Tristan da Cunha

Why in news?

• The isolated UK Overseas Territory of Tristan da Cunha, which is home to the world’s most remote human settlement, declared the largest fully protected marine reserves in the Atlantic Ocean

About Tristan da Cunha:

• Tristan da Cunha, which is inhabited by less than 300 humans is a small chain of volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean.
• The island group is also home to the World Heritage Site of Gough and Inaccessible Islands, which is one of the most important seabird islands in the world.
• The mountainous archipelago Tristan da Cunha is home to tens of millions of seabirds and several unique land birds
• The water around the islands are considered to be the richest in the world.
• Illegal and unregulated fishing activities, overfishing, plastic pollution, climate change along with invasive species like mice introduced by Humans pose huge threats to biodiversity in the islands.
• There are two critically endangered species in the island group and over five endangered species.
• The only way of travelling in and out of Tristan is by boat, a six-day trip from South Africa.

About the conservation effort:

• On 13 November 2020 it was announced that the 687,247 square kilometres of the waters surrounding the islands will become a Marine Protection Zone.
• This means it will become the largest no-take zone in the Atlantic and the fourth largest on the planet. This means fishing, mining and any such activities will not be allowed.
• The effort is supported by the Blue Belt Programme of British government, which provides over 27 million pounds over a period of five years for marine conservation around the UK Overseas Territories and international organisations.

PRELIMS QUESTION

Consider the following Pairs of island groups and their locations:
1.Galapagos: Pacific Ocean
2.Chagos islands: Indian ocean
3.Socotra island: Atlantic Ocean
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
(a)1 and 2 only
(b)2 and 3 only
(c)1 and 3 only
(d)1,2, and 3
 

Answer to prelims question