[Coral-List] New (old) way to murder a coral reef

[Richard Dunne]

John & List

It is certainly true to say we should all be playing our part in 
addressing these issues.

You ask about information on Diego Garcia. I have spent the last 6 years 
digging up just this sort of information from the secrecy that has 
existed for the last 50 years. At one stage the British Foreign Office 
(FCO) tried to prevent me having any further access under UK Freedom of 
Information laws but failed. Much of what I have gathered is available 
here: https://sites.google.com/site/thechagosarchipelagofacts/home

One current issue on Diego Garcia is recreational fishing by the US 
military and civilian contractors which has been documented as causing 
ongoing damage (see 
https://sites.google.com/site/thechagosarchipelagofacts/diego-garcia/recreational-fishing, 
and 
https://sites.google.com/site/thechagosarchipelago2/chagos-science/advances-in-marine-biology-2014). 
Conservation organisations such as Pew and the Chagos Conservation Trust 
(CCT) who profess to protect the Chagos turn a blind eye to this. I have 
represented to the FCO that it should end but it is complicated by a 
treaty between the UK and US. I would hope that all Americans who read 
this List would do whatever they can to get the practice stopped. It is 
pointless and destructive in the midst of a coral reef system which is 
otherwise in excellent condition.

In the Spratlys, the Philippines has taken China to an ITLOS Tribunal 
(see - http://www.pca-cpa.org/showpage.asp?pag_id=1529) to try to 
resolve the sovereignty dispute. It is a small first step. I fear that a 
'Peace Park' idea will not make much headway given the complicated 
politics where so many nations are in dispute and with the increasing 
US-China militarisation in the region (e.g, see 
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/guam/8085749/US-to-build-8bn-super-base-on-Pacific-island-of-Guam.html). 
Have you tried approaching the Pew Foundation - given their role in 
Chagos and now Pitcairn they should surely take an interest.

Richard P Dunne

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