Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the value of the (a) seabed and (b) other parts of the marine portfolio of the area within 200 nautical miles of the British Indian Ocean Territory.

The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) has some of the most biodiverse waters on the planet with over 220 species of coral, 855 species of fish and 355 species of molluscs. Since its designation as a Marine Protected Area in 2010, the BIOT Administration has managed environmental policy across the archipelago, with marine conservation efforts supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's Blue Belt Programme. The agreement between the UK and Mauritius will be supported by an enhanced partnership on conservation under which the UK will support Mauritius to establish a Marine Protected Area that protects the globally significant ecosystems in the Archipelago.