Responding to a question by Lord Montgomery of Alamein, Lord Howell of Guildford, Minister of State with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), answered positively regarding developments of the Chagos Protected Area stating that “the intention to go ahead with the MPA [marine protected area] is in place”.

In the debate in the House of Commons just after the Chagos Protected Area was created and passed into legislation by the former government, but before the election, the protected area was welcomed by the Conservative spokesman, Keith Simpson.

“The territory’s quarter of a million square miles is Britain’s greatest area of marine biodiversity,” began Howell when asked about measures proposed to increase awareness of the environmental and scientific importance of the Chagos archipelago. “The territory’s administration will work with interested organisations and regional Governments to increase awareness of the environmental and scientific importance of the territory.”

When challenged about sufficient funding to ensure that illegal fishing was prevented throughout the reserve, Lord Howell replied that “the declaration of the marine protected area did not cost anything” but that “the overseas territories division is in discussion with a number of foundations and charities which have offered to meet that requirement for a five-year period” which will cover the cost of maintaining a patrol vessel for surveillance duties.

The Pew Environment Group, a member of the CEN is one such group engaging in discussions with the FCO on financial issues. The CEN is also hoping to assist the government by providing advice and support on the implementation, management and enforcement of the new Chagos Protected Area, and is making the case for the continued opportunities for conservation and science within the archipelago.

Digeo Garcians help out with conservation efforts on their visit to Diego Garcia in January 2010

LONDON – The Chagos Conservation Trust, Coral Cay Conservation and the Diego Garcian Society are delighted to announce the worthy winners of the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity Coral Reef Scholarship Programme.

In July 2010, Pascaline Cotte and Louis Augustin, both 18 years of age and descendants of the Diego Garcian and Chagossian communities in Crawley, will visit the coral reefs of Southern Leyte in the Philippines as part of a Coral Cay Conservation training programme funded by the Chagos Conservation Trust.

“This is a great opportunity for members of the Diego Garcian and the Chagos community at large, that marks the initial steps to our people becoming stewards of the protected area,” says Allen Vincatassin, Community Leader and Founder of the Diego Garcian Society. “We look forward to our scholar’s return so that we might share their experiences and learn the importance of coral reef protection and community work.”

Joining a team of volunteers from all over the world, Pascaline and Louis will help survey some of the least researched habitats in the Philippines, learning to dive and protect coral reefs through the implementation of crucial marine conservation measures.

“As the UK’s leading volunteer NGO and charity dedicated to coral reefs, Coral Cay Conservation is delighted to share its expertise with members of the Diego Garcian Society,” says Peter Raines MBE, founder and CEO of Coral Cay Conservation. “Having recently returned from a scientific research expedition to Chagos I am more than ever aware of the importance of such initiatives.”

“We strongly support the involvement of Chagos Islanders in the conservation of the Chagos Archipelago,” says William Marsden, Chagos Conservation Trust’s Chairman. “We are working closely on this with the Diego Garcian Society and members of the Chagossian community. We are particularly pleased that Chagossians who visited the Chagos recently had first-hand experience of conservation projects which have been promoted by CCT. The Chagossians are now developing ideas for their involvement with such projects in future.”

The Chagos Protected Area will include a no-take marine reserve where commercial fishing will be banned, creating a much-needed safe haven for breeding fish stocks for the benefit of the region. The UK Government has made it clear that this decision is without prejudice to the pending legal proceedings before the European Court of Human Rights and would not prove a legal obstacle if the Chagossians are granted the right of return. Creating the marine reserve will ensure that the Chagos Islands and their resources will remain healthy no matter what the future holds.

The Chagos Conservation Trust intends to continue its work with Chagossian organisations to ensure that these islands and their resources are maintained in the best condition possible for the future.

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NOTES FOR EDITORS

The Chagos Conservation Trust
The Chagos Conservation Trust (CCT) was registered as a Charity in 1993 with the objectives of conservation, scientific and historical research and education in relation to the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). The Trust became established as the leading non-governmental organisation dedicated to those objectives. It provides a channel for cooperation between the BIOT/UK Governments and other organisations on BIOT environmental matters. It monitors the status of the BIOT environment with expert scientific advice, and actively promotes and supports practical conservation measures, such as regular ship-based scientific surveys and projects for habitat protection and restoration. CCT is a founder member of the Chagos Environment Network.

Coral Cay Conservation
Coral Cay Conservation (CCC) was founded in 1985 by Peter Raines MBE with the objective of encouraging a “citizen science” approach to effective coral reef conservation. Since then, CCC has achieved conservation success in many countries, including the designation of the Belize Barrier Reef as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the establishment of numerous Marine Protected Areas world-wide. CCC has won many international accolades and awards for its contribution to effective, community-based conservation approach, all thanks to the tens of thousands of CCC volunteers who have helped over the past 25 years.

The Diego Garcian Society
The Diego Garcian Society was founded by Allen Vincatassin, a native Diego Garcian who pioneered a settlement of the Diego Garcians and other people of the British Indian Ocean Territory (formerly known as Chagos Archipelago) in the UK. The first group of just 19 people arrived in the UK from Mauritius on the 16th of September 2002. Today, the Diego Garcian Society represents the UK’s largest group of Chagossians with a community of 2,000 people.

Scientific Statement Released for World Oceans Day

LONDON—More than 245 marine scientists from 35 countries, including the United Kingdom, are calling for the establishment of a worldwide system of very large, highly protected marine reserves as “an essential and long overdue contribution to improving stewardship of the global oceanic environment.”

While small marine reserves are known to protect some species, large reserves—comparable to large national parks on land—are necessary to better protect sea life in our oceans, which cover 71 percent of the planet.

By signing the statement, the experts endorsed the scientific case for designating very large, highly protected marine reserves and called on policymakers to take bolder action in establishing these areas. The statement, issued by Global Ocean Legacy, a project of the Pew Environment Group, was released today for World Oceans Day (8th June 2010).

“Extensive marine reserves are essential if we are to conserve the ocean’s resources,” said Professor Callum Roberts with the University of York. “As fish stocks decline, international fishing fleets are travelling farther and farther in search of unexploited fishing grounds, which are in turn depleted after a few years. If we wish to preserve the few unspoiled areas that we have left, then we must protect them now.”

Earlier this year, former U.K. Foreign Minister David Miliband designated the Chagos Islands, a group of 55 islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean, as the world’s largest no-take marine reserve. The Chagos Islands and their surrounding waters cover 210,000 square miles (544,000 square kilometers), an area twice the size of the U.K.

Overfishing, pollution and climate change are adversely affecting the health of the world’s oceans, and ultimately threatening the livelihoods, food security and economic development of millions of people. Very large reserves can help reduce these problems, according to a recently published book, The Unnatural History of the Sea, by Dr. Roberts.

“The designation of the Chagos Marine Protected Area by the last Government was a ground-breaking initiative which, in this International Year of Biodiversity, demonstrates the U.K.’s commitment to ocean conservation,” said Alistair Gammell with the Pew Environment Group. “Establishing large marine reserves is relatively inexpensive and is a massively positive investment for the future, which otherwise may have significantly reduced ocean resources that are unable to recover.”

Less than 0.5 percent of the world’s oceans are fully protected from extractive or destructive activities. Large, no-take marine reserves have been shown to blunt the effects of excessive commercial fishing by offering a refuge to sea life to breed and spawn, providing for healthier fisheries as the fish swim into surrounding areas, and thus ensuring more resilient coastal economies. Because the ecosystems in ocean reserves are healthier, they are also more resistant to the damage caused by pollution, climate change and a wide range of other development activities.

Global Ocean Legacy, a project of the Pew Environment Group in partnership with the Oak Foundation, Lyda Hill, the Robertson Foundation and the Sandler Foundation, strives to protect and preserve Earth’s most important and unspoiled oceanic ecosystems. Its goal is to work with local citizens and governments to secure the designation of a handful of world-class, no-take reserves that will provide ecosystem scale benefits and help conserve our global marine heritage.

BACKGROUND:
To date, Global Ocean Legacy’s work with local partners and governments has been pivotal in the designation of some of the world’s largest ocean reserves, including the Papah?naumoku?kea Marine National Monument in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands, the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument in the Commonwealth of the Mariana Islands, and the British Chagos Protected Area in the Indian Ocean. Collectively, these areas contain more than 70 percent of the world’s no-take waters.

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Contact
In London: Taffeta Gray
020 7960 6323
tgray@pewenvironment.org.uk

In Washington, DC: Veronica O’Connor
+1-202-540-6352
voconnor@pewtrusts.org

• Read the science statement (PDF)
• French translation of the science statement (PDF)
• List of scientists who signed the statement (PDF)
• Senior scientists and marine specialists: please show your support for marine reserves

For more information about Global Ocean Legacy please visit www.globaloceanlegacy.org

Media interviews available upon request.

LONDON — Secretary of State David Miliband today designated the Chagos, a U.K. territory in the middle of the Indian Ocean, as a no-take marine reserve. This declaration will make it the largest marine protected area in the world, totaling more than 210,000 square miles (544,000 square kilometres), an area twice the size of the U.K. The combination of tropical islands, unspoiled coral reefs and adjacent oceanic abyss makes this area comparable in global importance to the Great Barrier Reef or Galapagos Islands.

As a fully protected marine reserve, all extractive activities, such as industrial fishing and deep sea mining, will be prohibited in the Chagos. This decision will safeguard the rich diversity of marine life found in the area.

“We are thrilled by the U.K. government’s decision to declare the Chagos in its entirety as a no-take protected area,” said Alistair Gammell with the Pew Environment Group, a founding member of the Chagos Environment Network (CEN). “The oceans desperately need better protection. In 2010, the International Year of Biodiversity, the U.K. has secured a conservation legacy which is unrivalled in scale and significance, demonstrating to the world that it is a leader in conserving the world’s marine resources for the benefit of future generations.”

The CEN is a collaboration of leading conservation and scientific organisations seeking to protect the rich biodiversity of the Chagos Islands and their surrounding waters. Members include the Chagos Conservation Trust, the Linnean Society of London, the Marine Conservation Society, the Pew Environment Group, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Zoological Society of London, and Professor Charles Sheppard of the University of Warwick.

The decision comes following a four-month public consultation on the future management of the Chagos Islands set out by British Secretary of State David Milliband. More than 275,000 people from over 200 nations and territories, as well as many leading scientific and conservation organisations, sent messages in support of full protection of the Chagos Islands and their surrounding waters.

“Today’s decision by the British Government is inspirational. It will protect a treasure trove of wildlife for posterity and create a safe haven for breeding fish stocks for the benefit of people in the region. Our Trust has worked for the protection of Chagos for some 20 years and we applaud this wonderful U.K. contribution for 2010, the International Year of Biodiversity,” said William Marsden CMG, Chairman of the Chagos Conservation Trust.

“The U.K.’s designation sets a new global benchmark for responsible ocean stewardship,” said Professor Charles Sheppard of Warwick University. “The Chagos Protected Area will provide an important global reference site for a wide range of scientific ecological, oceanographic and climate studies, and will underpin the provision of benefits to humans throughout the Indian Ocean region into the future.”

Scientific research indicates that 90 percent of the ocean’s largest fish have disappeared over the past five decades by commercial fishing, and the hunt for what remains continues unabated. As a result, the world’s oceans are facing a crisis. No-take marine reserves are scientifically proven to be an effective tool to protect and restore marine ecosystems and the species they support.

“Tens of thousands of ray fish and sharks which are listed as threatened or near threatened on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List are accidentally caught and killed by fisheries in the Chagos every year,” said Dr. Heather Koldewey, Marine and Freshwater Conservation Programme Manager, Zoological Society of London. “The U.K.’s decision to create a Chagos Protected Area will stop this waste and provide a crucial safe haven for species such as tuna, billfish, and sharks to recover from systemic overfishing and for the turtles, corals and other sealife of this fabulous area to thrive.”

The waters around the Chagos are by far the richest marine ecosystem under U.K. jurisdiction. They have the largest and some of the most diverse undisturbed reefs in the Indian Ocean and are home to the world’s biggest living coral structure – the Great Chagos Bank – with over 220 coral species (almost half the recorded species of the entire Indian Ocean) and more than 1,000 species of reef fish.

Prior to the U.K.’s designation today, the world’s largest marine reserve was the 140,000 square mile (362,000 square kilometers) Papah?naumoku?kea Marine National Monument in the waters of the northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The U.K.’s decision today surpassed that size by 70,000 square miles (181,000 square kilometers).

For audio and video downloads please click here.

More than 275,000 people and leading scientific and conservation organisations from the UK and around the world have called on the UK government to establish a protected area in the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), which is comprised of the Chagos Islands and its surrounding waters.

If established, the Chagos Protected Area would be the largest marine reserve in the world and play a vital role in fulfilling the UK’s global international conservation commitments.

The support for a marine reserve comes as the UK government closes its three-month public consultation period today on future management of the Chagos Islands. The government will now consider the creation of a Chagos Protected Area, a designation that would safeguard the rich marine biodiversity of the islands and their surrounding waters by prohibiting extractive activities, such as fishing. A final decision is expected sometime this spring.

“Britain has an historic opportunity to protect this very special and rare place, which is comparable in importance to the Galapagos Islands or the Great Barrier Reef,” said William Marsden, chairman of the Chagos Conservation Trust and a member of the Chagos Environment Network (CEN). “The public and the scientific community have spoken, and now it is up to the government to secure the UK’s ocean legacy.”

The CEN is a collaboration of leading conservation and scientific organisations seeking to protect the rich biodiversity of the Chagos Islands and its surrounding waters, including The Chagos Conservation Trust, The Linnean Society of London, The Marine Conservation Society, the Pew Environment Group, The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Zoological Society of London, and Professor Charles Sheppard of the University of Warwick.

The Chagos form an archipelago comprising 55 islands spread over 210,000 square miles – an area twice the size of the UK’s land surface. Due to their remoteness, the islands have some of the cleanest seas in the world and contain as much as half of the Indian Ocean’s remaining healthy coral reefs, making it one of the most ecologically sound reef systems on the planet.

“The world’s oceans are under increasing stress from overfishing, climate change, and pollution. Few areas around the world still exist that are largely unspoiled, and the waters around the Chagos Islands are one of them,” said Alistair Gammell with the Pew Environment Group, a member of the CEN. “A decision to designate this area as a highly protected marine reserve would make the UK a global leader in ocean protection.”

In addition to thousands of people in the UK and around the world, many leading scientific and conservation organizations, including some from the Indian Ocean region, have also given their support to the creation of a no-take marine protected area in the Chagos. These include the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Greenpeace UK, British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA), and Fauna and Flora International (FFI).

If the marine protection proposal is accepted, the Chagos Islands would provide an important global reference site for research in crucial areas such as ocean acidification, coral reef resilience, sea level rise, fish stock decline and climate change.

The waters around the Chagos Islands, out to their 200 mile nautical limit, contain the world’s largest coral atoll and many thriving species of corals and reef fish. At least 60 species listed on the IUCN’s Red List of Endangered Species live in these waters. The area also provides a safe haven for dwindling populations of sea turtles and hundreds of thousands of breeding sea birds, as well as an exceptional diversity of deep water habitats, such as trenches reaching nearly 20,000 feet (6,000 metres) in depth.

New research by the Zoological Society of London indicates that along with illegal fishing, legal fisheries have contributed to a substantial decline in reef sharks in the waters of the Chagos Islands. The analysis estimates that legal fisheries have led to a 90 percent drop in reef shark populations, and over 50 tonnes of open-ocean shark species are caught accidentally every year. Another recent study, commissioned by the Pew Environment Group, examined the economic value of the Chagos Islands and its surrounding waters and found that while small profits could be made from expanding fisheries in the area, the islands’ economic value is far greater as a unique and well-preserved haven in the Indian Ocean.

“A no-take marine reserve for the Chagos Archipelago would provide a safe refuge for tuna, billfish and sharks in the Indian Ocean. Its establishment would also significantly aid the recovery of the Indian Ocean’s drastically reduced fish populations, which would help enhance food security and promote sustainable livelihoods in the region,” said Professor Charles Sheppard, University of Warwick and BIOT Conservation Advisor. “Importantly, while the Archipelago remains largely uninhabited, a no-take reserve would provide much greater protection for these valuable resources than is currently afforded, and would undoubtedly prove to be of great benefit to any potential inhabitants of the Chagos, should they return sometime in the future.”

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The Chagos Environment Network (CEN) is a collaboration of leading conservation and scientific organisations seeking to protect the rich biodiversity of the Chagos Islands and its surrounding waters. This press release is supported by the following CEN members: The Chagos Conservation Trust, The Linnean Society of London, The Marine Conservation Society, the Pew Environment Group, The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Zoological Society of London, and Professor Charles Sheppard of the University of Warwick. For more information, please visit: www.protectchagos.org.

Petition numbers have been collated from the Chagos Environment Network petition, Care2, and Avaaz.

Media Contact

Alistair Gammell, +44 (0)20 7960 6323/+44 (0)7976 514 043; info@protectchagos.org

Over a quarter of a million people (254,717 people as of 10:55 this morning to be precise!) have signed petitions on this website, at Avaaz.org and Care2 calling for the government to adopt the CEN’s proposal. Additionally, countless NGOs – from Greenpeace UK to the IUCN, the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums to Fauna and Flora International – have sent their own letters in support of a no-take Marine Reserve.

Many thanks to all of you who’ve supported us. If you haven’t done so already, please sign the petition on our home page. We have until the end of the day to make our voices heard!

Of particular interest are the large colonies of sooty terns (Sterna fuscata), brown and lesser noddy’s (Anous stolidus and A. tenuirostris), wedge-tailed shearwaters (Puffinus pacificus) and red-footed boobies (Sula sula). Rat colonies on several of the islands cause problems with ground-nesting species, and habitat restoration (including removal of the rats) would be an important part of the management of the Chagos Protected Area.

Avaaz.org, the global online advocacy group, have just launched their own petition echoing the Chagos Environment Network’s call for the British government to designate a full protected Marine Reserve in the Chagos.

Avaaz has millions of supporters worldwide, and campaigns on a wide range of topics from climate change to human rights abuses. When they heard about the CEN’s Chagos campaign they were sure that it was something their supporters would care about, and it looks like they were right! As of this morning the Avaaz petition has over 120,000 signatures, and is still growing!

Read the Avaaz.org petition online

Greenpeace UK have just posted online their response to the consultation on whether to establish a Marine Protected Area in the Chagos. In this article, they confirm that they give their full support to the creation of a no-take Marine Reserve closed to commercial fishing, stating:

“Greenpeace believes that there is an overwhelming case for giving full protection to the waters of the Chagos as a no-take Marine Reserve”

As an organisation devoted to conservation of the environment, but also to human rights, Greenpeace are also clear about their support for the displaced Chagossian communities, and their opposition to the US military base at Diego Garcia.

Greenpeace also say that the protection of the Chagos should be seen as just a first step in conserving the world’s seas, and that we need networks of MPAs covering 40% of our oceans if we are to successfully protect its remaining biodiversity and ensure a sustainable future for all who depend on its resources.

Read the Greenpeace article online
Read their full submission to the consultation

A nesting Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata)

Currently, some 300-700 hawksbills and 400-800 green turtles are estimated to nest annually, distributed amongst the 55 islands of the Chagos group. The relative proportion and numbers of each species varies from atoll to atoll. Diego Garcia, which accounts for 57% of the land area of Chagos and 63% of the total coastline, not surprisingly hosts the greatest amount of turtle nesting in the archipelago. Approximately 50% of the land on Diego Garcia is managed as a strict nature reserve where adult female turtles can lay their eggs and immature turtles can forage unmolested by people. A unique feeding site for sea turtles is Turtle Cove, located at the south end of the island.