South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands are situated more than 1,700 kilometers (1,050 miles) from the southern tip of South America in a remote expanse of the South Atlantic Ocean. While mostly uninhabited by humans, the area hosts what could be the single largest concentration of marine species in the world. In the past, the wildlife of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands was seriously depleted by over exploitation. As part of its Global Ocean Legacy program, Pew and its partners are calling for a large marine reserve around the South Sandwich Islands and greater protection around South Georgia Island to restore the environment to help conserve the remarkable wildlife found there.
Further protection of the area through a fully marine reserve has been proposed as part of the "Great British Oceans" campaign.