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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to prevent loss of biodiversity in the UK.

Domestic biodiversity policy is a devolved matter and the information provided relates to England only, except in relation to our plans internationally.

Our 25 Year Environment Plan sets out over 200 actions to enhance the environment and has long-term goals for recovering nature.

We are developing a new environmental land management system that will reward farmers and land managers for delivering environmental outcomes such as protection of habitats, which will support our biodiversity goals.

At sea, we are expanding our protected areas. Last summer we consulted on an ambitious third tranche of 41 Marine Conservation Zones. Sites to be designated in this tranche will be announced and in place by 7 June.

The ongoing declines in nature are a global problem that need a global solution. That is why the UK is committed to playing a leading role in developing a global post-2020 framework under the Convention on Biological Diversity that is ambitious and transformational. Our Darwin Initiative supports global action, awarding £10.6 million to projects in 2018, for example sustaining snow leopard conservation in Nepal. Defra’s contribution to Darwin Plus, our main funding source for UK Overseas Territories’ biodiversity, has totalled nearly £6million over the last three years. We continue to support activities to end poaching and the illegal wildlife trade, including introducing a ban on ivory sales which is the toughest in Europe and one of the strongest in the world.