Man vs marine in the Chagos Islands

Man vs marine in the Chagos Islands


Conservationists want to turn archipelago into a giant sea-life reserve. But what about the exiled population whose hopes of going home would be dashed forever?
By Michael McCarthy, Environment Editor

Wednesday, 10 February 2010


AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Chagos Islanders protest outside Parliament against



A major conservation row is developing over proposals for Britain to establish the biggest and most unspoiled marine nature reserve in the world. The issue of the Chagos Islands raises the increasingly difficult question of how to weigh up the protection of the best remaining parts of nature, in a rapidly degrading world, against the needs and rights of people.


It concerns the Chagos Archipelago in the middle of the Indian Ocean, a group of isolated coral islands teeming with wildlife which is considered to be among the least polluted marine locations on Earth. Its seawater is the cleanest ever tested; its coral reefs are completely unspoiled; its whole ecosystem, with its countless seabirds, turtles, coconut-cracking crabs (the world's largest), dolphins, sharks and nearly 1,000 other species of fish, is pristine.


Officially British Indian Ocean Territory, the islands are the subject of an ambitious plan by conservationists – backed by the Foreign Secretary, David Miliband – to keep them the way they are, by creating a marine protected area, where fishing and all other exploitation would be banned, of 210,000 square miles – more than twice the land surface of Great Britain. In an age when the oceans and their biodiversity are being ever more despoiled, it would be a supreme example of marine conservation and one of the wildlife wonders of the world – in effect, Britain's Great Barrier Reef, or Britain's Galapagos.


The plan excites many wildlife enthusiasts and has the formal support of several of Britain's major conservation bodies, from the Royal Botanic Gardens of Kew and the Zoological Society of London to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. The backing of the Foreign Office and the Foreign Secretary is significant. A public consultation on the plan ends on Friday.
But there is a notable omission from the plan. It takes no account of the wishes of the original inhabitants, the Chagossians – the 1,500 people living on the islands who, between 1967 and 1973, were deported wholesale by Britain, so that the largest island, Diego Garcia, could be used by the US as an airbase for strategic nuclear bombers.


When, in the 1990s, details emerged of the Chagossians' enforced exile, which left them in poverty and unhappiness on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius, it was widely seen as a substantial natural injustice; and in 2000 the then-Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, gave them permission to return.


However, after 9/11, Diego Garcia assumed a new strategic importance for the US – it is used as a base for bombing missions over Afghanistan (and has also been used for the CIA's "extraordinary rendition" flights taking captives around the world for interrogation).
As a result, in 2004 the British Government reversed Cook's decision to let the islanders return, using the Royal Prerogative and bypassing Parliament. The islanders, some of whom are still in Mauritius and some of whom are now in Britain, challenged this decision, and in three judgments in successively higher courts, ending with the Court of Appeal, had it reversed, and won back their right of return.


But in 2008 the Government made a final appeal to the House of Lords, citing American security concerns and the potential cost of returning the islanders, and in October that year the law lords, by a majority of three to two, upheld the Government's stance. The Chagossians, who now number about 4,000, have taken their case to the European Court of Human Rights, which is expected to rule on the matter in the summer.
In the meantime, the plan to make their former homeland a strictly protected area, where any sort of economic activity, from fishing to tourism, might be ruled out – thus rendering the Chagossians' return impossible – is being keenly promoted and is gaining more and more support.


The plan has been put forward by the Chagos Conservation Trust (CCT), a charity established in 1992 to protect the islands' wildlife from the commercial exploitation, pollution and overfishing that are wrecking so many of the world's coral islands. It has the backing of the Pew Environment Group, an American conservation charity which campaigns for ocean protection and helped persuade George W Bush to declare the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands a marine reserve in 2006. (At 140,000 square miles it is currently the biggest in the world, but would be dwarfed by Chagos.)


The CCT and Pew have mounted an impressive campaign, bringing nine major conservation bodies into the Chagos Environment Network to press the case on the public and the Government. Mr Miliband sounds as if he is already persuaded, writing: "This is a remarkable opportunity for the UK to create one of the world's largest marine protected areas and double the global coverage of the world's oceans benefiting from full protection." The options the consultation paper presents are about the level of protection necessary, from a full no-take marine reserve, to some fishing allowed, to one just protecting the coral reefs. It would in principle be possible for Mr Miliband to sanction a marine protected area quite soon, before this year's general election; it would not need primary legislation but would be declared by the British Indian Ocean Territory commissioner under British Indian Ocean Territory law. The Foreign Office has been talking to the Americans and it is thought that US concerns about the Diego Garcia base are unlikely to prove a stumbling block. The reserve might be declared before the result of the islanders' case in the European Court of Human Rights.


There is no doubt that the case for full protection is a formidable one. The Chagos Islands alone contain around half of the healthy coral reefs remaining in the Indian Ocean (including the largest coral atoll in the world, the Great Chagos Bank), and an untouched plethora of marine life which almost everywhere else is suffering massive losses from over-exploitation, pollution and bycatch. With full protection, the archipelago could provide the Indian Ocean with an "oasis" for marine and island species.


Yet the Chagossians contend that the case for protection – which in general terms they accept – is flawed because it does not take in to account their wishes. The marine reserve proposal stresses the advantage of the islands being "uninhabited" and mentions the former residents only briefly and obliquely, saying that any decision would be "without prejudice" to the current court case in Europe, and adds: "This means that should circumstances change, all the options for a marine protected area may need to be reconsidered."


Among those leading the criticism is a retired senior diplomat, David Snoxell, who is the co-ordinator of the Chagos Islands All-Party Parliamentary Group. "The consultation is extremely unfair to the Chagossians," says Mr Snoxell. "It deliberately ignores them. People are running this campaign with the idea of keeping the islands uninhabited for time immemorial." The Chagossians themselves would very much welcome a marine protected area, but they need to be part of it, Mr Snoxell says.
"We will support the project only if we are physically involved in it all the way, and our right of return to the Chagos Archipelago is not compromised," said Roch Evenor, a spokesman for the islanders and secretary of the UK Chagos Support Association. "With the Chagossians living on Chagos we will be able to help the marine protected area, as our presence will be a deterrent factor for illegal fishermen who are fishing the sea cucumbers and sharks. We can co-exist – the Chagos archipelago could be something great if we all put our heads together and collaborate."

Chagos Islands: UK's barrier reef
The Chagos Islands possess a wealth of wildlife, and are special above all for their coral; they contain some of the world's healthiest surviving coral reefs, which hold at least 220 coral species and up to 1,000 species of fish. The islands are a refuge and breeding ground for large and important populations of sharks, dolphins, marine turtles, rare crabs, birds and other vulnerable ocean and island species.
In marine terms, British Indian Ocean Territory is by far the most wildlife-rich part of the UK and all its overseas territories; the archipelago is isolated and at the very centre of the Indian Ocean where it acts as an "oasis" for species which are in decline or under pressure elsewhere in the region, from the effects of population growth and development. The fact that 54 of the 55 islands are uninhabited (the exception being Diego Garcia with its US base) is undoubtedly a major reason why the ecosystem has remained so unspoiled. Highlights include:

Coconut crab (Birgus latro)
The world's largest land arthropod, with a leg span of over 3ft and a weight of up to 9lb, this crab can climb trees and even crack a coconut with its massive claws. It is now rare in most of the tropical areas where it is found, but the Chagos population is undisturbed and healthy.

Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata)
This turtle is the principal source of tortoiseshell material; it has been over-hunted all around the world and is critically endangered. But the atolls of the Chagos are perfect breeding and nursery sites for it, and local populations are flourishing.

Grey reef shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos)
In the Indian Ocean, shark numbers are down about 90 per cent over the last 30 years because of overfishing (especially for shark fin soup), and such a decline is also evident in Chagos waters. Conservationists think that making the islands a no-fishing zone could help them recover.

Emperor angelfish (Pomacanthus imperator)
The coral reefs of the Chagos archipelago hold up to 1,000 fish species, many of them dazzlingly coloured, including clownfish, triggerfish and several species of angelfish.

Masked booby (Sula dactylatra)
The islands are an enormously important seabird refuge, with 17 species nesting there, often in large colonies, ranging from the masked booby to the red-tailed tropic bird, and from the great frigatebird to the sooty tern.

Cool, and suck...Although I generally side against people, because there's plenty of people and not enough wildlife, that would really suck to be a Chagossian.

I was biting my tongue posting this one.

It makes ya wonder just how those folks would support themselves in a comunity such as that, it woild apear on the surphase that they would have to live off the land and their only comerce and survival would undoubtedly be by consuming or exporting the last of the last.


they would need shipping ports and wouldnt that mean destroying coral reefs to acomplish this task..


then ya would also open the area to cruise ships and busy bodies who only want to extort the area for personal gain..


Befor long the place would look like detroit or the getos of a large city.

I know America helped establish military bases there years ago ,, so maybe there are still a few ports open, I am not familiar enough witht he area to form a educated opinion , like usual we only know what we are told and it is never the entire story.

Intresting situation .


Personaly I feel it wouild be a travisty to allow the destruction of such a pristines place.

On a global scale I have to ask if they would be any bettet off then Hati ..

JMO


Bill

Well they lived there for thousands of years before we came in a took them off the islands. Its their home land to treasure or destroy

Originally Posted by chris&barb

Well they lived there for thousands of years before we came in a took them off the islands. Its their home land to treasure or destroy

that assertion has never stopped europeans from infringing on native rights in the past..think of the destruction native americans experienced in our country or the aborigines in australia. i generally side with indigenous peoples, however i feel the root issue is the american military presence on the islands. i can sympathize with the preservation of this pristine ecosystem but i seriously doubt that it's the main thrust in the expulsion.

Yea I agree ,,,,but you guys know as well as I do there will be people who are politicaly as well as financialy motivated that will not allow anything to remain pristine..

Here is a thought ,, maybe they could use coral farming as a way to get back in to their lands,,,

If their corals can be used to re-seed other parts of the world it would be tough to see it destroyed..

Maybe they ,,,,should be,,, in charge??

Would it be wise to first learn their capabilities before distilling the trust ??

I dont disagree that it is their ancestorial lands,,however you could say the entire earth is all of our ancestorial lands ,,My question is how many of them actualy have a clue how to be a quiet part of nature like their ancestors did .


Or for that mater any one else who decides to claim the reef.


Ya know the first thing they will do is establish boundries and territory and claim the land and then the reif as private domains..

They have lost a generation of the old ones who knew the old ways.

I have a lot of thoughts runing through my head about this and I am overwhelmed with mixed opinions because its preservation of the last pristine echo system can go both ways..

Isnt it sort of like the modern day game refuge where animals are guranteed their undisturbed space??

JMO

Bill

well i have been to deigo , back in 1976 when i was in the navy . i was there building that base that is there and the island , as i was told is 37 miles long and at the widest point 1 mile long . and you can believe what they are telling you about the beauty it is fantastic looking at least it was when i was there .it is kind of shaped like your foot, and has islands like your toes and those are bird santuairyes , probably didnt spell that right,that is the first time that i ate shark , seen eles jelly fish , and even reefs . i was told that the island use to be a cocnut plantion at one time .and while i was there the crabs and trees and the donkyes and roosters where concider britsh subjects and were protected, if they were killed or carved on you went to prison for life . well enough for now , one thing i can say is i hope they can protec it and keep the same as it is now . paul

Paul

hey there paul!!

Yea Paul dont be a stranger !!





Bill

I did a search on diego garcia a little bit ago after talking to Paul on the phone ,, I hadnt realised there was so much info online about the place..

Bill

HMMMMM

Tough one, I really like the idea of protecting the reefs but there's people and there homes involved. Is there any evidence that the people over fish or over pollute the surrounding area?? If they tested and the water is the cleanest then any other place tested the people just didn't pop up they been there, sounds like there taking care of it. I don't know and never been there but sounds like they need to help the people keep the area in the same condition.

Me either but Paul left me with this 1 hr clip to watch..

Stealing a Nation, a Special Report by John Pilger

Bill

Pretty powerful video. Thanks for posting that

UK Poised to Designate World's Largest Marine Reserve

Group of Islands in the Indian Ocean Rival Galapagos Islands, Great Barrier Reef in Ecological Diversity

WASHINGTON, March 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the Pew Environment Group praised the United Kingdom (U.K.) for taking one further step towards designating the world's largest marine reserve.

The proposed marine reserve would protect a group of 55 islands located in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Known as the Chagos Archipelago, the islands and their surrounding waters cover 210,000 square miles (544,000 square kilometers), an area larger than France. With some of the cleanest seas in the world, the islands are home to one of the most ecologically healthy coral reef systems on the planet.

The Chagos Archipelago and its surrounding waters comprise the British Indian Ocean Territory, an overseas territory of the U.K. Following a three-month public consultation, the U.K. government is now considering the designation of a Chagos Protected Area, which would safeguard the area's rich diversity of marine life by prohibiting extractive activities, such as fishing. More than 275,000 people from around the world have signed petitions supporting this designation. A final decision is expected sometime this spring.

"If designated, the Chagos Protected Area would establish a conservation legacy almost unrivalled in scale and significance anywhere in the world's oceans," said Joshua S. Reichert, Managing Director of the Pew Environment Group, which is a member of the Chagos Environment Network (CEN). The CEN is a group of leading conservation and scientific organizations seeking to protect the biodiversity of the Chagos Islands and their surrounding waters.

In addition to the Pew Environment Group, CEN is comprised of a number of U.K.-based organizations and individuals: the Chagos Conservation Trust; the Linnean Society of London; the Marine Conservation Society; 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.

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 Chagos Islands provide 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 meters) in depth. The waters around the islands contain the world's largest coral atoll and many thriving species of corals and reef fish. At least 60 species listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List of Endangered Species live in these waters.

"The Zoological Society of London is proud and excited to be engaged in the initiative to protect the Chagos Islands, one of the most biodiverse marine ecosystems on Earth," said Dr. Heather Koldewey, Curator, Aquarium Projects. "Working with the Pew Environment Group has proved an effective partnership in working towards a common goal – the largest marine reserve of its kind in the world."

Through its Global Ocean Legacy initiative, the Pew Environment Group works in partnership with local citizens and governments, such as the CEN, to help establish world-class, highly protected marine reserves that will provide ecosystem-scale benefits and help conserve the world's marine heritage. The Pew Environment Group's efforts have played a pivotal role in the designation of marine reserves including the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands in 2006 – now the world's largest no-take marine reserve – and the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in 2009.

"Designation of the Chagos Islands as the world's largest marine reserve would set a new benchmark for responsible ocean stewardship," said Reichert. "Overnight the U.K. government would be a world leader in the protection and conservation of marine resources."

Global Ocean Legacy is a project initiated by the Pew Environment Group in partnership with the Oak Foundation, Lyda Hill, the Robertson Foundation and the Sandler Family Supporting Foundation. Its goal is to work with local citizens and governments to secure the designation of a handful of world-class, no-take marine reserves that will provide ecosystem scale benefits and help conserve our global marine heritage. Pew Environment Group: Global Ocean Legacy

For more information about the Chagos Islands, please visit the Global Ocean Legacy Web site at Pew Environment Group: Global Ocean Legacy.

Contact: Veronica O'Connor