The Chagos Archipelago and its surrounding waters is one of the most remote and
unspoiled marine areas left on Earth
Located in the central Indian Ocean 1,000
miles south of India, the isolated Chagos
Archipelago is a chain of more than 50
islands and vast coral reefs surrounded by
some of the world's purest seas.
This “Galapagos of the Indian Ocean”
is home to the world's largest coral atoll
with a remarkable diversity of 220 coral
species and 1,000 species of fish. It serves
as a refuge and breeding ground for large,
critically important populations of sharks
and dolphins, as well as green and hawkbill
sea turtles. This atoll also provides habitat
for the richest diversity of seabirds in the
Indian Ocean and the world's largest land
arthropod, the coconut crab.
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The exceptionally healthy reefs of the
Chagos Islands are considered among the
most resilient to warming temperatures, providing
an invaluable scientific benchmark
against which to measure other impacted
corals. Although Chagos reefs suffered
heavy mortality in 1998 from spikes in water
temperatures, research in 2006 revealed
that they made a vigorous recovery, unusual
for Indian Ocean reef systems which
elsewhere were more seriously affected.
The Archipelago also plays a vital role in
the health of the Indian Ocean, generating
an abundance of larvae and juvenile marine
life that spread elsewhere and sustain
marine populations throughout the region.
The Chagos, an overseas territory of the
United Kingdom, represents over two-thirds
of the coral reefs under the British flag
and are by far its greatest area of marine
biodiversity. Except for a military base,
the islands are uninhabited and largely
undeveloped.
The deep oceanic waters around the Chagos Islands out to the 200 mile nautical limit include an exceptional diversity of undersea geological features including fracture zones, sea-floor spreading, submarine mountains, mid-ocean ridges, trenches deeper than 6,000 meters (18,000 feet), and a broad abyssal plain. The Chagos are believed to be one of the most geologically active areas in the world not part of a continental plate. Although these deepwater habitats surrounding the Archipelago have not been explored or mapped in any detail, work elsewhere in the world has shown that high physical diversity of the sea floor is closely linked to a high diversity of species. Further research using deep sea submersibles and other new technologies will likely demonstrate a significant degree of variability in the abundance and richness of sea life found here.
The Chagos protected area is now the largest no-take marine reserve anywhere. It is one of the world's
premier ecosystems amid the nations of the Indian
Ocean whose shores are densely populated
and industrialized and whose waters are
increasingly over-exploited and degraded. Protecting this site represents a conservation gift to the entire region.
The Chagos campaign is part of Global
Ocean Legacy, a collaboration of the Pew
Environment Group, the Oak Foundation,
The Robertson Foundation, and the Sandler
Family Supporting Foundation to protect
some of the world's largest and most spectacular
marine habitats.
The Chagos Environment Network
The Chagos Environment Network (CEN) is a partnership of NGOs and institutions who are working together to protect the Chagos and its surrounding waters.
