February 2012 Expedition - Day 17 - Final thoughts

As we finish packing of samples, decommissioning of equipment and storing all our bits and pieces, we are already planning the next scientific expedition out here.  There is so much to be done in this natural laboratory, and we all feel a great sense of responsibility in making sure Chagos continues to be such an important resource for humanity; and this isn’t  overstating it or being over-sentimental.

Some of us have been working on Chagos reefs for many years now, and have visited several times.  Some of us are here for the first time.  All of us are inspired by the place, and the delighted, often incredulous reaction of scientists on their first dives here reinforces in all our minds how extraordinary this place is.  How many ways are there to say “Wow!” ?
 
But thirty years ago Chagos was perhaps no more special than very many reefs nations around the world.  The islands in Chagos at that time had only recently been vacated and still suffered from the effects of human impacts like so many places, and thirty years ago we saw so few turtles and coconut crabs, for example.  And then the massive mortality from ocean warming occurred in 1998 which affected Chagos’ reefs as much as any other place in this ocean.  Now though, Chagos reefs have recovered to as close to pre-impact condition as anywhere can get, and being one of the very few places in the world which is uninhabited over most of its extent, turtles, coconut crabs and birds are recovering well and some are extremely abundant again, having had the chance to recover.  Regarding reefs, people dive in some wonderful places in the world and feel that they are seeing unspoiled reefs.  But how can we say what an unspoiled reef looks like?  There is a phenomenon called the ‘shifting baseline syndrome’, where the best conditions that a researcher has seen, or knows of, tends to become the standard reference point for what a ‘good’ or ‘unspoiled’ site should look like.  But very few new researchers in the world now are able to see what a truly unspoiled reef should be like, and this is one of the very valuable roles that Chagos plays.  It is a priceless reminder to us all what we are missing and which, with a global population of 7 billion, we are unlikely to regain anywhere else in the world anytime soon.  Unless we take more action…

Our international team of scientists agree, the Chagos Marine Reserve is globally significant and deserves international support as the world’s biggest no-take MPA.

Pete Carr, University of Warwick, UK
Pascaline Cotte, Trainee scientist
Nick Graham, James Cook University, Australia
Catherine Head, Oxford University, UK
Heather Koldewey, Zoological Society of London, UK
Tom LeTissier, University of Western Australia, Australia
Bob Long, expedition doctor
Jessica Meeuwig, University of Western Australia, Australia
Pete Raines, Chagos Conservation Trust, UK
Anne Sheppard, University of Warwick, UK
Charles Sheppard, University of Warwick, UK
David Tickler, Bertarelli Foundation