Tristan da Cunha Marine Protection Zone (Tristan da Cunha)

Northern Rockhopper Penguin, Tristan da Cunha Marine Protection Zone | Photo credit: Andy Schofield, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

The Wyss Foundation has partnered with the Tristan da Cunha community, United Kingdom Government, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, National Geographic’s Pristine Seas, and others to support the establishment of one of the world’s biggest marine protected areas. The community of Tristan da Cunha, a small chain of islands in the South Atlantic, has permanently protected almost 700,000 km2 of its waters, joining the United Kingdom’s Blue Belt of marine protection. Legally gazetted in August 2021, the Tristan da Cunha Marine Protection Zone is now the largest fully-protected marine conservation area in the Atlantic, and the fourth largest on the planet. 

Tristan da Cunha is a UK Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic, and also the name of the main island in this remote island group. The archipelago lies over 2,700 km from South Africa and 3,700 km from the nearest shores of South America. The island of Saint Helena is the closest land, 2,400 km away to the north. This makes the Tristan archipelago one of the most geographically isolated island groups in the world.

Conservation of the Tristan marine territory has been under negotiation since a 2017 National Geographic Pristine Seas expedition to the area. Per its commitment on November 13, 2020, and its subsequent announcement of the final designation on Tristan Day 2021, Tristan da Cunha has permanently protected 688,628 km2 as a fully-protected Marine Protection Zone – larger than the nation of France – that will safeguard one of the world’s most pristine marine environments and protect the wealth of wildlife that lives there. The largely untouched ocean in the area is home to tens of millions of seabirds including albatross and penguins, plus whales, sharks, and seals. Tristan da Cunha’s announcement also helps the UK Government meet its commitment to protect thirty percent of its ocean territory by 2030.

Following the designation of the Marine Protection Zone, the Tristan community moved quickly to adopt a detailed management plan to ensure effective conservation of the area’s remarkable biological diversity. To support the community’s conservation and sustainable development efforts, the Wyss Foundation and other donors are supporting an endowment that will provide stable long-term funding for stewardship of the Marine Protection Zone by the local Tristan community.