The UK government has declared the waters surrounding Chagos Islands as marine reserve. The area, covering a 545,000-square kilometre body of water in the Indian Ocean, is considered as the largest marine reserve and one of the richest marine ecosystems in the world.
David Miliband, the UK’s foreign secretary, said that establishing the reserve would help protect the world’s oceans, including its marine wildlife. He commented that its creation is a key step forward for protecting not just around British Indian Ocean Territory itself, but also all over the world. Miliband added that the UK government’s recent move is a clear demonstration of how the country takes its responsibility to the environment seriously.
Environmentalists say that the combination of unspoiled coral reefs and tropical climate makes the area around Chagos Islands a biodiversity hotspot of global importance. The archipelago, which has been likened to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef and the Galapagos Islands, hosts the biggest living coral structure in the world – the Great Chagos Bank. The atoll is home to over 220 coral species, nearly half of the recorded species that can be found in the Indian Ocean and over 1,000 species of reef fish.
William Marsden, the chairman of the Chagos Conservation Trust, commented that today’s decision by the UK government will create a safe sanctuary for breeding fish stocks for the benefit of the people living in the region. Of the islands, only Diego Garcia is inhabited.
Meanwhile, some locals are not in favour of the recent declaration of marine reserve on Chagos Islands. They argue that it would put them at risk because it would ban them from fishing - their only main livelihood.
|
|
