Download The World`s Largest Marine Reserve, Chagos Archipelago

Darwin Initiative to Strengthen the World’s Largest
Marine Protected Area, Chagos Archipelago,
British Indian Ocean Territory
John Turner, School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University
& Trustee, Chagos Conservation Trust
CIEEM UKOTS 2016
This talk will cover:
DEFRA funded research project
British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) Chagos is an example of a very large MPA and an
internationally important refuge
How it aims to increase strict protection of multiple ocean ecosystems
Importance as Reference Site because its coral reefs have proven to be resilient to climate
change due to the absence of direct human impact
Science to underpin management – some preliminary findings from recent expeditions
Challenges in managing and enforcing a VLMPA
Collaborative project to protect marine
biodiversity of the Chagos Archipelago, funded
by DEFRA’s Darwin Initiative
School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University (SOS)
University of Warwick
Zoological Society of London (ZSL)
British Indian Ocean Territory Section, Foreign &
Commonwealth Office (BIOT)
International Collaboration
Project leader & grant holder
Prof. John Turner, Bangor University UK, PI
Co-Investigators
Prof. Charles Sheppard OBE, University of Warwick UK;
Ass Prof. Heather Koldewey, Zoological Society of London,
UK
Scientific expeditions team:
Prof. Morgan Pratchett, James Cook University, Coral Reef
Centre of Excellence Australia
Prof Andrew Price, University of York, UK
Prof Chris Perry, University of Exeter, UK
Dr Nick Graham, James Cook Australia, Australia
Dr Shaun Wilson, James Cook University, Australia
Dr Daniel Wagner, NOAA, Papahanaumokuakea Marine
National Monument, USA
Dr Michelle Gaither, NOAA, California Academy of
Sciences, USA
Dr Melita Samoilys, CORDIO, Kenya, Africa
Dr Courtney Couch, NOAA, University of Hawaii, USA
Dr Douglas Fenner, American Samoa, USA
Dr Ronan Roche, Bangor University, UK
Dr Elizabeth Widman, Warwick University, UK
Anne Sheppard, University of Warwick
Peter Carr, Zoological Society of London,UK
David Curnick, University College of London
Catherine Head, Oxford University, UK
Gary Murphy University of Exeter, UK
Non scientific expeditions team
Dr Jon Bailey, Medical Officer and Diving Officer, John
Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK
John Slayer, Logistics and communications, UK
Sophie Morgan, BBC Oceans, UK
Gary Fletcher, Zoological Society of London, UK
Jason Davies, USA: Diving support
Yannick Mandarin, Luis Elyse, Claudia: Chagossian
Darwin Bursary Fellows
Outreach Programme Officers (ZSL with Kew, RSPB..)
Audrey Blancart
Rebecca Short & Kirsty Richards
Rudi Pothin & Xavier Hamon (Sey/Maur/Chagossian)
Project support :
Rebecca Short & Kirsty Richards, ZSL, UK
John Slayer (ex Royal Marines), UK/South Africa
Helen Lee (Singapore)
Captains & Crews MV Pacific Marlin, Swire Pacific
Foreign & Commonweath Office BIOT Adminstration
John McManus & Tom Moody
Rupert Compston
Michelle Moat & Richard Seedhouse
World’s largest MPAs (> 100,000 km2)
Aug 2016: 1,508,870km2
Chagos Archipelago BIOT 640,00 km2 – Status?
VLMPA: MR-NT vs Multi–zone?
The Chagos Protected Area is a PEW Global Ocean
Legacy Strict Marine Reserve
Chagos is one of 14‘Big Ocean Network’ MPAs
with a shared Research Agenda
BON protects >8 million km2 ocean
http://www.bigoceanmanagers.org/
VLMPAs in remote UKOTs – are we on the wrong track?
• Race for ‘World’s Largest’ – distraction.
• Undermine aims of Aichi 10% MPA target coverage - 6000 MPAs
total 3.27% but 24 are VLMPAs.
• Detract from MPA initiatives in intensely used areas.
• Criticisms of effectiveness (hard to enforce) representativeness,
(high productivity & relatively unexploited); potential connectivity
(remote), equitable management (benefits not shared).
• Cost per area comparatively low.
• Easy win?
(eg Jones & De Santo (2016), Marine policy 73)
Salomon atoll, Chagos Archipelago
Creation of one of the world’s greatest natural
conservation areas 2007-2010
2007-2009: Proposal developed by
Chagos Environment Network (CEN)
10th November 2009 – 12th February
2010: Public Consultation
1st April 2010: UK Government
declared the British Indian Ocean
Territory a no-take marine protected
area
1st November 2010: all commercial
fishing within 200 nm
Blue Marine Foundation and Bertarelli
Foundation donated £3.5 m to pay for
patrol vessel in absence of tuna fishery
licences
Chagos Environment Preservation and
Protection Zone (EPPZ) (640,000 km2)
Bathymetry of t(BIOT) Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
Source data from the General Bathymetric Chart of the Ocean (GEBCO) 2008 edition. (Tetley & Turner))
Ecosystem Based Management is envisaged for islands,
reefs, banks, seamounts, and deep sea environments;
pelagic environments are a major challenge
3D image of Chagos Archipelago (GEBCO/SOC)
86 seamounts and 243 knolls (Yesson et al. 2011)
60,000km2 banks & reefs (Sheppard et al. 2012).
Area large, remote, mostly subtidal and little explored
Internationally important refuge: 76 Threatened species
Internationally important refuge
Reefs and fish communities are largely intact and
functional ~ ‘pristine ?’
1. .
Sheppard and 40 others. 2012. Reefs and islands of the Chagos Archipelago, Indian Ocean: why it is the
world’s largest no-take marine protected area. Aquatic Conservation: Mar. Freshw. Ecosyst. 22: 232–261
Chapters 17-21 in Sheppard (ed.), Coral Reefs of the United Kingdom Overseas Territories, Coral Reefs of the
World 4, 253. Springer Science
Despite sea warming events and coral bleaching mortality
Reynolds o1.v2 KNMI climate Explorer
(Tisdale Word Press)
NOAA
Sea Surface temperature
anomalies have caused
incidences of coral bleaching
and mortality in Chagos in
1997, 2010, 2015?, 2016?
Chagos reefs apparently resilient
Sheppard et al (2012). Aquatic Conservation: Mar. Freshw.
Ecosyst. 22: 232–261
Sheppard et al (2013). Ch 18. Coral Reefs of the United
Kingdom Overseas Territories, Coral Reefs of the World 4.
Springer Science
Chagos is an important Reference
or Control site
Assess impact of climate change in the
absence of local anthropogenic impacts
Natural impacts exist : Crown of Thornes Starfish (COTs)
Acanthaster planci
Density up to
1624 km-2 at Danger
Island in 2013
Roche et al (2015) Mar Biol. 162
Impact of COTS, Danger Island lagoon, March 2013
Chagos reef fish biomass >6 x higher than other
Western Indian Ocean Sites and MPAs
C
Graham & McClanahan (2013) BioScience 63:397-402
Licensed Indian Ocean tuna fishery in BIOT waters (to 2009)
Long line fishery: ~40 Taiwanese & Japanese vessels, operated all year round
371-1,366 t tuna annually
Purse Seine fishery: ~55 vessels, Spanish & French, 1000-24,000 t annually
Koldewey et al. (2010) Mar. Pollut. Bull. 60, 1906–1915.
Dunne et al (2014). Adv. In Mar Biol. 69, 79-127.
Tuna fishery bycatch
60,000 sharks (1/2 blue sharks) and 60,000 rays caught legally in 5 yrs
preceding MPA by long liners fishing for tuna in Chagos waters
Koldewey et al. (2010) Mar. Pollut. Bull. 60, 1906–1915.
Sharks are in decline (diver observations indicate 76% reduction in 37
years)
Graham et al (2010) Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 20:
543–548.
IUU: Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing
Sri Lankan boats take sharks, fish, turtles, sea
cucumbers.
Deploy satellite tracked FADs, in past have
established island camps of fishers.
No. boats unknown: 40-60 per year?
Price et al (2010). Aquat. Conserv.:
Mar. Freshwat. Ecosyst. 20, 117-126.
Not everyone supported creation of the MPA
90% Support:
Leading NGOs (IUCN, ZSL,
Greenpeace, FFI) and 270,000
people from 200 nations
supported a Chagos No Take
protected area
And opposition from:
Mauritius, Seychelles, Maldives,
Marine Education Trust (incl some
academics), African Union,
Chagossian Support Association.
Chagos Refugees Group sought
a Judicial Review
http://springtimeofnations.blogspot.co.uk
Major Issues
1.Chagossians:
Foreclose on resettlement, fishing, economic
activity; Chagossians inadequately consulted
2. Mauritius:
Sovereignty claim to EEZ of Chagos; no
consultation, Maldives also disputes EPPZ
3. Poor public knowledge:
Of BIOT UKOT, biodiversity, suspicion of
USA-UK military lateral agreements, concerns
over pollution from US Prepositioning ships
4. Too large an area:
To manage and enforce; loss of income from
fishery licences, & displacement of fishing activity;
concessionary recreational fishery on Diego Garcia
Darwin project aim
To strengthen the Chagos MPA
by providing scientific
knowledge for effective
management, and to develop a
strategy that engages the
support of stakeholders through
outreach, education and
engagement
Legacy: sound management and increased value of what was the world’s
largest no-take Marine Protected Area and a unique and globally important
reference site
Objectives & Outputs 1: Monitoring & Research
To create a permanent monitoring strategy for
coral reefs and island systems to establish
condition on commencement of protection
against which the magnitude and significance
of change/impact can be assessed
Achieved by 3 ship-based expeditions undertaking 17 subprojects to assess biodiversity and productivity at 34 reef
sites and ~50 islands on 6 atolls (including 10 IBAs Important Bird Areas).
Impact:
Data feeding into international databases and scientific
findings have helped shape FCO BIOT’s Interim Chagos
Management Plan; Inform consultations on the Feasibility
of Resettlement, & FCO BIOT Policy Review on
Resettlement, and to address conservation questions from
the Chagos All Party Parliamentary Group, Westminster.
Currently developing 12 BAPs for Chagos species.
Objectives & Outputs 2: To engage Chagossians
through‘Connect Chagos’ outreach programme
Activities aimed at different generations to raise
awareness of value of biodiversity and
importance of conservation.
13 community meetings in UK and Mauritius; 5
family days (965 Chagossians (~50% of
population); 42 ‘Chagossian Ambassador’
graduates from Environmental Training
courses; 12 received advanced training in
swimming, SCUBA diving, habitat restoration;
and 5 awarded places on scientific expeditions
Chagossian representation at Big Ocean
Network Meeting, Hawai’i 2016 (Claudia
Narani)
Multi partner collaboration
Objectives & Outputs 3: To highlight the
significance of Chagos Marine Reserve
internationally as a major step in
conserving marine ecosystems
Achieved through organisation of 3 Chagos Conservation
conferences; 21 international conference presentations
(including keynote at International Marine Conservation
Congress); 17 publications; 6 MSc/ 4 PhD; 3 expedition
reports; 7 expedition blogs; 15 news items; 4 films (inc.
Blue Ocean Film Festival Monaco Finalist) ; 150
biodiversity videoclips; 57 quadcopter aerial videos, 1
London Zoo aquarium exhibit; planned BBC Oceans
production, Support of Google Catlin Seaview initiative
Google Catlin Seaview
http://www.catlin.com
Quadcopter images used in publicity
Octopus film Finalist
MONACO
London Zoo Chagos Exhibit
Development of the Chagos Information Portal (ChIP)
http://www.cct-chip.org/
Home Resources Projects and Funders register login
ChIP
CHAGOS INFORMATION PORTAL
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Datasets
Image and Video Gallery
Publications
Expeditions
Coralpedia
Contribute to database
Fund a ChIP project
Being expanded through
John Ellerman Foundation
Grant
Science in the UK Overseas Territories: Status and
opportunities
Dr Heather Koldewey
Head of Marine & Freshwater
Zoological Society of London
Honorary Associate Professor
University of Exeter Cornwall campus
[email protected]
@heatherkoldewey
A Royal Briefing July 2016
Chagos conservation initiative was
selected by the UK Collaborative on
Development Sciences UKCDS (a
Grouping of 14 UK government
departments and research funders), as
‘one of the most important elements for
international development emanating
from the UK’, appearing in the top 20
of Research Excellence Framework
impact case studies 2014
http://www.ukcds.org.uk/the-global-impact-of-ukresearch
Establish expertise & onsite infrastructure
MV Pacific Marlin with container laboratory mounted on upper deck, Feb 2013
3 Chagos Scientific Expeditions
2013
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juvenile coral settlement, and
seawater temperature monitoring.
Video monitoring of benthic life
forms on permanent transects and
establishment of a video archive.
Coral reef cryptofauna and coral
growth studies.
Macroalgae, sponges and back
corals.
Biogeography of fishes
Reef structure: rugosity and
erosion by parrotfish
Seabird and island vegetation
monitoring
Development of instrumentation
for pelagic fish monitoring.
2014
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Video monitoring of benthic life
forms on permanent transects
Functional diversity assessments
Coral disease
Sea temperature monitoring
Potential fisher targets: lagoon
grouper, parrotfish, sea cucumber,
giant clams and coconut crab
assessments
Scientific Expeditions
2015
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Carbonate production and
accretion rates
Coral growth assessments
Collection and processing of
ARMs
Seaward reef fish biomass
Vegetation mapping for island
flora and fauna rehabilitation
Sea temperature monitoring
Benthic community monitoring:
Corals (Turner, Sheppard, Cox, Fenner, Roach, Widman)
Video archive data: 2006,
2013, 2014, 2015 +2016
Analysis in Corel Point (CPCe) software
Chagos coral reef community
High coral cover reduces with depth. Soft coral and algae increase with depth
Seaward community
5-10 m
10-15 m
15-20 m
20-25 m
Lagoon community
5-10 m
10-15 m
15-20 m
20-25 m
Coral cover highest in northern atolls
Blenheim
Peros Banhos Ile Poule: 57.8 % coral cover
North Egmont: 18.8 % coral cover
Mean percentage hard coral cover
Temporal change in coral cover 2006 - 2015
60%
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50%
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40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
5-10
10-15
15-20
Depth (m)
2006 (All sites)
2015 (All sites)
2014
20-25
l
Tabular Acropora dominated shallow reef before 2013
Mortality of Acropora table corals in shallow depths
evident in 2013: Senescence or disease?
50%
25%
10
30%
8
6
20%
4
10%
2
0%
0
5-10
10-15
15-20
20-25
Depth (m)
Live Coral
Dead Coral
Live Coral / Dead Coral
20%
Mean percentage cover
40%
Live Coral / Dead Coral
Mean percentage cover
12
Dead table corals
15%
10%
5%
0%
5-10
10-15
15-20
20-25
Depth (m)
Dead Standing Table Coral
Dead Table Coral
Other Dead Standing Coral
Rubble
Many Acropora tables have reached maximum size having settled after 1997/8 ENSO
l
Many Acropora tables collapsed by 2015
to be washed down reef in storms
Nelson island, Great Chagos Bank
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Diseased coral first observed in 2014 (~5%)
Acropora White Syndrome
Courtney Cox, University of Hawai’i
Causative Agent usually Vibrio spp.
Progression Rates: up to 01146cm2/wk
Tabular Acropora most susceptible:
Widespread across Indo-Pacific
Healthy Tissue
Recently dead
Old dead skeleton
(covered by algae)
Corals tagged 2014-2015
Lesion margin
(active tissue loss)
Analysis of archival video shows that Acropora
White Syndrome is more visible in 2015 than it was
in 2014 or 2006, but varies across archipelago
2006
2014
2015
But the capacity for recovery has been good
March 21 2014
March 17, 2015
Following tagged colonies
Long Term trends suggest resilience
Sheppard et al (2012). Aquatic Conservation: Mar. Freshw. Ecosyst. 22: 232–261
Most Chagos reefs have +ve carbonate budgets
Mean +3.7G
Range -5 to +9.8G
25/28 +ve
8 >+5 G
Most severely impacted
in 1997average +8.4G
by 2015
Perry et al. (2015) www.nature.comm Scientific Reports 5. 18289
Major thermal stress in 2015 & 2016 but the extent of
mortality unknown
T-logger
Feb 2006
David Tickler
Jan 2010
March 2015
Reef fish: Groupers
(Samoilys & Koldewey, 2014)
Epinephelus polyphekadion
More common cf other WIO sites
probably reflecting natural
population abundance
~1m
Plectropomus laevis reaches
maximum size suggests
lack of fishing pressure
Birds, rats & vegetation
(Carr et al. 2013-14)
Is ‘very large’ large enough or just too big?
Original Strict Nature
Reserves in northern atolls
Peros Banhos
A pre 2010 proposal to
expand protected areas
to conserve 30%
Salomon
Great Chagos Bank
Sheppard & Turner (2008)
Diego Garcia controversially ‘outside’ MPA due to
military facility but has extensive protected areas
Zoned protected areas
Ramsar site
Military
Facility
Naval Mooring
zone
Strict
MPA is beyond
3 km from shore
Nature Reserve
Connectivity increasingly recognised
Gaither, Bowen
Cephalopholis argus (Gaither et al 2011)
Similarity coefficients of corals & fishes
(Sheppard et al 2013)
Acanthaster planci (Vogler et al , 2008)
Tracking turtles
(Hayes, Mortimer, Esteban - Darwin)
Cha
Movements of 8 adult
female green turtles from their
nesting beach on Diego Garcia
Hayes et al. 2014. Use of Long-Distance
Migration Patterns of an Endangered Species to
Inform Conservation Planning for the World’s
Largest Marine Protected Area. Conservation
Biology
Great Chagos Bank
Tuna migration / fleet movement
Western Indian Ocean purse seine tuna fishery MRAG Ltd (2010)
Scientific challenges: pelagic and deep water studies
Tom Letessier (talk later today)
Bertarelli Foundation Geneva Workshop (Oct 2013): NERC Oceanography workshop
(March 2014) Bertarelli ZSL-UCL/UWA//Stanford expeditions 2012/2015/2016
Need to scale up science, management & enforcement
Strict Nature Reserves
in northern atolls
Managed by British Indian Ocean Territory Section of Foreign & Commonwealth Office London
Chief Scientific Advisor & Environment Officer
Scientific Advisory Panel
‘Interim’ Management Plan (Sept 2014)
Significant funding from Bertarelli Foundation
Is Chagos Marine Reserve too large to enforce?
24th March 2013
Patrol ship MV Pacific Marlin
640,000km2 to patrol !
8 Sri Lankan vessels observed by Greenpeace
MY Esperanza + helicopter
+ Brit Ops
+ Chagossian Heritage visits
+ Science expeditions
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/Glo
bal/international/briefings/oceans/2013/Gree
npeace-IUU-report-2013-Chagos-EEZ.pdf
www.liguid-robotics.com
Recent Challenges to MPA
Judicial Review, High Court Aug 2010 - April 2013 on legality of MPA by Chagos
Refugees Group: Deemed Inadmissable.
A Forward Look: Chagos 20/20
Arbitral Tribunal under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea ruled (March
2015) that the Marine Protected Area declared by the UK is not compatible with
obligations under the Convention to give proper regard to the rights of Mauritius and
is therefore not lawful. The UK must cede Chagos to Mauritius when the
archipelago is no longer required for defence purposes.
Feasibility study for resettlement 2014/2015 found no fundamental legal obstacles
to resettlement. Awaiting Government decision following further consultation.
Supreme Court Appeal Bancoult vs Sec State Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs
June 2015: Deemed Inadmissable.
1966 Exchange of Notes between the UK and the USA: a decision on whether to
extend the arrangement for a further 20 years must be made by 31 December 2016
BIOT need to secure enforcement capability for the future
No easy win then?
[email protected]
School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University (SOS)
University of Warwick
Zoological Society of London (ZSL)
British Indian Ocean Territory Section, Foreign &
Commonwealth Office (BIOT)