North Brother, British Indian Ocean Territory, Andy Williams
By Peter Carr
Abstract The Chagos Archipelago, which has been known as the British Indian Ocean Territory since 1965, holds 18 species of breeding seabirds, many of them in internationally important numbers. The entire area, with the exception of Diego Garcia and its immediate surrounding waters, was designated a Marine Protection Area (MPA) in 2010, the largest MPA declared in the world so far. This UK Overseas Territory also hosts a Ramsar site based upon Diego Garcia, as well as ten Important Bird Areas (IBAs). Recent research has shown that a further two sites deserve IBA status. All of these sites have been designated IBAs for their breeding numbers or congregations of seabirds. There is a paucity of landbirds and no endemics. Human influence on the avian populations of the archipelago has been catastrophic. There is evidence of immense seabird colonies at one time but these had all disappeared by the late nineteenth century. Introduced Black Rats Rattus rattus continue to suppress numbers of breeding birds in most islands of the archipelago, while conversion of native forests to coconut Cocos nucifera plantations has deleteriously altered the terrestrial environment of most islands. There is evidence that a small recovery of breeding seabird numbers is taking place on some islands, though much more research is needed. Returning many of the islands to a rat-free, coconut-managed state, which could assist seabird recovery, is a matter of funding and political will, rather than a ‘green dream’.
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