Seychelles election: The row over Assumption Island could decide next president

India, Qatari royals, China and ecologists have their own, very different, views on Assumption Island's future.

Watch LiveBritish Broadcasting CorporationHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsArts in MotionTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListTo the Ends of The Earth EarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingAudioPodcast CategoriesRadioAudio FAQsVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveWeatherNewslettersWatch LiveWhy a tiny island's fate could decide Seychelles' next president3 days agoShareSavePatrick MuirheadMahé Island, SeychellesShareSaveLightRocket via Getty ImagesAssumption Island is more than 1,000km away from the Seychelles' main hubA tiny, almost barren island in the Indian Ocean has become a battleground in this weekend's elections in Seychelles, prompting global environmental concern.

Assumption Island, in the western Indian Ocean, possesses little at first glance that would set even the most curious and intrepid traveller's pulse racing.

Stripped almost bare and blisteringly hot, with few man-made structures, it covers an area similar to London's Heathrow Airport and is, arguably, only slightly more scenic.

Yet this tropical island anomaly - both geographically remote, and far from the popular ideal of lush paradise - has become a hotspot for geopolitical powers and eco-warriors, plus a political lightning rod in Seychelles, the country that owns it.

Situated 1,140km (700 miles) from Seychelles' most populous main island, tourist-friendly Mahé, Assumption Island is a sausage-shaped, coralline finger of low-level scrub, fringed by casuarina trees.