This book is the story of the natural history of Chagos Archipelago, and of the efforts of many to get it recognized as an important and protected wildlife reserve. Exploring its immense natural riches and biodiversity, both on islands and in the marine environment, this book addresses competing claims to its resources, its politics, and the desire of some commercial and political parties to exploit the area. It is about the fight to conserve a wonderland of biodiversity and obtain its protection from exploitation, especially of its reefs and other marine life.
This book shows the importance of the Chagos Archipelago and why so much research was done there. Rather than being a typical research book, this work presents research in a narrative form and describes the now substantial Government, UN, and legal interest in the archipelago since the UK was told to ‘decolonise’ it. It is also the story of our planet in miniature: the archipelago encapsulates much of the world’s conservation tribulations in a way we can much more easily understand. This narrative will explore the difficulties faced by the Chagos Archipelago, including displaced people, old and derelict industries (coconut in this case), the military, politics, rich and untouched ecosystems that some want to exploit, ruined habitats on land, climate change, and territorial claims. It will examine how all of these factors have affected the natural history, biodiversity, and conservation of the archipelago.
With beautiful photography of the Chagos Archipelago coral reefs and islands, as well as graphs indicating their findings, this book offers professionals, researchers, academics, and students in conservation and biodiversity an insight into one of the world’s most diverse ecosystems. It is also accessible for non‑academic readers with an interest in climate change, biodiversity, and the importance of conservation.
Introduction
1. A tour of the Archipelago
2. Geography, origins, human use
3. Natural history of the islands and human settlement
4. Restoration, rats and the persistence of the coconut
5. Coral reefs of Chagos
6. Dark Ages and Enlightenment
7. The first ocean heatwave
8. Connections, and the major reef components
9. Creation of the BIOT Marine Reserve
10. Climate change research
11. The world’s conservation conundrum in one archipelago
12 What of the future?
References
Biography
Charles Sheppard OBE is an Emeritus Professor whose work has focused on coral reefs, and impacts of marine exploitation and climate change. He has researched in most Indian Ocean and Caribbean countries, written about 250 research articles and over a dozen books, receiving several awards for conservation.
Anne Sheppard has been his partner and scientific colleague throughout, a biologist, taxonomist and photographer. They first visited the Chagos Archipelago in the 1970s and then, with others, built up a series of research expeditions as the richness, condition and value of Chagos became apparent. This culminated in its declaration as the world's largest no-take ocean reserve.
Photo Jon Schlayer, with permission.
