Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to Decision 15/6 adopted by the conference of the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity on Mechanisms for planning, monitoring, reporting and review, whether her Department is taking steps to update the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan; and if she will take steps to enable the participation of the groups listed in para 23 of that decision in developing and implementing the strategy.

At COP15 all Parties committed to reviewing and updating their National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans (NBSAPs) to bring them into line with the new Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework by COP16. In England the EIP will form an important contribution to the revised NBSAPs. We will provide further information on the next steps for the UK and our revised NBSAPs as they are developed.