Ending the pristine state of the Chagos region is arguably a greater loss of biodiversity than the extinction of the dodo, yet is often neglected in discussions of the transfer to Mauritius (What are the Chagos Islands – and why is the UK returning them to Mauritius?, 20 January). No other large tropical ecosystem on Earth has been so well protected, and its value to the science of ecology is correspondingly immense.
It is not species richness or abundance that singles the Chagos out: it is the ecosystem’s near-natural functioning. Mauritian plans for fishing and other exploitation are not compatible with protection of the last great tropical wilderness area – which is currently teaching us how to repair and protect others.
If politicians could vote to save the dodo, one hopes they would. Yet watching them voting for a legacy of irreversible destruction means any future claims they make regarding biodiversity conservation will ring as hollow as a dodo’s bones.
Clive Hambler
Lecturer in biological and human sciences, University of Oxford
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