Embedded Files
See the subpages for more detail on each of these resettlement feasibility studies
The First Resettlement Studies 2000-2002
The First Resettlement Studies 2000-2002
The decision to conduct the first Resettlement Feasibility Study arose out of the judicial review brought by Mr Bancoult (Chairman of the Chagos Refugees Group) in 1998 and followed numerous meetings between the BIOT Commissioner and Mr Richard Gifford (Solicitor) on behalf of Mr Bancoult.
In June 2000, consultants produced the Preliminary Feasibility Study 2000. They concluded that resettlement of Salomon and Peros Banhos Atolls was physically possible subject to confirmation that:
a sustainable and affordable water resource can be developed
the nature and scale of settlement will not damage the environment
public money is available to finance infrastructure and basic services
one or more private investors are willing to develop viable enterprises which can generate sufficient incomes to pay for investment and recurrent costs of resettlement
A decision was then made to continue the study to Phase 2A which involved field investigations conducted by British Geological Survey, followed by a detailed Phase 2B involving further fieldwork and desk studies. Phase 2A was never completed and only an Interim Phase 2A Report is available.
The Phase 2B Report was published in July 2002. Its overriding ‘General conclusion’ was that:
“whilst it may be feasible to resettle the islands in the short-term, the costs of maintaining long-term inhabitation are likely to be prohibitive. Even in the short-term, natural events such as periodic flooding from storms and seismic activity are likely to make life difficult for a resettled population.”
This 'General conclusion' was a central plank in the subsequent decision by HM Government to prevent the Chagossians from returning to their homeland when they issued a new Order in Council in 2004 banning them from the islands.
These Feasibility Studies (and in particular Phase 2B) have since been subject to expert scrutiny and have been found to be fatally flawed. Further details are on the page "2013 Review of Phase 2B Study".
The full Phase 2B Report is available as a ZIP file - hit the button below.
Returning Home 2008
Returning Home 2008
In 2008 the Chagos Refugess Group and UK Chagos Support Association with financial support from the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust Ltd undertook a study (Returning Home 2008 Report ). It concluded that:
" there are no valid environmental or economic reasons that stand in the way of the resettlement of a relatively small number of Chagossian families on islands in Peros Banhos and Salomon. The environmental risks described in the earlier feasibility studies cannot be regarded as insuperable given the willingness of Chagossians to contribute to conserving the assets on which their livelihoods, and long term survival on the islands, will depend.
Furthermore, the absence of any serious estimation of costs or benefits in the earlier studies diminishes the validity of current government claims that resettlement would mean a substantial and open-ended financial liability. In fact, there are clear opportunities for significantly enhancing the incomes of resettled Chagossians and, in the process, securing a level of revenues that would sustain decent living standards for the settlers.
There are, nonetheless, reasonably-held concerns over environmental conservation and economic viability in the resettlement of the northern atolls of the Chagos Islands. We hope that the FCO will recognise that this proposal is a constructive contribution to meeting these concerns. We also hope that the specific components of the proposal will be given full consideration by the British government when it prepares its response and, in due course, when it agrees to undertake a fully-fledged Resettlement Plan of its own in consultation with the Chagossians. It is not too late to remedy a major and enduring injustice and this proposal provides a starting point for such an opportunity."
The FCO commissioned Resettlement Study 2014
The FCO commissioned Resettlement Study 2014
Following further litigation, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office undertook to commission a further updated study in 2014. This was conducted by the consultants KPMG. The study found that resettlement was feasible and presented various costed options.
On 16 November 2016 the Government announced that it would not support resettlement.
The various parts of the report are available in the folder below:
Page last updated: 13 December 2020
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