Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement: Marine Protected Areas

(asked on 16th November 2023) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department plans to take to help establish new high-seas marine protected areas under the Biodiversity beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement.


Answered by
Andrew Mitchell Portrait
Andrew Mitchell
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
This question was answered on 21st November 2023

The UK was pleased to be among the first signatories to the Biodiversity beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement (BBNJ) Agreement when it opened for signature at the UN on 20 September 2023 and the Agreement was laid before Parliament for scrutiny on 16 October 2023. Work is in hand on the legislation and other measures needed to translate the provisions of the Agreement into UK law before we can ratify the Agreement. The UK will continue to be proactive in preparing for implementation and entry into force and will work with international partners and stakeholders to identify potential areas for High Seas Marine Protected Areas. The UK is also funding a project to develop a shortlist of potential area-based management tools that could be developed into future proposals once the BBNJ Agreement comes into force.

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