ISSN 1355-6746 Chagos News The Periodical Newsletter of the Chagos Conservation Trust No.35 January 2010 EDITORIAL what will be the most important marine Possibly the most important event for protected area in the Indian Ocean, CCT in its history to date, is the issue by perhaps even the world. the government of the Consultation document on proposals for the Chagos The excellent condition of Chagos is of Protected Area. course for the most part restricted to its marine environment. But although much There is an old Chinese saying which, in of the land environment has been its three parts, goes: May you come to the degraded due to the coconut plantations attention of those in authority; May you which covered most of the islands, and find what you are looking for; and May because of introduced plants and rats you live in interesting times. which came with the people, many of the smaller islands were left Well, for CCT this is exactly what we have undisturbed. These islands today been waiting for! Our long time efforts for contain huge numbers and densities of the conservation of Chagos have certainly seabirds and have resulted in there come to the attention of those in authority, being ten Important Bird Areas amongst resulting in the FCO issuing this the islands. document, of which there is more information by Charles Sheppard in this The idea to improve the condition of the issue. terrestrial habitat was first proposed over 30 years ago, during the We certainly hope to find what we are expeditions of the 1970s, though looking for and, for many complex practical work on it started only 6 years reasons, these are certainly interesting ago with the plans to remove the rats times. from Eagle Island. This theme of island repair is continuing with the vegetation The Chinese saying has sometimes been restoration project, described herein by used as a curse. If this applies here at all Pete Carr. This will be facilitated by a it perhaps relates to the huge amount of greatly appreciated recent grant from work put in by many in CCT to bring this the Ernest Kleinwort Charitable Trust. about. But this is what we wanted all along. An example of the integrated nature of the research on Chagos is that, to Whatever happens about potential advise on this project, a senior scientist political outcomes regarding any future from the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew administration of the archipelago, it is will be one of the international group of clear that maintaining the archipelago in scientists participating in the Chagos its present excellent condition must be a 2010 expedition in February. good thing for everyone. We hope that all CCT members will vote for the creation of Anne Sheppard 1 The Government’s Maldives, to know that the condition of consultation on the Chagos many of them is dire, and this often applies whether or not they are in a Protected Area. nominally protected area. People have a very poor track record of living near to Prof Charles Sheppard reefs and using them sustainably. We University of Warwick know that it does not take very much to over-fish and destroy a reef system, and The government's decision to issue a we also know from past history that Consultation on the issue of whether the once destroyed it is extremely difficult to Chagos Archipelago should become a repair the damage; in this respect strictly protected area is a culmination of a changes in ecological condition move long period of work by CCT, by its more like a ratchet in an old-fashioned members and several other bodies. The clockwork mechanism which can only go Consultation was published in November, one way, rather than being like a freely and the view of any member of the public rotating wheel which can move or organisation can be recorded before backward and forwards. In other words February 12. The website containing where we have a good reef system we information on the consultation, and how have but one chance. to contribute, is: http://www.fco.gov.uk/resources/en/pdf/21153 First though, decisions must depend on 320/mpa-consultation-101109 information, and in this area there are as many incorrect assumptions out there as In essence, there is firstly the question: there is accurate information. We can should there be any protection or not? find information in at least three good Assuming that members of the Chagos websites. No reader of this should need Conservation Trust think that to be told of CCT’s website: conservation and Chagos should go http://www.chagos-trust.org. Much together, the "yes" option then has three information is also available on Pew’s variants. These are: (1) total protection Global Ocean Legacy website: and a no take zone for the archipelago http://www.globaloceanlegacy.org/chagos/ out to its 200 mile limit, (2) similar, but which contains much information and permitting fishing, and (3) protect some several documents which can be bits of it only, the bits being defined as the downloaded. In addition, there is a new most important bits. There are various website by the Chagos Environment other conditions and stipulations such as Network (of which more later): that Diego Garcia and its operations must www.protectchagos.org. All have both not be affected, and that any information and many documents to promulgation would be by BIOT law. download. We all know that the relatively superb The three options for the condition of the Chagos Archipelago is Consultation what has led us to this point. But before I comment on the three options, with my Let us take those three options in own view being option 1 (complete no- reverse. Last is the option to protect take), I would just like to remark that this some bits only (Option 3). This is very preference is not only because I know little difference to what already exists. Chagos well, but also because I know BIOT already has a number of strictly almost equally well the situation in so protected areas, which are good for many other parts of the Indian Ocean. I what they do, and which are focused on have seen so many reef areas in the the highly visible bird-rich islands. Western Indian Ocean and Arabian Through this option some larger areas region, from southern Madagascar to could be included as well, though it Kuwait, and across to Sri Lanka and the ignores two crucial aspects: first the 2 need to protect the large, contiguous, reef unknown, are believed, based on the area that in its entirety, is key to many of topographic diversity of the seabed, to the benefits currently provided by Chagos be likely to be a rich and important and secondly, the ocean ecosystems that habitat in their own right. So, the surround the Chagos and which are scientific conclusion reached by most, is themselves rich in biodiversity. So Option that Option 2 is not a good one for the 3 does not really achieve anything very Indian Ocean as a whole, for the much. Option 2 is for the whole area to be targeted tuna, or for the other species protected except for fishing. At the and ecosystems being disrupted by it. Southampton workshop which discussed the science of Chagos for two days, the This leaves Option 1 which is for a no- requirement for fishing to continue was take protected area, possibly with an only endorsed by MRAG, the company exception for Diego Garcia and 3 miles currently contracted by the FCO to surrounding it, because of the manage the fishery. This workshop requirements of the military facility. covered the science from abyssal depths (However, it should be noted that Diego to tree-tops, it included scientists from Garcia’s reefs occupy only about 1% of many organisations, and had the brief to those of the archipelago in any case.) examine the scientific case for the protection of Chagos and to recommend Designation of Chagos as a strictly accordingly. It concluded that there was a protected area with Option 1 would strong case for complete protection. The create several firsts. It would be the document resulting is available for world’s largest marine protected area download on the CCT website at: but, more importantly, it would more http://www.reefnewmedia.co.uk/cmt_chag than double the World’s area of ‘no take’ os/uploads/Southampton-BIOT- refuges for marine species. As has workshop.pdf) been said before, there is a growing recognition that every ocean needs such On this subject of maintaining fisheries areas, but generally they don’t yet exist. (as would be the case with Option 2), the With Chagos we can take a big step to Indian Ocean is one of the worst remedy that. Chagos also contains an documented fisheries in the world, with extraordinarily high proportion of the very poor regulation, and almost certainly reefs of the Indian Ocean in ‘Least with heavily overfished components within Threatened’ condition – about one half it. Given the failure of regulation to of them in fact – all within one political manage stocks satisfactorily, it is unit, under one government, which has becoming widely accepted that protected the means and ability to achieve this. areas, for all kinds of fish both localized Therefore, for the Government, an and wide-ranging (sometimes called unusual opportunity has now arisen to trans-boundary) are an important and take a world-leading constructive step complementary means of contributing to forward – to designate the Chagos as a sustainability.