Short term goals
Now that the Chagos Conservation Trust – US is established, we turn our attention to meeting our conservation goals. In the near-term, we will build a membership base and begin fund-raising to instigate projects in the archipelago.
Long term goals
We early on identified a task that will provide tangible uplift for the Chagos with realistic investment. Rats are an unnatural part of the Chagos fauna, and present a real conservation concern. Along with numerous bird species that make Chagos their home, others traverse the vast Indian Ocean to breed on one of the few isolated islands. Many birds nest on the ground making easy pickings for rats that prey on eggs and small chicks. These bird populations are ill-equipped and having not adapted to survive with rats present, are quickly decimated.
Peros Banhos, one of the major atolls in North Chagos, boasts many rat-free islands, but also several that are infested. A pair of small islands has been identified in the northwest of this atoll, within the Moresby group, as a viable target for a rat-eradication mission. The removal of rats from these small islands will allow them to return to their natural state where birds can maximize their breeding success. In addition, eradication will help prevent spread of the rat population to neighboring, as yet unaffected, islands.
Funds raised by the Chagos Conservation Trust – US will be put to good use to expand and support this initiative. The trust will continue to support any project that helps to preserve the natural diversity found within the archipelago.
