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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she intends to announce the restoration of eligibility to apply to the UK's Darwin Initiative to all Commonwealth developing countries prior to the 2026 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

Round 32, eligible Darwin Initiative projects will focus on one or more of 13 global biodiversity hotspots across 36 countries. These hotspots were chosen because they are where the Darwin Initiative is likely to deliver the greatest biodiversity gains per pound invested. The hotspots combine some of the highest concentrations of threatened, irreplaceable species; long-term ODA eligibility and potential to reduce poverty; enabling conditions for lasting, transformative change; and, in some cases, a critical role in regulating climate and global food systems that the UK relies on. The Government recognises that critical conservation and development work is taking place beyond the eligible hotspots and countries, and that those needs and contributions continue to matter.