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 ChIPConserving 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 our protection.
Coconut crab
Birgus latro
A terrestrial species of giant hermit crab and the largest arthropod in the world, coconut crabs found in the Chagos can weigh up to 4.1kg (9lb).
Hawksbill turtle
Eretmochelys imbricata
This critically endangered sea turtle, which belongs to the cheloniidae family, breeds and forages in the archipelago's waters - and is the star of the Trust's logo!
Where are the Chagos Islands?
Consisting of at least 55 islands, the Chagos Archipelago is one of the largest Marine Protected Areas in the world (640,000km²) and is a no-take marine reserve that sits in the middle of the Indian Ocean, 300 miles south of the Maldives and 1000 miles from the southern tip of India.
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Why are they so important?
The islands and their surrounding coral reefs form one of the world’s healthiest and pristine ecosystems. Not only do they support thousands of animals at threat from overfishing and extinction, but they give scientists the opportunity to study healthy ecosystems in order to recover and restore damaged habitats around the world. -
What lives there?
The Chagos Archipelago is a kaleidoscope of life. With the cleanest seawater in the world, it is home to more than 800 species of fish, 220 different types of coral, 50 species of sharks, skates and rays, 113 types of insects, 41 flowering plants, 18 species of birds and 10 important bird areas, two mangrove forests, nesting beaches for endangered green turtles, and the highest population density of coconut crabs in the world. -
Can I visit?
The Chagos Archipelago is uninhabited apart from a United States naval base in Diego Garcia, the largest of the Chagos Islands. In order to keep the islands as wild as possible there is no tourism allowed.
What are we doing?
The Chagos Conservation Trust is devoted to protecting, conserving, and educating the world about this important ecosystem and its precious wildlife. We have the sole aim of providing the best possible advice for the conservation of the archipelago.
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Partners in protection
We are the only charity solely committed to the protection of these globally important islands, coordinating with other conservation groups including the Zoological Society of London, Royal Botanical Gardens Kew, and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds to carry out species-saving science and conservation work. -
Healthy Islands, Healthy Reefs
As part of our Healthy Islands, Healthy Reefs project, we are rewilding 30 degraded islands in the outer atolls, removing invasive species including rats. This will increase seabird nesting habitat by 350%, and the amount of seabirds, which will help the whole ecosystem flourish as seabird poo, known as guano, flows off the islands filling the coral reefs with nutrients. This not only helps coral health, but also the health of fish stocks, with benefits felt as far away as local fishers in the Maldives. -
The next generation
We engage with members of the Chagossian community on environmental issues affecting the Chagos Archipelago, and are helping to train a new generation of Chagossian scientists through projects like Chagos Connect, and where possible taking a member of the community on expeditions.
Chagos brain coral
Ctenella chagius
Previously thought extinct, Chagos brain coral is the rarest coral in the world and currently only found in the archipelago.
Learn more in ChIP
Conserve
Our aim is to make sure this valuable natural environment is protected, and can act as an example for conservation and management of environments across the planet.
Educate
With the right care, the Chagos Archipelago can be a reminder of how tropical reefs flourished many hundreds of years ago, offering vital insight into how they might be saved for generations to come.
Red-footed Booby
Sula sula
Found across the islands, this iconic bird has been successfully increasing in numbers, with nearly 6000 breeding pairs recorded.
Learn more in ChIP
Inspire
We work together with the Chagossian community and 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?
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
Coral
While the Chagos Archipelago has not fully escaped the ravages of climate change, it remains home to at least 300 types of coral, and is critically important to global coral conservation efforts.
Learn more in ChIPKey projects
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 the John Topp Botanical Fund?Chagos News
Learn more about us, and our recent scientific work undertaken in the Chagos Archipelago, in our annual e-publication.
