International Marine Protected Area: Sargasso Sea

Lord Hannay of Chiswick Excerpts

Monday 6th July 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

My Lords—

[Lord Hannay of Chiswick (CB)]

My Lords—

[Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms and Chief Whip (Lord Kennedy of Southwark)]

My Lords, we have plenty of time. The Liberal Democrat Bench is next, then the Cross Benches.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

Exactly what will be contained within the measures needs to be negotiated and worked through. We are working closely with the Government of Bermuda to get this right. Our aim is to get this settled for the first conference of the parties under the agreement, which I think will happen early next year.

[Lord Hannay of Chiswick (CB)]

Does the Minister recognise that there is a real risk that the global ocean treaty remains just words on paper if something is not done to create operational effect, and that the ideas put forward by the right reverend Prelate for some collective action—for example, in the Sargasso Sea—make a lot of sense? Will the Government now take steps to organise, with other like-minded countries, some way of turning the words on paper into reality?

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

The noble Lord is absolutely right and that must not be allowed to happen in this case. This agreement is important and it seeks to resolve something that I think many noble Lords care deeply about. The practical implementation now needs to happen at pace and there will be a conference happening early next year, as I said, to put the ideals in the agreement into action.