species
Birds
The Chagos Archipelago is home to a diverse breeding seabird community, with more than 175,000 pairs of birds visiting each year.
Learn more in ChIPProtecting and conserving one of the planet’s last wild places
In a world with very few unspoilt places, the Chagos Archipelago is a unique and precious environment that needs protecting.
Chagos brain coral
Ctenella chagius
Previously thought extinct, the Chagos brain coral, found only in the archipelago, is one of the rarest corals in the world.
Learn more in ChIP
Brown Noddy
Anous stolidus
These unusual-looking terns receive their name from their nodding courtship displays where they bow repeatedly to one another.
Learn more in ChIP
Where are the Chagos Islands?
Consisting of 55 islands, the Chagos Archipelago sits in the middle of the Indian Ocean, 300 miles south of the Maldives and 1000 miles from the southern tip of India.
Where are the Chagos Islands?
Consisting of 55 islands, the Chagos Archipelago sits in the middle of the Indian Ocean, 300 miles south of the Maldives and 1000 miles from the southern tip of India.
Blue shark
Prionace glauca
These graceful fish with metallic blue backs are one of the widest ranging sharks. They are the most heavily hunted shark in the world.
Learn more in ChIP
Conserve
Our aim is to make sure this valuable natural environment is conserved, and can act as an example for conservation and management of environments across the planet.
Learn
With the right care, the archipelago can be a reminder of how tropical reefs flourished many hundreds of years ago, and can offer vital insight into how they might be saved for generations to come.
Spotted eagle ray
Aetobatus ocellatus
With wingspans of up to 3 metres, these spotty rays glide serenely across reefs foraging for their favourite shellfish snacks.
Learn more in ChIP
Inspire
We unite with partners to carry out scientific research and conservation work, striving to highlight the global importance of this vital marine ecosystem, protecting the wildlife which makes it unique and precious.
What are we protecting?
species
Fish
More than 800 species of fish flourish among the Chagos Islands’ reefs, including many that have been heavily diminished by over-fishing elsewhere in the world’s oceans.
Learn more in ChIP
species
Corals
While the archipelago has not fully escaped the ravages of climate change, it remains home to at least 300 types of coral, including the endemic Brain coral (Ctenella chagius), and is critically important to global coral conservation efforts.
Learn more in ChIPKey projects
Discover our work
Healthy Islands, Healthy Reefs
By rewilding 30 degraded islands in the outer atolls, we want to boost the survival of the Chagos Archipelago’s seabird populations and allow coral and fish communities to thrive.
What is Healthy Islands, Healthy Reefs?
The John Topp Botanical Fund
We are working with the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew to create the first comprehensive record of the islands’ vegetation and collect seeds for Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank.
What is John Topp Botanical Fund?Chagos News
Learn more about the Trust and recent scientific work happening in the archipelago by reading our annual e-publication.
