Conservationists are at war over a British plan to create a marine protection zone around a large chunk of surviving empire in the Indian Ocean. The zone, twice the size of Britain, would cover much of the Chagos archipelago, one of the most unspoiled coral reef systems in the world.
This week the world鈥檚 foremost conservation science body, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), was in ferment after announcing support for the plan in spite of warnings from its own lawyers that the scheme was unethical.
The archipelago is claimed by neighbouring Mauritius, and the UK has promised to hand the islands over when it has no further use for them.
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Meanwhile the largest island, Diego Garcia, is home to a major US military base and is not covered by the proposed zone. In the 1960s, the UK expelled 1500 Chagossians to make way for the base 鈥� an act that of the Institute of International Law, at the University of Munich, Germany, who has campaigned for the Chagossians, says 鈥渦ndoubtedly constitutes a violation of international law.鈥�
Severely unethical
Last Thursday, the IUCN, ignoring protests from Mauritius, formally backed the British plan, calling for 鈥渇ull protection鈥� of the reserve. But in emails seen by New 杏吧原创, several members of the IUCN鈥檚 ethics group, part of its Commission on Environmental Law, have condemned the move. They include the chair of the group, , director of New Zealand Centre for Environmental Law at the University of Auckland.. Bosselmann said that IUCN support for the plan 鈥渧iolates IUCN鈥檚 own commitments towards sustainability鈥� because the plan would 鈥渋nvalidate鈥� the right of the Chagos islanders to return鈥� to those parts of the archipelago covered by the zone. He adds that for IUCN to back their permanent exclusion from the islands is 鈥渋s severely unethical and against everything the international conservation movement stands for鈥�.
The Chagossians, who today number more than 4000, mostly live in Mauritius, the Seychelles and the UK. In 2008, the islanders published proposals to resettle the islands.
Remarkable reefs
The plan for a marine reserve is open to public consultation until 5 March. UK foreign secretary 鈥淭his is a remarkable opportunity for the UK to create one of the world鈥檚 largest marine protected areas and double the global coverage of the world鈥檚 oceans benefiting from full protection.鈥�
British scientists meeting to discuss the plan in Southampton last August compared the conservation value of the archipelago to the or the .
IUCN鈥檚 director-general Julia Marton-Lef猫vre told New 杏吧原创 the IUCN鈥檚 position 鈥渋n no way takes or endorses a position with regard to the sovereignty of the archipelago鈥�. She denied that the creation of the reserve would prevent the return of the Chagossians and called for consultation with 鈥渁ll stakeholders鈥�.
