US Person believes in giving credit were it is due, and he is a little late acknowledging the British government's contributions to saving wildlife and it's habitat around the globe. Careful readers may have descerned by now, US Person firmly believes that preserving the wild is the major path out of the global warming box next to drastically reducing carbon combustion. {"preservation"} Her Majesty's officials announced on April Fool's Day that a significant swath of the Indian Ocean is designated a marine reserve. the Chagos Island Archipelago (British Indian Ocean Territory), a remote remnant of the British Empire (awarded to Great Britian by the Treaty of Paris in 1814) in the middle of the Indian Ocean is now off limits to human development. The 210,000 square mile sanctuary is a biological "hot spot" containing still numerous species in a relatively unpolluted marine habitat. An water analysis in 1996 said the ocean was "exceptionally pristine" The waters around the islands in the chain, including the infamous Diego Garcia military base, contain up to half of the healthy reefs in the Indian Ocean, providing a priceless treasure chest of biodiversity that replenishes the entire ocean. At least 60 species of fish on the IUCN's red list of endangered species survive with the sanctuary's 200 mile limit. It will also provide a haven for fish facing extinction due to man's over exploitation such as tuna, billfish and sharks. As a fully protected area the Chagos Marine Protected Area will be a research mecca for scientists studying crucial subjects for man's continued health such as ocean acidification, sea level changes, fish stock declines, pollution migration and climate change. There is only one cloud to mar the dedication of the largest marine reserve in the world: The Chagossian people were removed from their island home when the UK and US military moved in forty years ago. They are now suing in the European Court of Human Rights for their return. Even so, the designation of so much unspoiled territory as a wildlife reserve deserves a GREEN KUDOS award to the UK.[photo: clown fish on Chagossian reef, courtesy BBC]