Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island, 7°56′ south of the Equator in the South Atlantic Ocean.It is about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from the coast of Africa and 1,400miles (2,300 km) from the coast of South America.It is governed as part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha,[3] ofwhich the main island, SaintHelena, is around 800 miles (1,300 km) to the southeast. Theterritory also includes the sparsely populated Tristan da Cunha archipelago,2,300 miles (3,700 km) to the south, about halfway to the Antarctic Circle.
Ascension Island was discovered by the Portuguese navigator João da Nova in1501 and named Conception Island, but was rediscovered in 1503 on Ascension Day by Alphonse de Albuquerque and renamed.[4] AscensionIsland was garrisoned by the British Admiralty from22 October 1815 to 1922 and was an important refueling stop for ships andcommercial airliners in the days of international air travel by flying boats.During World WarII, it was an important naval and air station, especially providing antisubmarine warfare bases in the Battle of the Atlantic.[5]
The island is the location of RAF Ascension Island, which is a Royal Air Force station, a European Space Agency rocket tracking station, aBritish-American signals intelligence facility and the BBC World Service AtlanticRelay Station. The island was used extensively as a staging point by the British military duringthe FalklandsWar. Ascension Island hosts one of four ground antennas that assistin the operation of the Global Positioning System (GPS) navigationalsystem (the others are on Kwajalein Island, Diego Garcia,and Cape Canaveral). NASA operates a Meter Class Autonomous Telescope(MCAT) on Ascension Island for tracking orbital debris,which is potentially hazardous to operating spacecraft and astronauts, at afacility called the John Africano NASA/AFRL Orbital Debris Observatory.[6]
The island's discovery is disputed. An undocumented claim statesthat it was discovered in 1501, either on 25 March or 21 May, by João da Nova, onhis outward voyage to India. It is claimed that he named it Ilha deNossa Señora de Conceiçao ("The Island of Our Lady of theConception") or "Conception Island". However, there is nodocumentary evidence of his discovery. It was discovered or re-discovered in1503 on the Ascension Day (which fell on Thursday, 21 May1503, of that year) , (11 may 1503 julian calendar ) by Alphonse de Albuquerque and named (orrenamed) Ilha da Ascensão after this feast day. This discoverywas documented by Albuquerque.[7][8]
Dry and barren, the island had little appeal for passing shipsexcept for collecting fresh meat, and was not claimed for the Portuguese Crown.Mariners could hunt for the numerous seabirds and the enormous female green turtles thatlaid their eggs on the sandy beaches. The Portuguese also introduced goats as apotential source of meat for future mariners.
In February 1701, HMS Roebuck, commanded by William Dampier,sank in the common anchoring spot in Clarence Bay tothe northwest of the island. Sixty men survived for two months until they wererescued. Almost certainly, after a few days they found the strong water springin the high interior of the island, in what is now called Breakneck Valley(there is a much smaller water source, lower on the mountain, which was namedDampier's Drip by people who probably misinterpreted Dampier's story).[9]
It is possible, but disputed, that the island was sometimes used[10] asan open prison for criminal mariners, although there is only one documentedcase of such an exile, a Dutch ship'sofficer, Leendert Hasenbosch, set ashore at Clarence Bay as apunishment for sodomy inMay 1725.[11] Britishmariners found the Dutchman's tent, belongings and diary in January 1726; theman's remains were not found. His diary was published in translation in Londonlater that same year, under the title Sodomy Punish'd.[12]
Organised settlement of Ascension Island began in 1815, when theBritish garrisoned it as a precaution after imprisoning Napoleon on Saint Helena tothe southeast.[citationneeded] On 22 October the Cruizer-class brig-sloops Zenobia and Peruvian claimed the island for King George III. The Royal Navy designatedthe island as a stonefrigate, HMS Ascension, with the classification of"Sloop of War of the smaller class".[13]
The location of the island made it a useful stopping-point forships and communications. The Royal Navy used the island as a victualling stationfor ships, particularly those of the West Africa Squadron working against the slave trade.[14] Agarrison of RoyalMarines was based at Ascension from 1823 and Colonel Edward Nicolls becamethe first commandant.[15]
In 1836 the second Beagle voyage visitedAscension. Charles Darwin described it as an arid, treelessisland, with nothing growing near the coast. Sparse vegetation inland supported"about six hundred sheep, many goats, a few cows & horses," largenumbers of guineafowl importedfrom the CapeVerde islands, rats, mice, and land crabs; heagreed with the saying attributed to the people of St Helena that "We knowwe live on a rock, but the poor people at Ascension live on a cinder." Henoted the care taken to sustain "houses, gardens & fields placed nearthe summit of the central mountain," and cisterns at roadsides to providedrinking water. The springs were carefully managed, "so that a single dropof water may not be lost: indeed the whole island may be compared to a hugeship kept in first-rate order." In commenting on this, he noted René Primevère Lesson's remark "that the Englishnation alone would have thought of making the island of Ascension a productivespot; any other people would have held it as a mere fortress in the ocean."[16]
In 1843, botanist and explorer Joseph Hooker visited the island. Four yearslater, Hooker, with much encouragement from Darwin, advised the Royal Navy thatwith the help of KewGardens, they should institute a long-term plan of shipping trees toAscension. The planted trees would capture more rain and improve the soil,allowing the barren island to become a garden. So, from 1850 and yearsthereafter, ships came with an assortment of plants from botanical gardens inArgentina, Europe and South Africa. By the late 1870s Norfolk pines, eucalyptus, bamboo, and banana trees grew in profusion at the highestpoint of the island, Green Mountain, creating a tropical cloud forest.[17]
Beginning in July 1877, the astronomer Sir David Gill and his wife Isobel spent six monthson Ascension Island. This was to take advantage of the near approach of Mars occurring that year. Based on Johannes Kepler's lawsof planetary motion, Gill conceived that in pioneering the use of a heliometer, hewould be able to accurately measure the position of Mars while in opposition on his own, rather thanin combination with many observers simultaneously recording the position of theplanet as had been the technique during the time.[18] Thisis because a heliometer isa telescope that uses a split image to measure the angular separation ofcelestial bodies. In observing this from near the equator, a greater observabledistance would be visible, hence a temporary observatory being decided upon forAscension.[19]
Although originally based in Georgetown, the pair found theevenings to be too cloudy to make observations of the night sky due toGeorgetown being located downwind of orographic cloud emanatingfrom Green Mountain.[19] Isobelquickly endeavoured to find an area less affected by the evening cloud andtrekked several miles over lava fields tofind a new location. Having found an area on the southwest of the islandseemingly less affected, they then had to determine how to move 20 tons ofdelicate observational equipment to the new location. Fortunately, a small,clear beach was located nearby which was used for landing the equipment by sea.This was later named Mars Bay, a name which it carries to this day and whichhas since been designated a Nature Reserve.[20] Thecouple then spent several months camped out at the bay making theirobservations, assisted by a krooman anda marine.
All of the effort was ultimately a success, producing a solardistance of 93.08 ± 0.16 million miles, which is a range from 92.92 – 93.24,since shown to be (just) correct by the modern measurement of 92.9558. As aresult of his work on the solar parallax, David Gill went on to be appointed RoyalAstronomer at the Cape of Good Hope.[21]
Between 1872 and 1889, the population of the island was listedas HMS Flora (Tender), under the orders of the Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope, estimated tonumber just 150 in 1888.[22] HMS Flora had been the guardship atAscension from 1865 to 1872 before being ordered south to become the Simonstowndepot ship. Five ratings died while on a recreational boat trip in 1879.[23]
In 1899, as part of the British effort in the Second Boer War,the Eastern Telegraph Company (later Cable & Wireless plc) installed the first submarine communications cable from the island,connecting the UK with its colonies in South Africa.[24][25] In1922, letters patent made Ascension a dependency ofSaint Helena, with control being officially handed over to the EasternTelegraph Company from the Admiralty on 20 October 1922.[26] Theisland was managed by the head of the Eastern Telegraph Company on the islanduntil 1964 when the British Government appointed an Administrator to represent the Governor of SaintHelena in Ascension.[24][25]
The Island was under direct control of the Board of Admiralty until 1922.[27]
During World WarII, to supply and augment extensive amphibious aircraftantisubmarine patrol operations ongoing from the early days of the war, theUnited States built an airbase on Ascension Island, known as"Wideawake",[28] aftera nearby colony of sootyterns (locally called 'wideawake' birds because of their loud,distinctive constant (day-and-night) cawing chatter).[29] Theairbase, which was under construction by the 38th Combat Engineer Battalion ofthe Army Corps of Engineers, was unexpectedly visited bytwo British Fairey Swordfish torpedo planes on 15 June 1942.[citationneeded] According to one of the pilots, PeterJinks, the planes were fired upon before being recognised as allies. TheSwordfish had to land on the unfinished airstrip, thus becoming the firstaircraft to land on Ascension Island proper, which had long served as an anti-submarine warfare base for Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boats.The event was commemorated with a postage stamp 15 June 1982.
The airfield was used by the US military as a stopping point forAmerican aircraft crossing the Atlantic Ocean on the way to theatres ofoperation in Europe and Africa. American bombers based at Wideawake were engaged in the Laconia incident.
The only local military action during World War II occurred on 9December 1941. At around mid-day, the German submarine U-124 approached Georgetown on the surface with the intention ofsinking any ships at anchor or shelling the cable station.[citationneeded] Fort Bedford, a two-gun shore batteryat Cross Hill, above Georgetown, fired on the submarine. The guns scored nohits but the U-boat submerged and retreated. The battery remains largelyintact, together with its guns, BL 5.5 inch Mark I naval guns removed from HMS Hood duringa refit in Malta in 1938.
The airbase fell into disuse following the American departure atthe end of World War II.
With the SpaceRace and the Cold War, theAmericans returned in 1956.[citationneeded] Wideawake Airfield expanded in themid-1960s. The runway was extended, widened, and improved to allow its use bylarge aircraft, and later to act as an emergency runway for the Space Shuttle,although the Shuttle never had to use it.[28] Atthe time, it was the world's longest airport runway.[29] The United States Space Force uses the island aspart of its EasternRange.[30] NASA established a tracking station on theisland in 1967, which it operated for more than 20 years before closing it downin 1990.[28]
Ascension was the shore terminal for the furthest down rangeinstallation of the Atlantic Missile Impact Location System (MILS), anacoustic system for locating splashdown of test nose cones.[31] TheMILS hydrophones that were located in the SOFAR channel forbroad area coverage have played a significant role in long range acoustictransmission studies and incidents. The island's location makes it a firstpoint of Atlantic reception for acoustics from the other oceans. As an examplethe Ascension hydrophones received and the site processed signals generatednear HeardIsland in the Indian Ocean some9,200 km (5,700 mi; 5,000 nmi) from the Ascension arrays andpassing around Africa.[32][33] TheAscension array was one of those involved in the Vela incident acousticsignal in which there were correlated acoustic arrivals with the time andestimated location of the double flash detected by the Vela satellite.[34]
A joint Government Communications Headquarters and National Security Agency signals interceptstation was also established on Ascension during the Cold War.[35][36] Theisland retains a role in space exploration: the European Space Agency now operates an Ariane monitoring facility there.[28] The BBC Atlantic Relay Station was installed in 1966for short-wave broadcasts to Africa and South America and because of the BBC'sconsiderable resources, eventually BBC External Services began sourcingrequirements generally for the Island through BBC Engineering PurchasingDepartment based in 4 Cavendish Square, London; items were requisitioned andordered from suppliers, delivered to export packers, Evan Cook and shipped toAscension on RMS St. Helena.
In 1982, the British task force usedAscension Island as a stagingpost during the Falklands War.After strengthening and improving the structure, the Royal Air Force deployeda fleet of AvroVulcan bombers and Handley Page Victor tankers at the airfield.Vulcans launched the opening shots of the British offensive from Ascension in Operation Black Buck. The RAF also used the base tosupply the task force. Because of the increase in air traffic during the war,Wideawake, with up to 400 movements of all types each day, was one of thebusiest airfields in the world for a short period.[37] TheRoyal Navy's fleet stopped at Ascension for refuelling on the way. Followingthe war, the British retained an increased presence on the island, establishing RAF Ascension Island, and providing a refuelling stopfor the regular airlink between RAF Brize Norton inOxfordshire, and RAF Mount Pleasant in the Falkland Islands.
As of 2004, it was reported that the Composite Signals Organisation, an arm of GCHQ, continued to operate a signals interceptionfacility at Cat Hill on Ascension.[38] Asof 2007 NASA continued to list Ascension Island as a "downrangesite" used for range safety instrumentation.[39] Inparticular, the Post-Detect Telemetry System used to acquire launch vehicle telemetry includesa station on Ascension.[40]
In 2008, British diplomats at the United Nations Commission onthe Limits of the Continental Shelf (UN CLCS), requested sovereignty over200,000 km2 (77,220 sq mi) of submarineterritory around the island. This would enable exploration into possible newreserves of oil, gas and minerals, though none are thought to exist.[41]
In 2009, The St Helena, Ascensionand Tristan da Cunha Constitution Order 2009 elevated AscensionIsland, and Tristan da Cunha to equal constituent parts ofthe territory alongside Saint Helena,with their own governments and established the position of Governor of Ascension. Per Section 143 of theConstitution Order 2009 the person appointed as Governor of Saint Helena is ex officio Governorof Ascension.[42]
In 2016, the United States Department of Energy startedoperating a mobile climate research facility on the island. It is operated bythe Atmospheric RadiationMeasurement Climate Research Facility (ARM) near the South EastCrater, south of the Green Mountain summit. The field campaign requires themobile facility to be operational for about 17 months until October 2017.[43]
The island hosts one of four dedicated ground antennas thatassist in the operation of the Global Positioning System (GPS) navigationsystem along with those on Diego Garcia (British Indian Ocean Territory),Kwajalein (Marshall Islands), and Cape Canaveral, Florida.[44] NASAand the Air Force Research Laboratory operate aMeter-Class Autonomous Telescope (MCAT) on Ascension as part of the deep spacesurveillance system for tracking orbital debris, which can be a hazard tospacecraft and astronauts.[44][45]
In 2023, the United Kingdom governmentannounced that it was considering a proposal to send migrants arriving in theUK by boat to Ascension Island, should the Supreme Court rule that the Rwanda asylum plan is illegal.[46]
The main island has an area of approximately 88 squarekilometres (34 sq mi). A volcanic peak rising from 100 kilometres(62 mi) west of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, much of the island is a wastelandof lava flowsand cinder cones;forty-four distinct dormant craters havebeen identified.[14]
Main article: Geology of Ascension Island
Ascension is a geologically young formation, the tip of anundersea volcano which rose above the waves only a million years ago. Althoughvolcanic activity is mainly associated with the Mid-Atlantic Ridge plate boundary 80 kmto the west, Ascension also displays some features which are commonlyattributed to "hotspot" volcanism. Such volcanism is typicallyassumed to arise from a deep mantle thermal plume from the core-mantleboundary. Alternatively it may result from minor deformations of the oceanic crust thatcause extension and permit magma to rise passively up from the asthenosphere.Ascension is considered active and could have erupted as recently as 500 yearsago, but the exact eruption date is elusive.[47] Dueto the low rainfall and geologically recent eruptions, its soil consists mostlyof clinker.[29]
The island consists of a wide range of alkaline rocks atypicalfor oceanic islands, ranging from basalt through trachyandesite and trachyte to rhyolite.[48][49]
Ascension has a hot desert climate (BWh, according to the Köppen climate classification). The temperatures atthe coast average from 22.7 to 27.8 °C (72.9 to 82.0 °F), and about 5to 6 °C (9 to 11 °F) cooler at the highest point. Rain showers mayoccur at any time during the year, but tend to be heavier between June andSeptember. Although the island is in the tropical zone,average annual rainfall is very low. The cause of this might be the relativelylow temperature of the ocean water, as the Benguela Current and South Equatorial Current flow northward west ofAfrica. These currents bring cooling effects around the eastern South AtlanticOcean. Tropical cyclones also occur only rarely in the South Atlantic Oceanwhich might be caused by the same phenomenon, and by strong vertical wind shear.[50][51][52]
The endemic flora includes plants like Pteris adscensionis, Asplenium ascensionis, Euphorbia origanoides as well as the extinctspecies Oldenlandia adscensionis, Sporobolus durus and Dryopteris ascensionis. Anogramma ascensionis (Ascension Islandparsley fern) was thought to have become extinct due to habitat loss,until four plants were found on the island in 2010. Over 60 specimens were thensuccessfully cultivated.[55] Portugueseexplorers released goats in the 1500s, which ate many species to extinction.The later introduction of rabbits, sheep, rats and donkeys, and over 200imported species further marginalised the original flora.[56]
By 1843 the island was barren with few plants. However, due tothe introduction of species by the British, Ascension Island's Green Mountain isnow one of the few large-scale planned forests, and is gradually growing witheach year. Its highest point is at 859 metres (2,818 ft).[14] Non-indigenousplants teem there, and the crown of Green Mountain is a lush halo of bamboo. Flanking one side is a large stand of tall Norfolk pine, trees planted by British mariners,which were to have been used as replacement masts for sailing ships.In June 2005 the first National Park on Ascension Island, the Green MountainNational Park, was opened.
Prosopis juliflora, a type of mesquite known as "Mexican thorn", wasintroduced by BBC engineers to bind the dry top soil when they arrived in 1966to construct a shortwave relay station. It has thrived on the barren lava ofthe island – an estimated 38,000 bushes existed by 2016. Its spread has beendestructive to other species, and current encroachment on the edges of beachesthreatens those that use this space, such as the green turtle.Its hardy taproots can extend to 30 metres (98 ft) deep. Local authoritiesare considering means of controlling or eradicating it.[29][57]
A variety of mammals havebeen introduced: donkeys,sheep, cats and rats amongothers. Reptiles consistof two species of lizards.Endemic insect species include the minute, wingless Psocopteran Troglotroctes ashmoleorum, that has been found incaves and between lava blocks.[58] Insummer, flies areknown to be a problem. The largest native land animal is the land crab Johngarthia lagostoma (formerly Gecarcinuslagostoma).[59] Offshore,there is a variety of open-ocean fish, including sharks, wahoo, tuna, bonito, barracuda, marlin, blackfish and sailfish. The protected green turtle is perhaps themost notable of the endemic fauna, coming ashore to lay their eggs on thebeaches from November to May. Turtles were regularly harvested until 1930, whenthe practice was banned. By 1970 the turtle population had begun to rebound.[29] Fromthe 1970s, when records began, to 2014, green turtle nestingincreased by 500%, resulting in some 24,000 nests being laid on the island'smain beaches each year.[60]
On land are found such non-native birds as canaries, francolins, mynas, sparrows, and waxbills. Sooty terns or"wideawake birds" nest in great seashore lava "fairs". Other seabirds include some types of boobies, petrels, and tropicbirds (named boatswain,pronounced BO-sun birds, by the inhabitants of the island), white tern, brown noddy, black noddy and Ascension frigatebird. The Ascension crake becameextinct around the beginning of the nineteenth century.[57]
Off the east coast of Ascension is the islet of Boatswain Bird Island. It is a haven for sea birdsproviding refuge from the rats, cats and people that came to Ascension Islandfrom Europe and Africa. Following a successful campaign headed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the mainisland was in 2006 declared free of feral cats, andsea birds are now once again nesting on Ascension Island.[61]
After cats were introduced to Ascension Island in 1815, largeseabird breeding colonies were quickly wiped out everywhere except in smallcat-inaccessible areas, such as on the offshore Boatswain Bird Island. Following a two-year campaign,feral cats were eradicated by 2004 and seabirds began to recolonise the mainisland.[62]
Ascension Island, including fourteen inshore stacks and marinehabitat extending out for 3 nautical miles (5.6 km;3.5 mi) from the coastline, has been identified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International as a breeding site for seabirds. Birds for which the IBA is significantinclude red-billed tropicbirds, Ascension frigatebirds (an endemic breeder), sooty terns and black noddies.[63] Theisland was formerly home to the endemic Ascension crake,but the species has been extinct since the early nineteenth century.
In January 2016 the UK Government announced that an area aroundAscension Island was to become a huge marine reserve,to protect its varied and unique ecosystem, including some of the largestmarlin in the world, large populations of green turtle, and the island's ownspecies of frigate bird.[64]
On 22 August 2019, the Ascension Island Government announced thedesignation of 100% of Ascension's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) as a Marine Protected Area (MPA).[65][66] TheEEZ covers an area of over 440,000 square kilometres (170,000 sq mi),making it one of the largest in the world. Within the MPA it is proposed thatcommercial fishing and mineral extraction will be prohibited. Legislation isnow being brought forward and development of a management plan is underway.These will be put into place subject to confirmation that the ongoing costs ofmanagement, monitoring and enforcement have been provided by the UK government.[67]
Ascension had formed part of a British overseas territory together with Saint Helena and Tristan da Cunha.[14] andwas governed by St Helena, until it achieved its own Constitution.
Executive authority is ultimately vested in King Charles III,[14] whois represented by the Governor of Ascension. The Governor resides in Jamestown, Saint Helena, who is in turn representedon the island by an appointed Administrator.
As a result of changes in the constitutional arrangements forAscension Island, a unicameral Legislative Council with advisory powers wasintroduced in 2002. The first Island Council of seven members was elected, andtook office on 1 November 2002. This council was dissolved by order of theGovernor of Saint Helena on 24 October 2005, and a new election was held on 16November 2005. 697 electors chose among ten candidates contesting the sevenseats.[68]
Six of the seven members resigned in January 2007 in the beliefthat they were "assisting to legitimise a democracy that doesn't reallyexist on Ascension Island".[69] Amemorandum sent by a group of Ascension Island residents suggests that thehandling of economic development, taxation and representation led to thedispute and that all six councillors resigned (five of them at once). Thememorandum states, "The elected Council has been used to legitimise anillegitimate system that has never been a true democracy and, it seems, wasnever intended to be."[70] Thecounter-argument was that, as the island has no indigenous populationwhatsoever, it is in an unusual political position.[citationneeded] Consequently, a general election wascalled, but by the close of nominations, there were only two candidates.[70] Theelection was abandoned, and the governor suspended the Island Council for 12months. It was stated that an election would take place in April 2008 butfollowing consultations this was extended to October.[71] Eventually,candidates were elected to form a new Island Council, which was sworn in on 27October 2008.[72][failedverification][73]
On 26 September 2019, a general election of the Island Councilwas held. This followed the dissolution of the previous Council on 1 September2019, in accordance with the Island Government (Ascension) Ordinance 2008.Seven candidates ran for five available Councillor positions, with electorsbeing permitted to cast up to five votes each. Of 518 registered electors 150electors cast 498 votes. The five successful Councillors were sworn in on 26September 2019.[74]
Ascension Island has its own local system of law, much of whichis based on the laws of Saint Helena and some parts of English law withmodifications.[14] TheIsland Council advises on new or revised laws. Where local legislation does notexist, Saint Helena law may be used where appropriate and suitable for localadaptation, or specific Ascension Island law is enacted. Employment legislationis a mixture of contract law and the Workmen's Protection Ordinance, whichguarantees a contract, and obliges employers to provide free accommodation,medical cover, food (or a food allowance), and travel.
The Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha ConstitutionOrder 2009 was made by Queen Elizabeth II and the Privy Council on 8July and came into operation in September 2009.[14] Thenew constitution replaced the 1988 version and among other changes limited theGovernor's powers, included a Bill of Rights, established independence of thejudiciary and the public service, and designated the Governor of St Helena as,concurrently, the Governor for Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. It ended the"dependency" status of Ascension and Tristan da Cunha on Saint Helenathat had been in place, for administrative convenience, since 1922.[75]
Although the first Island Council was elected in 2002, between1922 and 2009 Ascension was a dependency of St Helena with an appointedAdministrator representing the UK Government on the island under the purview ofthe Governor of St Helena.
Whilst the Ascension Island Government is distinct from the StHelena Government, the Governor of St Helena is also Governor of Ascension. Theexecutive authority of Ascension is exercised on behalf of His Majesty by theGovernor, either directly or through the Administrator of Ascension and otherofficers subordinate to the Governor.[76] Inpractice the Administrator is the head of the Ascension Island Government andis responsible for the day-to-day running of the Government.
In 2019, the UK House of Commons Foreign Affairs SelectCommittee published its report Global Britain and the British OverseasTerritories: Resetting the relationship, following an investigation intothe relationship between the UK and the Overseas Territories. The reportrecommended that Ascension and Tristan da Cunha be recognised as OverseasTerritories in their own right (paragraph 48 / recommendation 8):
The Committee notes that theOverseas Territory of St. Helena includes the separate and distinct territoriesof Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha. These are both inhabited territorieswith a population that is not directly connected to St. Helena and have theirown identities, elected governments and flags. Therefore, Ascension Island andTristan da Cunha should be treated with equality as British OverseasTerritories in their own right and the FCO should change their status to thiseffect. However, this change should not necessarily imply that the practice ofSt. Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha sharing the same Governorshould come to an end.[77]
To date the UK Government has not responded to the committee'srecommendation.
In the February 2016 census, 806 people were recorded living inAscension Island, 556 from Saint Helena (nicknamed the "Saints")[citationneeded] and 250 people of other nationalities.[2] RAF Ascension Island is made up of 17 staff.There has never been an indigenous population on the island.[78]
There are five settlements:
· Georgetown (the main civilian settlementand capital of the island)
· Two Boats (a civilian village, with its school)
· Cat Hill (the United States's main baseon the island)
· Traveller's Hill (Royal Air Force base)
· Wideawake Airfield (with the Royal AirForce station).
Additionally, there are some cottages on Green Mountain,occasionally occupied by visitors, and the Residency, the official residence ofthe Administrator.
To enter Ascension Island, individuals must apply for a visaprior to their arrival. There are no permanent residents. A contract ofemployment is a requirement to stay on the island for longer than three months,[citationneeded] though short-term visits by touristsare possible with prior approval. The British government put in place a policythat there is no "right of abode" in Ascension Island. This meansthat people are only allowed to remain in Ascension with the permissions of theAdministrator or the Governor. As such, unless they are able to satisfy one ofthe categories of visas and be issued such, they are not permitted on theisland.[79] Asthe local newspaper The Islander reported at the time,[80][81] itwas raised by some former Council members and four expatriate employees thatwhilst it was agreed there was no right of abode, the UK authorities hadpreviously indicated it would consider changing the law to allow the rights ofabode and property purchase, but decided not to do so.[82]
See also: Scouting andGuiding on Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
There are Scouting and Guiding groupson Saint Helena and Ascension Island. Scouting was established on AscensionIsland in November 1973,[83] havingbeen established on St Helena island in 1912.
The Islander is a weekly newspaper that is edited,printed and distributed on the island. It has been published since 1971. It isavailable online.[84][85]
English is the official language.[86]
The main economic activity on the island is centred on themilitary bases at Wideawake Airfield, and the BBC World Service'sAtlantic Relay station. The Ministry of Defence estate and facilities aremanaged by the infrastructure support provider Mitie. A former feature of Ascension was a70,000-tonne tanker permanently moored offshore that was operated by Maersk as a bulk fuel facility. In December2002, this was replaced by an on-shore Petroleum Supply Depot under militarymanagement, with fuel still being delivered by a chartered tanker, MaerskRapier, which operates on an MOD resupply contract for both Ascension andthe Falkland Islands every two months. Fuel for theisland is transferred via a floating hose, which is connected to the on-shoredepot at the island's pier head and to the ship at anchor.
The main export items are Ascension Island postage stamps, first issued in1922, and, since 2010, commemorative coins (which are legal tender butnon-circulating) and commercial fishing licences for long-line tuna fishingvessels operating to ICCAT quotas.
A secondary export is the international internet domain code .ac, which small UK educational colleges and sciencemuseums are favouring due to its similarity to .ac.uk, the domain code reserved for well-establishedUK academic institutions. In December 2013, The Pirate Bay (oneof the most well-known file piracy websites in the world) moved to .acfollowing the seizure of their .sx website.
Until 2002, tourism was virtually non-existent because of theinaccessibility of the island to transport, the absence of guest accommodationand the need for a sponsor. Limited air travel has, however, been madeavailable in recent years to the public by the RAF, and the Georgetown ObsidianHotel and a number of guest cottages have been opened. All visitors arerequired to obtain an entry permit before travelling. Sport fishing is the main attraction for many ofthe visitors. The island also boasts what is sometimes called the worst golfcourse in the world.[87][88]
Ascension Island Government does not issue visas to citizens ofthe following countries and territories: Belarus, China, Egypt, Hong Kong, Iran, Libya, Macau, North Korea, Russia, Syria, Taiwan, Ukraine, and Vietnam.[89]
See also: Communications inSaint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
The island hosts many communications and relay stations,exploiting its mid-Atlantic position. Both the BBC and Cable & Wireless Worldwide (owned byVodafone since 2012)[90] havecommunications posts there. The European Space Agency (ESA) also has a trackingstation on the island that tracks the Ariane 5 andthe Soyuz rockets shortly after their launch from Kourou in French Guiana and Baikonur in Kazakhstan.
Ascension has one local radio station and one relayed from St.Helena. It also receives broadcasts from the British Forces Broadcasting Service andtelevision services for the US military.[14]
Ascension Island has the international calling code +247 and, from 1 June2015 has five-digit numbers (the old four-digit number prefixed by the digit"6", or "4" for mobile telephones).[91]
The island provided a base for a NASA communications dish duringthe space race in the mid-twentieth century.[29] Theisland was chosen due to its central location in the Atlantic. Sites werechosen due to their proximity to orbital paths—generally along the Equator.
The Bank of St. Helena has a branch on the island;it holds an account with the UK's Lloyds Bank forthe purposes of conducting money transfers with the rest of the world.[92] Thecurrency on Ascension Island is the Saint Helena pound. Tristan da Cunha howeveruses the pound sterling rather than the Saint Helenapound. The coins of the Saint Helena pound specify thatthey are for use on both Saint Helena and Ascension Island, but with no mentionof Tristan da Cunha, whereas the banknotes only say "Government of St.Helena". There are also distinct commemorative coins for Ascension Island.For more information on currency in the wider region, see British currency in theSouth Atlantic and the Antarctic.
See also: Education inSaint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
Two Boats School is the only school on theisland and provides education to all children aged 3–16.
The Ascension Island Football League (Officially registeredas Ascension Island Championship) is the top division of footballon Ascension Island.[93] Threeofficial football competitions organized by theAssociation are held on the island: the Ascension Island Football League,Knockout Tournament, and the Flipper Trophy.[94][95]
Ascension Island does not have its own team in the Commonwealth Games, but athletes from Ascension haveparticipated on the Saint Helena Commonwealth Games team in thepast, including swimmer Caroline Lawrence in 1982 and marathon runner Errol Duncan in 2006.[96]
In 2003 the British and US governments signed the Wideawakeagreement designed to allow a limited number of non-scheduled civilian aircraftto land on Ascension Island, under responsibility of the British government.[97][98]
Poor runway conditions at RAF Ascension Island led in April 2017 to thecancellation of twice-weekly flights from there to the UK (RAF Brize Norton)and to the Falkland Islands (RAF Mount Pleasant). An Airbus A330 aircraftoperated by AirTanker Services on behalf of the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom) carried outthose flights, called the South Atlantic Air Bridge, although a limited numberof commercial passenger tickets were available. Those flights then traveled viaDakar, Senegal.[99] AWShip Management arranged for civilians to board RAF flights to and from RAFAscension Island and RAF Brize Norton. Previously AW Ship Management had apackage deal where passengers could travel in one direction on the RAF flightsand in the other on the RMS St Helena, which travelled betweenAscension, Saint Helena, and Cape Town, South Africa untilthe opening of St Helena Airport to passenger flights.[100][101]
From 2017, the runway was becoming increasingly unserviceableand a mixture of A400 and C17 planes landed at Ascension every three weeksto supply the RAF operation and deliver mail.[99] Alengthy repair process was initiated in 2020 and while A330s were unable toland at the airport during the repair process, the United States military used Air Transport International Boeing 757 "combi"jets to maintain a twice monthly flight between the island and Patrick Space Force Base in Florida for the use of its personnel only, whilethe (MV Ascension)supply ship regularly serviced US facilities.
The repair project celebrated its halfway point in March 2022.[102] InAugust 2022, the eastern portion of the runway was completed, allowing fullflight operations to resume, with a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III of the 21st Airlift Squadron being the first aircraftof that size to use the improved runway on 31 August 2022.[103] Earlierthat month, an RAF A400M aircraft flying from Ascension Island was refueled forthe first time by a Voyager KC.2 aircraft flyingout of RAF Mount Pleasant.[104] Therepairs to the runway were completed in May 2023.[105]
There is no taxi serviceon the island and most visitors requiring transport hire a car. There arearound 40 kilometres (25 mi) of roads on the island, all hard-surfaced,[14] alongwith many unsurfaced paths and trails. Some of the road surfacing used wassurplus tarmac from a previous airstrip construction operation. Traffic driveson the left.[citationneeded]
The cargo vessel MV Helena, under AW ShippingManagement, takes a limited number of passengers[106] betweenCape Town and St Helena and Ascension on its voyages.[107]
Following the retirement of the RMS St Helena in2018, the South African airline SA Airlink has operated an inter-island airservice between St Helena and Ascension once a month. This is operated as acharter service extension on the regular Johannesburg to St Helena route withan overnight turnaround on Ascension.[108][109] Asa result of the COVID-19 pandemic and South African governmentresponse, the SA Airlink air service was suspended in April 2020. Since thistime Ascension, along with its sister island of St Helena, has beenintermittently supplied by a Titan operated charter service originating in theUK.[110][111]
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