An article in The Times newspaper by Frank Pope ( Ocean correspondent of The Times) brings home the immense value of the treasure trove of nature in the Chagos Archipelago, a British Indian Ocean Territory.  The vast tropical, marine area belongs to Britain and is directly administered by the British Government, yet few British people know anything about it.

This is by far Britain’s richest area of marine biodiversity.  It has the world’s largest coral atoll, its cleanest seas and its healthiest coral reefs.

As Frank pope says, the Chagos is indeed comparable to the Galapagos and the Great Barrier Reef, and provides the British people with an extraordinary opportunity to protect a precious natural piece of the planet.

Proposals for a Chagos Archipelago Conservation Area are being discussed within the Chagos Environment Network by the Chagos Conservation Trust, the RSPB, The Royal Society, Pew Environment Group, The Linnean Society and the Zoological Society of London.

Drawing on best practice in other great sites, the aim would be to: protect nature, including fish stocks (benifiting neighbouring countries); benifit science and support action against damaging climate change; be compatable with security; be financially sustainable; and provide some good employment opportunities for Chagossian and other people.

To read full article visit:  A Jewel in the Indian Ocean’s Crown.