OT 407: Letter to the Chairman of the Committee from the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

 

I am writing to advise the Committee that on 10 November the Government will launch a public consultation into the possibility of creating a Marine Protected Area in the British Indian Ocean Territory. The consultation will run until 12 February.

 

The Chagos Environment Network's proposal: "The Chagos Archipelago: Its Nature and the Future" advocates the creation of one of the world's greatest natural conservation areas and is a remarkable opportunity for the UK to create one of the world's largest marine protected areas and double the global coverage of the world's oceans benefiting from protection.

 

Following the Committee's inquiry into the Overseas Territories and its views on the Government's policy on the Chagossians, I know you will be concerned that the Chagossian community are consulted over this proposal. A public consultation will afford such an opportunity. The British High Commissioners in Port Louis and Victoria will ensure that copies of the consultation document are distributed to the Chagossian communities. We are also arranging for a Facilitator to travel to Port Louis and Victoria in mid-January/early February to hold meetings with the Chagossians and other interested stakeholders in order to encourage maximum participation. There will, in addition, be a meeting in Crawley where the majority of Chagossians who have come to the UK to live have settled.

 

This consultation and any decision that might follow on the establishment of a Marine Protected Area in BlOT will be without prejudice to the legal proceedings currently underway at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. There will be no impact on our commitment to cede the Territory to Mauritius when it is no longer needed for defence purposes.

 

 

 

8 November 2009