[Coral-List] Chagos Islands - Law of the Sea ?

[mark at mdspalding.co.uk]

The Chagos Archipelago is receiving considerable attention, due to recent
and ongoing political shifts. I would just like to remind listers just how
important this Archipelago is to the planet. Here are five atolls, several
banks, and 50 coral islands, most of which were never inhabited, and many of
which are remarkable sanctuaries for plant and bird-life. Here are 1.5% of
the world's coral reefs, protected by both their remote location and as a
protected area, with no significant fishing for the past 10 years and very
little before that. Here an incredible programme of research is revealing
vast amounts of new information about the natural functioning of coral reef
and pelagic ecosystems (see Hays, +73 others.2020. A review of a decade of
lessons from one of the world's largest MPAs: conservation gains and key
challenges. Marine Biology 167:159).

It is the last coral reef wilderness in the Indian Ocean, and one of the
last in the world. The human history of this archipelago cannot be ignored,
but we would be failing ourselves and humanity if we did not continue to
call for its sound management and continued conservation, under any
jurisdiction. I am glad that Richard's first priority is to focus on its
protected status, come what may, and I might add the continuance of the
remarkable research programme that has developed and which is informing
coral reef science and management world-wide. Any and all of us with any
interest in coral reefs need to stress this importance to any jurisdiction
that holds responsibility for this remarkable place. 

 

(written in a personal capacity)

 

Mark Spalding, PhD

Honorary Research Fellow, University of Cambridge

Office: Siena, ITALY