Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the issue of invasive species in the Overseas Territories.

The FCDO, together with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), is providing support to conservation and biodiversity projects in the UK Overseas Territories (OT) including those that tackle the issue of invasive species. The St Helena Cloud Forest project, funded by the cross-government Conflict, Stability and Security Fund, includes invasive species clearance at replanting sites and invasive invertebrate monitoring and management.

The Darwin Plus competitive grants scheme, hosted by DEFRA, has supported a number of projects that aim to tackle the threat posed by invasive non-native species to biodiversity and endemic species in the OTs and welcomes further applications for projects in this area. DEFRA work in combination with the Animal and Plant Health Agency and The Food and Environment Research Agency to bolster biosecurity capacity.