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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent progress she has made on meeting Aichi biodiversity target 11.

Aichi biodiversity target 11 has now been superseded by the more ambitious target 3 in the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework adopted at the Convention on Biological Diversity COP15 in December 2022. This target sets out the commitment to protect at least 30% of global land and of global ocean by 2030. The Government has committed to achieving this 30by30 target in the UK. Each of the four countries in the UK has committed to achieving 30by30 on land in their own territory.

In England, we have established a comprehensive network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) covering 40% of our waters. On land, 26% of England is currently designated as a protected area. Our Environmental Improvement Plan sets out our drive to halt the decline of nature by 2030, including strengthening our protected areas’ delivery for nature, extending and creating new protected areas and wildlife-rich habitat beyond these, and investing in habitat restoration.  We will continue to take further action to meet the 30by30 target.

We are also working internationally to support other countries to deliver the 30by30 target. At COP15, the UK announced up to £29 million to support developing countries to deliver the 30by30 target on land. The UK is currently the Ocean Co-Chair of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature & People (HAC for N&P), which champions the 30by30 target for both land and ocean and will soon be supporting members to implement the target by facilitating knowledge-sharing and match-making financial and technical assistance. We also continue to lead the Global Ocean Alliance (GOA), championing international ocean action including by supporting implementation of the KMGBF (Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework) in the ocean.