Pitcairn is one of the most remote inhabited islands in the world
Michael Runkel/Rober Sarding/Alamy
After four nights at sea on a rocking ship, the announcements over the tannoy were a soothing sound. “Rand Ahoy!”
I get dressed and stagger out onto the foredeck. If you're really an idiot, you can't see it. The sun is rising, shining brightly on a spot on the horizon directly east of our location in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean. The ship rolled disgustingly and I retreated to the anchorage.
A few hours later, I re-emerged and was greeted by a spectacular sight. It's a rugged green rock rising out of the sea, just like a scene from a movie. Jurassic Park.
This is Pitcairn Island, one of the most remote inhabited islands in the world and part of the British Overseas Territory. I'm here to learn how this isolated community is trying to forget its dark past and reinvent itself as a paradigm for marine conservation. We also want to know whether there are lessons to be learned more generally about how to protect marine biodiversity. But as usual in this dangerous outpost, squalls are gathering on the horizon. How can Pitcairn Island's already sparsely populated star conservation efforts continue?
Pitcairn is best known as the final destination of the nine mutineers of the HMAV Bounty, who landed in January 1790 with 11 Tahitian women and 6 Tahitian men.
Source: www.newscientist.com
