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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to mark World Wetlands Day in 2025.

The theme for World Wetlands Day 2025 is ‘Protecting Wetlands for Our Common Future’ and Defra plans to mark World Wetlands Day. In 2021 the UK co-sponsored the United Nations Resolution to designate 2 February as World Wetlands Day and we have since undertaken activities or supported other organisations in their activities to celebrate wetlands where appropriate. World Wetlands Day is an important opportunity to reflect on the value of wetlands in supporting biodiversity and delivering other public benefits.

This Government is committed to delivering our legally binding biodiversity targets, including to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030 and to restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat by 2042. Wetlands will be vital in achieving these.