Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many trespassers have been evicted from the British Indian Overseas Territory (Chagos Islands) in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The BIOT Administration is committed to tackling any illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing within the Marine Protected Area. According to available records, this has led to the successful criminal prosecution of 25 masters/ owners of vessels for such activity since 2014. Upon a successful prosecution the masters and their crews are served with removal orders to leave the Territory, and there have been 25 of these issued since 2014 to masters of their vessels and their crews. Prosecutions were brought under The British Indian Ocean Territory Fisheries (Conservation and Management) Ordinance 2007.
Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to protect Marine Conservation Zones.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Marine Protected Areas are an integral part of how we will protect 30% of our land and sea by 2030. Our seas play a critical role in biodiversity and regulating the Earth’s climate. The ocean absorbs over 90% of all excess heat in the Earth’s system and also provides a home to up to 80% of all life on the planet.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
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.
Answered by Scott Mann - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
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 15th 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.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress he has made on meeting the 30x30 pledge to protect 30 per cent of the oceans by 2030.
Answered by Scott Mann - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
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 15th 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.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the progress on securing a UN Ocean Treaty on maritime biodiversity at the Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The fifth Intergovernmental Conference (IGC5) on a new International Legally Binding Instrument under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) took place at the UN in New York from 15-26 August. Considerable progress was made, with the UK playing an active role in trying to build consensus across a range of issues. However, it was not possible for States to finalise the Agreement in the time available and IGC5 is likely to resume early in 2023.
Lord Goldsmith was in close contact with international counterparts before and during the negotiations and further discussions are planned. The UK remains committed to securing an ambitious Agreement and fully supports negotiations resuming as soon as possible. We will continue to engage constructively and proactively to put in place a new international legal framework to ensure better protection of the health of the global ocean.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with international counterparts on when the next Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction will meet.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The fifth Intergovernmental Conference (IGC5) on a new International Legally Binding Instrument under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) took place at the UN in New York from 15-26 August. Considerable progress was made, with the UK playing an active role in trying to build consensus across a range of issues. However, it was not possible for States to finalise the Agreement in the time available and IGC5 is likely to resume early in 2023.
Lord Goldsmith was in close contact with international counterparts before and during the negotiations and further discussions are planned. The UK remains committed to securing an ambitious Agreement and fully supports negotiations resuming as soon as possible. We will continue to engage constructively and proactively to put in place a new international legal framework to ensure better protection of the health of the global ocean.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of supporting the Leaders’ Pledge for Nature and the G7 2030 Nature Compact; and what steps he is taking to prevent degradation of nature.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The degradation of nature is a global problem that needs a global solution. Government recognises the merits of supporting international actions, alongside taking steps domestically to assess and address this crucial issue.
The UK was pivotal in driving the Leader's Pledge for Nature in 2020 and remains fully committed to working towards global implementation of the important commitments contained in the Pledge. This week the UK contributed to a highly impactful Leader's Pledge for Nature event (co-hosted with the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People and the Global Ocean Alliance) in the margins of the UN General Assembly where countries came forward with ambitious commitments to finance biodiversity and move to nature positive economies.
The UK led the drafting and agreement of the G7 2030 Nature Compact by Leaders during our G7 Presidency in 2021, and we are committed to the full implementation of all the commitments contained within it by 2030, including the headline target to halt and reverse biodiversity loss.
Domestically, Government is committed to addressing the biggest environmental priorities of our age, including restoring and enhancing nature.
We have set out clear goals for habitats and species in England in our 25 Year Environment Plan (25YEP). The 25YEP marked a step change in ambition for wildlife and the wider natural environment and we are already taking action to fulfil this ambition. We are maintaining and extending key protections; introducing new legislation and new funding streams; we are supporting partnerships and we are working across Government to secure broad action.
Our world-leading Environment Act 2021 puts environmental ambition and accountability at the very heart of government, by establishing a comprehensive legal framework for environmental improvement. The act includes a range of specific measures and actions to directly tackle biodiversity loss and sets a new and ambitious domestic framework for environmental governance now we have left the European Union.
Notably, the Act requires a new, legally binding target to be set to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030. This is in addition to setting at least one long-term legally binding target for biodiversity alongside targets on water, air quality and waste reduction.
We will set out all of our long-term targets, and our approach to meeting them, in our revised Environmental Improvement Plan in January 2023. This plan will mean that progress can be monitored, and Government will be held accountable for actions to recover nature.
The Environment Act also introduces measures that will strengthen our action for nature and lay the foundation for the Nature Recovery Network, a network of places that are richer in wildlife, more resilient to climate change and provide wider environmental benefits including carbon capture and recreation. Biodiversity Net Gain, Local Nature Recovery Strategies and a strengthened biodiversity duty on public authorities will work together to drive action towards our targets for nature recovery, alongside wider action and investment to create or restore habitats that enable wildlife to recover and thrive, while conservation covenants will help secure habitat for the long term.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Answered by Vicky Ford
It is a priority for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office with the UK Government to implement, uphold and strengthen the United Nations Convention on the Law of The Sea (UNCLOS). UNCLOS provides a framework for developing more detailed treaties and instruments that tackle areas of interest to the UK such as the Protocol against smuggling migrants, fisheries instruments, instruments concerning pollution and conservation.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office are championing the development of a new Implementing Agreement on marine biodiversity of the High Seas negotiations on which were recently suspended in New York but are expected to resume early in 2023. The UK continues to work through the International Maritime Organisation, Regional Fisheries Management Organisations and other bodies to develop regulations, guidance and best practices that support safety, security and conservation of the ocean. We are also deploying our military assets to uphold freedoms where they are challenged, and delivering capacity building to countries to support effective and sustainable management of their marine zones.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the report by Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences of the United States of America Ship traffic connects Antarctica’s fragile coasts to worldwide ecosystems, published on 18 January, what discussions they are holding with international partners to seek to counter the effect of (1) tourist, (2) research, and (3) fishing, vessels in enabling invasive marine species to travel to Antarctica on ocean-crossing ships.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The protection of the Antarctic environment is discussed annually at Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings (ATCM), and the UK engages actively to ensure all activities in Antarctica are conducted in a safe and environmentally responsible manner. Within the Antarctic Treaty System, tourism and research vessels must operate in accordance with the Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty on Environmental Protection, which includes actions to be taken to prevent the introduction of non-native species, as well precautions to prevent the accidental introduction of micro-organisms not naturally present in the Antarctic Treaty area. Fishing vessels are regulated under the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). Following work led by the UK, both the ATCM and CCAMLR have adopted practical guidelines for the exchange of ballast water in the Antarctic Treaty area, designed to minimise the risk of introducing non-native species.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the British Indian Ocean Territory Administration’s most recent Marine Protected Area Management Plan on the UK’s relations with Mauritius.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The BIOT Administration produced a draft Conservation Management Plan for BIOT's Marine Protected Area in 2019. There are no plans to publish the Plan.