CHAGOS – SUSTAINABLE ARCHIPELAGO 
Knowledge Exchange Workshop
10/07/2011
Port Louis, Mauritius

Workshop report

Background information

Dr Laura Jeffery (University of Edinburgh) organised a workshop on the topic “Chagos – Sustainable Archipelago”, which was held at the Labourdonnais Hotel in Port Louis, Mauritius, on 10th July 2011. This knowledge exchange workshop was organised in collaboration with members of the Chagossian community, conservationists, and ecological scientists in Mauritius. It was funded under the aegis of Dr Jeffery’s Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Research Fellowship entitled “Sustainable resettlement and environmental conservation: a collaborative approach to the right of return to the Chagos Archipelago”.

Aims and objectives

This workshop was based on two basic premises:

•	Members of the extended Chagossian community hold detailed ecological knowledge about the environment of the Chagos Archipelago; and
•	Conservationists and ecological scientists in Mauritius have considerable expertise in environmental conservation, sustainable development, and integrated coastal zone management in the Republic of Mauritius and the wider Indian Ocean region.

The workshop aimed to bring together – for the first time – members of the Chagossian community in Mauritius, conservationists and ecological scientists in Mauritius, with a view to:

•	The exchange of knowledge about the Chagos environment;
•	The discussion and development of ideas for a sustainable future for the Chagos Archipelago; and
•	The establishment of good relations between members of the Chagossian community and environmental scientists in Mauritius, with a view to further collaboration in the future.

The main questions to be addressed by participants were as follows:

1.	Is resettlement of the Chagos Archipelago feasible from an environmental perspective, or would resettlement pose too great a threat to the environment?
2.	If people were to resettle Chagos, how could this take place in conjunction with conservation of the precious Chagos environment?
3.	How could the Chagos Archipelago be economically productive in the future?
4.	How should stakeholders plan for a sustainable future for the Chagos Archipelago?

The workshop did not aim directly to address political debates and legal struggles concerning sovereignty, the right of return, compensation, or the US military base on Diego Garcia (all of which issues featured only tangentially as and when they were relevant to the main topics). However, the workshop necessarily took place in the context of great uncertainty about the future of Chagos in terms of sovereignty, the right of return and resettlement, and the presence of the US military base on Diego Garcia. In order to have a fruitful discussion about planning a sustainable future for Chagos, the workshop started from the following premise: if and when the Chagossians establish their right of return to Chagos, what then?

Organisation and participation

The workshop was organised by Dr Laura Jeffery in collaboration with the Mauritius Marine Conservation Society (MMCS), Chagos Refugees Group (CRG), Chagos Solidarity Trust Fund (CSTF), and Chagossian Social Committee (CSC).

On the day itself, 26 people attended the workshop:

•	Olivier Bancoult, OSK, leader of the CRG, plus nine other members of the CRG executive committee: Clivy Alexandre, Corrine Aucharaz, Suzelle Baptiste, France Bertrand, Collins Modliar, Lionel Modliar, Richnell Modliar, Rosemond Saminaden, and Giselle Thomas;
•	Pierre Willy Jaffa, a Chagossian fisherman;
•	William Jean-Louis, a small planter with Chagossian parentage;
•	Christine Isaie, Tessa Saminaden, and Wenson Tara: three teenagers with Chagossian parent/s and/or grandparent/s;
•	Professor Vinesh Hookoomsing and Bashir Khan (CSTF);
•	Philippe La Hausse de Lalouvière, Owen Griffiths, and a third MMCS member;
•	Aurèle André (Rodrigues);
•	Dr Vincent Florence (Senior Lecturer in Ecology at the University of Mauritius) and Dr Claudia Baider (Ecologist);
•	Nadeem Nazurally and a colleague from Coastal Land and Marine Solutions (CLAMS); and
•	Dr Laura Jeffery (ESRC Research Fellow and Lecturer in Social Anthropology at the University of Edinburgh)

Unfortunately, the day before the workshop, two key participants had withdrawn:

•	Fernand Mandarin, OSK, leader of the Chagossian Social Committee (CSC), withdrew himself and his group from the workshop. From the perspective of the workshop organiser, it was a great disappointment not to have been able to bring together the two main Chagossian groups in Mauritius to talk about the environmental past and future of Chagos, particularly since the workshop did not dwell on Chagossian politics.
•	Jacqueline Sauzier, President of the Mauritius Marine Conservation Society (MMCS), was unable to attend, but fortunately other facilitators agreed to take on her two scheduled sessions at short notice.

Content and proceedings

After an illustrated introduction to the biodiversity and global ecological significance of the Chagos Archipelago by Philippe La Hausse, and an open debate about the meaning of ‘sustainable development’ facilitated by Dr Vincent Florens, the core of the workshop consisted of interactive roundtable sessions exploring four key themes from an environmental perspective: marine resources, terrestrial resources, infrastructure, and heritage. The main points made in each session can be summarised as follows:

Marine resources (facilitated by Philippe La Hausse, Owen Griffiths, and Nadeem Nazurally)

•	Several participants condemned the UK Government’s decision to implement a Marine Protected Area (MPA) around the Chagos Archipelago without adequate prior consultation with the Chagossian community on the grounds that environmental conservation is most effective when it incorporates the local population as key stakeholders.
•	Much of the value of the Chagos Archipelago lies in its relatively well-preserved marine resources, and it is in everyone’s best interests to ensure that these resources continue to be well protected in the future. 
•	Fishermen and others in the Chagossian community hold detailed knowledge about fishing sites and reproductive seasons, and use this knowledge to exploit marine resources in a sustainable manner.
•	The former inhabitants of Chagos were accustomed to sharing their catches with others and avoiding waste by using everything rather than throwing anything away.
•	Some Chagossian participants advocated the establishment of a small, strictly regulated, sustainable fish export industry around Chagos that would at once maintain the large fish stocks, provide much-needed employment and financial revenue to the community, and monitor the area to reduce poaching and the destruction of the coral reefs.
•	Other ideas for wealth and job creation from marine resources include: mooring fees and fishing licences; fish farms and aquaculture; marine eco-tourism such as diving and glass-bottomed boats to view the coral reefs.

Terrestrial resources (facilitated by Aurèle André)

•	Several participants criticised the Mauritian Government’s “Mauritius – Sustainable Island” (MID) programme for focusing in the singular on the mainland of Mauritius rather than on the Republic of Mauritius as a whole, and thus neglecting Rodrigues and the Outer Islands including Chagos, which may have environmental lessons to teach Mauritius.
•	The coconut plantations represent the main terrestrial resource on the Chagos islands, offering copra, coconut oil, coconut milk, animal feed, compost, building materials, baskets and other utensils, and raw materials for producing artisanal handicrafts.
•	Certain Chagos islands, including Egmont and the Three Brothers, could be excluded from resettlement in light of their particular significance as nesting sites for seabirds.

Infrastructure (facilitated by Owen Griffiths)

•	Environmental Impact Assessments and stocktakes of local flora and fauna should be conducted before any construction on Chagos. Construction (and corresponding population increase) should be gradual.
•	If the opportunity to resettle Chagos arises in the future, the Chagossian community would need to make decisions about how to strike a locally sensitive and environmentally friendly balance between reinstating mid-20th century infrastructure and the establishment of a 21st century settlement on the islands. For instance, choices would have to be made between: houses constructed from local materials such as coconut palms and other local trees (which provide limited protection against the elements) versus imported corrugated iron sheets and/or concrete blocks and cement (which have significant environmental impacts); between electricity produced by coconut oil, abundant solar power, and/or finite fossil fuels; between obtaining water from wells, rainwater capture, and/or desalination; and between a range of waste disposal methods.
•	Starting from scratch in Chagos could provide an opportunity to break new ground in sustainable development – and it could become a model with relevance to other small island societies around the world – by learning from the mistakes of the past and avoiding the environmental damage so often wreaked in pursuit of development in the past.

Heritage (facilitated by Philippe La Hausse)

•	Chagossian cultural heritage should be preserved and could also be mobilised as an income-generating resource (for example through the sale of recipe books and music CDs).
•	The houses of the former inhabitants could be restored and turned into model villages depicting life on the Chagos Archipelago prior to the deportations. Likewise, the decrepit chapels, cemeteries, and infrastructure from the old coconut plantations could be restored to their mid-20th century conditions. This would require training in restoration and tour guiding.
•	Coconuts can be used in the production of numerous handicrafts, and traditional artisanal skills – such as the production of model ships, trunks, and pirogues – could be reignited with a view to commercialisation.

Outcomes

Given the small scale of this workshop (i.e. it involved only 15 participants from the extended Chagossian community), and considering the numerical dominance of one particular Chagossian group (i.e. two-thirds of participants from the extended Chagossian community are members of the CRG executive committee), this knowledge exchange workshop makes no claims to be representative of the extended Chagossian community in Mauritius or at large. However, it did offer a forum for the in-depth exchange of environmental knowledge about Chagos and the sharing and development of ideas for a sustainable future for Chagos. Additionally, this workshop can be characterised by congeniality and goodwill from all those present.

This workshop was – according to Olivier Bancoult – the first time that members of the extended Chagossian community had been brought together with scientists in Mauritius. It was also the first workshop on the environmental future of Chagos to take place in Mauritius and the first to be conducted entirely in Kreol to facilitate the participation of those Chagossians in Mauritius who do not speak either English or French.

Conclusions

1.	Chagossian participants expressed their relief that the conservationists and ecological scientists present consider that people form part of the environment, expect environmental conservation to take place in conjunction with sustainable development and human rights, and believe that resettlement of the Chagos Archipelago could be compatible with environmental conservation. Chagossian participants therefore declared themselves eager to continue to collaborate with the conservationist groups and ecological scientists present.
2.	The conservationists and ecological scientists present expressed their satisfaction in discovering that Chagossians hold detailed ecological knowledge about the environment of Chagos and are dedicated to the protection of the Chagos environment. They argued that the international scientific community should acknowledge the value of this ecological knowledge for planning a sustainable future for Chagos.

Resolutions (facilitated by Professor Vinesh Hookoomsing)

•	Chagossians must be at the heart of planning a sustainable future for the Chagos Archipelago because a sense of ownership contributes to sustainable development and environmental conservation.
•	The Chagossian community and environmental scientists in Mauritius should continue to share ideas about the feasibility (or otherwise) of proposals for the future of Chagos.
•	Any development must be carefully planned to ensure that in the future – as in the past – the natural resources of Chagos are not degraded. 
•	Environmental conservation should be approached in conjunction with Chagossian rights, and sustainable development in conjunction with the preservation of cultural heritage.
•	Resources should be directed towards the transmission of environmental knowledge and cultural heritage from Chagos islanders to their descendants and raising the consciousness of the younger generations about sustainable development issues.
•	A centre for scientific research and sustainable development on Chagos should be established, with Chagossians trained in environmental monitoring so they can themselves look after it (i.e. citizen research).

Laura Jeffery
Pointe aux Sables, Mauritius
Monday 11th July 2011