Kate Humble

Kate is one of the UK’s most well-known TV presenters, presenting Autumnwatch and Springwatch for the BBC. She is President of the RSPB and Patron of the Marine Conservation Society, both member organisations of the CEN. In support of the CEN campaign to Protect Chagos, Kate said:

“I’ve dived all over the world, and have seen places seriously affected by man’s activities, and also been privileged enough to visit many healthy environments which have been protected from fishing and other human activities. The opportunity to protect the entire Chagos area is a chance the UK government must grasp – to protect in perpetuity such a vital source of healthy reefs and fish will provide immeasurable benefits to the entire Western Indian Ocean. I support the campaign to make the archipelago a no-take zone.”

Miranda Krestovnikoff

Miranda Krestovnikoff is the UK face of the Underwater Channel, and has also been a presenter on Coast, the One Show and many other wildlife and natural history programmes. She also writes for Countryfile and Diver magazine, which named her “the highest profile diver in Britain”.

In support of a no-take Marine Reserve in the Chagos, Miranda says:

“For far too long, we have left our valuable, living seas open to any and every form of exploitation. I’ve dived with survey divers, gathering records of the rich but fragile wildlife that occurs in our seas. Marine reserves are needed – they really do allow wildlife to recover and thrive. The Chagos Protected Area would be the biggest fully protected marine reserve in the world, and would make a fantastic contribution to the conservation of our oceans. Therefore I strongly support the Protect Chagos campaign, and urge the British Government to do the same.”

IUCN

The IUCN (the International Union for Conservation of Nature) is the world’s oldest and largest global environmental network – a democratic membership union with more than 1,000 government and NGO member organizations, and almost 11,000 volunteer scientists in more than 160 countries.

In their response to the Chagos consultation (which you can read here) the IUCN said:

“Due to its location at the very centre of the Indian Ocean, its rich wildlife biodiversity, and unrivalled marine ecosystem health, Chagos acts as a unique biodiversity refuge and a re-seeding bank for other, more degraded, parts of the Indian Ocean. In other words, it serves as an environmental ‘insurance policy‘.”

European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA)

EAZA is the largest zoo and aquarium association in the world with 330 members in 35 countries. It provides membership services and leadership to those zoos and aquariums, promoting the association mission aims of biodiversity conservation, education and research.

In their letter to the government consultation, EAZA said:

“Marine life almost everywhere, including fish, invertebrates, mammals, seabirds, turtles, is suffering massive losses as a result of over-exploitation, by-catch and pollution. In the Chagos, which is by far the richest marine ecosystem under UK jurisdiction, we have an opportunity to establish a different future, creating a protected area in which marine life would thrive and recover.”

The Shark Trust

The Shark Trust is the UK charity dedicated to advancing the worldwide protection of sharks through science, education, influence and action. The Trust actively contributes to the legislative process advocating for sound shark management measures through both domestic, European and international frameworks.

Highlighting the benefits to shark species from a no-take Marine Reserve in the Chagos, the Shark Trust said:

“The pelagic longline industry, and in particular the tuna longline fishery is a key contributor to shark decline due to high levels of incidental shark bycatch. … The Shark Trust urges the British Government to enforce a strict no take MPA for the entire BIOT territorial waters, and consider carefully that any option which permitted any fisheries would undermine the integrity of the MPA and negate the benefits to many species which provide stability to the wider ecosystem.”

Greenpeace UK

Greenpeace has been campaigning against environmental degradation since 1971, and today work on issues as diverse as climate change to Genetically Modified Organisms. Their oceans campaign work champions marine reserves as the best solution to the marine crisis.

You can read Greenpeace’s response to the consultation here. In support of a highly protected Marine Reserve in the Chagos, they said:

“Effective nature conservation in the sea cannot be delivered without Marine Reserves … Commercial fishing can radically degrade the conservation value of marine protected areas. Only a full no-take Marine Reserve can protect habitats over very long time-scales and only complete protection will provide sufficient refuge for highly vulnerable species. “

Coral Cay Conservation

Coral Cay Conservation is an internationally renowned NGO dedicated to the preservation of tropical coral reefs and tropical forests. Since 1986, CCC has been at the forefront of community-based tropical conservation and pioneered the use of volunteers to collect vital scientific information about the state, condition and prevalence of tropical forests and coral reefs around the world.

In pledging its unequivocal support for the creation of a no-take Marine Protected Area in the Chagos, Coral Cay said:

“There is not, has not and will not be a better environmental global legacy for any British government: One so easily and readily within the grasp of such as your government. There are no others who can match this.”

Fauna & Flora International

Fauna & Flora International, founded in 1903, was the world’s first international conservation organisation. Today their work spans the globe, with over 100 projects in nearly 40 countries, mostly in the developing world.

In support of a no-take Marine Reserve in the Chagos, their response to the consultation said:

“FFI believes that full protection across the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Chagos provides an opportunity for the UK not only to meet its obligation to protect the rich biodiversity under UK jurisdiction, but also to provide global leadership on marine conservation and to contribute to future food security for some of the world’s poorest nations.”

Avaaz.org

Avaaz.org is a global web movement with a simple democratic mission: to close the gap between the world we have, and the world most people everywhere want. In less than three years, Avaaz.org has grown to over 4.2 million members, and has been dubbed “the biggest web campaigner across the world”.

In their response to the consultation on the Chagos, which they submitted along with their petition signed by over 250,000 people (see here), Avaaz.org said:

“Scientific investigations suggest that our oceans are in serious decline. Overfishing, pollution, rising CO2 levels: are just some of the factors driving this process. Unless drastic action is taken by all the governments, a critical loss of marine biodiversity will directly threaten the well-being of hundreds of millions of people worldwide, and also future generations who will inherit the mess we’ve created.”

British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquaria (BIAZA)

BIAZA is the professional body representing the best zoos and aquariums in Britain and Ireland. We are a conservation, education and scientific wildlife charity founded in 1966 out of a mutual desire within the zoo and aquarium community to see sound principles and practices of animal management widely adopted in the British Isles and Ireland.

In support of a no-take Marine Reserve in the Chagos, BIAZA said:

“Fully protecting the Chagos and its 200 mile surrounding waters, would bring significant long-term benefits to the prosperity and well-being of coastal communities living around the Indian Ocean while assisting in the sustainability of an ocean, which is elsewhere under ever increasing pressure.”