People or Biodiversity? Opening the Chagos marine park to subsistence fishing |03 March 2026

People or Biodiversity? Opening the Chagos marine park to subsistence fishing

The turquoise waters of the Chagos Archipelago have long been the site of dual tragedies: one human, one environmental. Since 2010, the Chagos Marine Protected Area has stood as a global crown jewel of conservation – a near-pristine marine wilderness. Yet critics argue that its creation was inextricably linked to the continued exile of the Chagossian people.

With recent shifts in sovereignty to Mauritius and renewed proposals to allow Chagossians to return and thus engage in subsistence fishing, a fierce debate has resurfaced. Is it possible to safeguard one of the world’s last great marine havens while finally honouring the rights of its Indigenous People and Local Communities (IPLCs)?

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