This report warns of the impending devastation of the pristine marine ecosystem that is likely to occur if Government hands over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

The Chagos Marine Protected Area is home to almost 800 species of fish, at least 300 types of coral, 280 species of plants and fern, and some 50 species of birds – many of which cannot be found elsewhere, and 76 of which are in danger of extinction.

The report considers Mauritius’s poor environmental record and argues that it is unlikely to fulfil its promises to safeguard the Chagos’s natural environment. The report also outlines the options that are open to Parliament to protect the environment.

The environmental risks that arise from handing the Chagos Islands over to Mauritius sit alongside strategic and security concerns, which Policy Exchange has highlighted in a series of reports including The Chagos Debacle: A Critique of the British Government’s Shifting Rationales (2025), Sovereignty and Security in the Indian Ocean (2023), and Averting a Strategic Misstep: Why the Government should walk away from its draft agreement to cede the Chagos Islands to Mauritius (2025).

The launch of this report was covered by:

• The Times (1)
• The Times (2)
• The Telegraph (1)
• The Telegraph (2)
• The Express
• The Spectator
• The Critic
• POLITICO’s London Playbook
• Guido Fawkes