine turtle activities involving research, conservation and tourism by buying the Corail Farm complex and petitioned the appropriate Ministry to establish a legal framework under which a new Institution could operate. In 1994 the Environmental Ministry decided to prohibit the commercial sale of turtle products but declared a moratorium on the prohibition whilst planning for a new direction were considered. The Regional Council decided to transform the old farm into a site of excellence the goals of which were marine turtle research and education. The “Rehabilitation of the Corail Farm” was then financed by the Council and the European Union. Work began in 2004 and Kelonia was opened on 16 August 2006.



THE EXHIBITIONS

The exhibitions have been designed to illustrate the role of sustainable utilisation especially that based on marine resources. The purpose is to encourage visitors to reflect on the necessity and the difficulty of reconciling economic factors, society, environment and culture. It is for this reason that great emphasis is placed on social science as well as natural science to illustrate the exceptional characteristics of marine turtles and the innumerable and interesting bonds that tie them to human cultures.




     Europe

 FINANCING


The total of Regional aid for the conversion
of the “Corail Farm” (Ferme CORAIL) is 9,675,405.07 Euros
6,812,201.00 Euros are eligible
“European funds for Regional Development”

Finance Plan
Europe : 4,087,320.60 euros
Région : 5,588,181.47 euros


REALISATION OF THE PUBLIC WORK

Project Coordination
Nicolas GROUARD, Rodolphe COUSIN,
Laurence BREGENT, SOCETEM, ACORA group by the Standing Committee on May 5, 2000.

Public offers
The Region conferred the realisation of the conversion of the Coral Farm site upon the SEMADER in the framework of an execution order for three different stages of the project.

Building TCE/VRD/demolition
SBTPC

Aquariology
Groupe Coutant

Museum graphics
Groupe ADN SAS


The other 5 public offers concerning the operation of the museum graphics were managed directly by the Region.

Conception, realization
of the graphic chart
Kamboo

Creation of specific
illustrationsfor staging
Den Bazin

Realization of a collection
scientific films
Tec Tec Productions

Realization
interactive multi-media tools
Elektrogames

Elements of scientific
and cultural learning
Bourbon Enseignes

Kélonia, the observatory of marine turtles
Saint-Leu, La Réunion, France