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 has been made to reach the 30by30 target, to protect at least 30 per of the global ocean by 2030 set by the Global Ocean Alliance.

Since 2019, the United Kingdom has been leading the Global Ocean Alliance (GOA) of countries championing ambitious ocean action under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), including the target to protect at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030. The United Kingdom also serves as ocean co-chair of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature & People (HAC for N&P), alongside Costa Rica and France, which champions 30by30 for both the land and the ocean. Between these alliances, over 120 countries have pledged to support the global 30by30 ocean target at the upcoming 15^th Conference of Parties to the CBD (COP15) in December 2022.

Nearly 8.3% of the global ocean is now protected[1]. Achieving a global 30by30 target will require an international effort, from all countries and sectors. The United Kingdom is leading the way, with 374 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) protecting 38% of United Kingdom waters. The United Kingdom’s Blue Belt programme has also resulted in the protection of 4.3 million km² of ocean around the Overseas Territories. Under the United Kingdoms’s 2021 Presidency, the whole G7 committed to reach or exceed 30% land and sea protection nationally.

The United Kingdom strongly supports the conclusion of negotiations as soon as possible on a new implementing Agreement under the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ), including a mechanism to establish Marine Protected Areas in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ). This will be crucial to achieving 30by30.

The United Kingdom has also launched the Blue Planet Fund, a commitment of £500million from the United Kingdom Aid budget to support developing countries protect and sustainably manage their marine resources, including through Marine Protected Areas.

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[1] UNEP-WCMC and IUCN (2022), Protected Planet, available at: www.protectedplanet.net.