evidence: The rich waters around the Glorioso Islands—a small but biologically significant territory in the western Indian Ocean between the Seychelles and Madagascar—recently became France’s newest marine protected area. [...] The National Nature Reserve of the Glorioso Archipelago includes three fully protected zones covering about 11,000 square kilometers (4,250 square miles) around three islands in the archipelago: Glorioso, Banc du Geyser, and Banc de la Cordelière. All types of fishing and extractive activity, such as mining, are prohibited within these areas. [...] Conservation International includes the Glorioso Islands on its list of 36 hot spots for global biodiversity. The islands’ waters, which feature approximately 450 square kilometers (174 square miles) of reef cover that is home to over 2,500 species, are a key breeding site for green and hawksbill turtles, humpback whales, and several species of seabirds.