Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to protect and enhance biodiversity in the United Kingdom’s Overseas Territories.

Environmental policy is a devolved responsibility, however there are a number of funding streams available to the British Overseas Territories to support the protection and management of their natural resources. The Government has awarded £5.2 million which will be given to 21 projects through the Darwin Plus Scheme for conservation of the unique and globally significant plants and animals that reside in UK Overseas Territories.

Darwin Plus (also known as The Overseas Territories Environment and Climate Fund) is an environmental funding stream with an annual budget of £10 million from 2021. Funding from the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund has also provided funding from 2016-2021 for a number of environmental projects including the Blue Belt of marine protection around the OTs, assessing Natural Capital, implementing actions plans to protect fragile coral reefs and non-native species/biosecurity measures to prevent the introduction and spread of harmful species to new environments.