Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to take steps to include actions that benefit the restoration and protection of blue carbon habitats in his Departments (a) Environmental Land Management Scheme and (b) other schemes.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK recognises the important role that blue carbon habitats – such as saltmarsh and seagrass - can play to prevent biodiversity loss and support adaptation and resilience to climate change, alongside carbon sequestration benefits. The protection and restoration of these habitats therefore provides a nature-based solution.
The UK is a global leader in ocean protection with 38% of UK waters in Marine Protected Areas, covering the majority of saltmarsh and seagrass habitats. Our focus is now on ensuring these are effectively protected.
The Government recently published its response to the Benyon Review into Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs), accepting the central recommendation that we should identify a number of locations to pilot this approach. HPMAs will be identified on the basis of their ecological value, including areas with potential to recover, and blue carbon habitats. Social and economic principles will then be used to help us understand and minimise the impacts on sea users.
In addition, a number of coastal and estuarine habit restoration initiatives are underway. The Environment Agency’s Restoring Meadow, Marsh and Reef (ReMeMaRe) initiative is working to restore our estuarine and coastal habitats, including blue carbon habitats, to benefit people and nature. Natural England is also leading the EU-funded LIFE Recreation ReMEDIES (Reducing and Mitigating Erosion and Disturbance Impacts affecting the Seabed) project, which aims to restore seagrass and maerl habitat in five Special Areas of Conservation.
We are also introducing three schemes that reward the delivery of environmental benefits, including for coastal habitat: the Sustainable Farming Incentive, the Local Nature Recovery scheme and the Landscape Recovery scheme. We are working with stakeholders and end users to determine the specific land management actions that will be paid for under our new schemes. The Agricultural Transition Plan set out examples of the types of actions that we envisage paying for under the schemes, including creating, managing, and restoring coastal habitats such as wetlands and salt marsh.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage greater international environmental conservation.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is seizing the opportunities of our G7 and COP26 Presidencies to drive international action on the environment. We have negotiated a historic 2030 Nature Compact committing to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, agreed by Leaders at the G7 Summit in Carbis Bay, and G7 Climate and Environment Ministers' agreed an ambitious communique with over 120 commitments. The UK is also committed to playing a leading role in developing an ambitious post-2020 global biodiversity framework to be adopted at CBD COP15 and to secure ambitious environmental commitments at UNFCCC COP26.
The UK also played a leading role in developing the Leaders' Pledge for Nature which I am pleased to report that 89 world leaders have now signed. Furthermore, 80 countries now support an international target to protect at least 30 per cent of the world’s ocean by 2030 through membership of the UK-led Global Ocean Alliance or the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People, which the UK co-chairs with Costa Rica and France.
We are leading by example. We have committed to spend at least £3bn of International Climate Finance on nature over the next five years and launched the £500m Blue Planet Fund. Domestically, we are introducing a world-leading legally-binding target for species abundance by 2030 in the Environment Bill, aiming to halt the decline of nature.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to protect the oceans.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK is a global leader on marine protection. Leading the Global Ocean Alliance and as Ocean Co-Chair of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People, the UK is championing a target under the Convention on Biological Diversity to protect at least 30% of the global ocean as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures by 2030 ('the 30by30 target'). Under UK leadership, 80 countries have now committed to support the adoption of this target at CBD COP15.
Domestically, we have built a comprehensive network of MPAs and are focusing on making sure they are protected properly. 98 MPAs in inshore waters already have management measures in place to protect sensitive features from bottom towed fishing gears and the Marine Management Organisation has embarked on a three-year programme of work to manage impacts from fishing activity in all English offshore MPAs. The Government has also launched plans to increase protections for England's waters through a pilot scheme to designate marine sites in England as Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs). HPMAs will take a 'whole site approach', conserving all species and habitats within their boundary to maximize protection of marine habitats and species. The Government recognises that the strict protections implied by HPMAs will cause some concerns with other sea users and intends to liaise closely with them throughout the process, including the fishing industry.
The UK also supports the conclusion of negotiations on an ambitious new implementing Agreement under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction ('BBNJ Agreement') as soon as possible. Areas beyond national jurisdiction cover more than 60% of the global ocean, and so this Agreement includes provisions that allow for the establishment of MPAs in these areas, a key mechanism to deliver the '30by30' target.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to support limiting industrial activities with the greatest environmental impact taking place in international waters.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK is a global leader on marine protection. Through leading the Global Ocean Alliance and co-chairing the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People, the UK is championing a target under the Convention on Biological Diversity to protect at least 30% of the global ocean in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures by 2030 (‘the 30by30 target’).
The UK believes that the whole ocean should be sustainably managed to allow both the marine environment and sustainable marine economies to thrive. In line with this, we support a global network of MPAs that includes both highly protected sites and those that deliver conservation outcomes alongside sustainable economic activities (i.e. the sustainable use of resources).
The UK also supports the conclusion of negotiations on a new implementing Agreement under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (‘BBNJ Agreement’). This will have provisions that allow for the creation of MPAs in international waters, a key mechanism to deliver the ‘30by30’ target. The UK is in favour of a strong obligation on Parties to the BBNJ Agreement to work within relevant bodies to deliver measures for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
As part of our work to ensure the sustainable use of the ocean, the UK has agreed not to sponsor or support the issuing of any exploitation licences for deep sea mining projects until there is sufficient scientific evidence about the potential impact on deep sea ecosystems, and strong and enforceable environmental standards have been developed by the International Seabed Authority and are in place.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he has taken to establish a Global Ocean Treaty to enable governments to establish Marine Protected Areas, set conservation goals and adopt management measures to deliver protection.
Answered by James Duddridge
The draft Treaty text being negotiated is intended to be a legally binding instrument under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (the BBNJ Agreement).
The BBNJ Agreement is important for ocean conservation and the UK is working proactively in the negotiations, and more widely including with G7 partners, to try to ensure that an ambitious text is concluded by the end of this year. In particular, the Agreement should enable the designation of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the High Seas, which will be crucial to delivering a new target under the Convention of Biological Diversity of protecting at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030. The Agreement should also enable a more holistic approach to global ocean governance, facilitating cooperation between existing bodies and filling in gaps, such as requiring Environmental Impact Assessments for new activities in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to secure a Global Ocean Treaty to protect the high seas in 2021.
Answered by James Duddridge
The draft Treaty text being negotiated is intended to be a legally binding instrument under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (the BBNJ Agreement).
The BBNJ Agreement is important for ocean conservation and the UK is working proactively in the negotiations, and more widely including with G7 partners, to try to ensure that an ambitious text is concluded by the end of this year. In particular, the Agreement should enable the designation of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the High Seas, which will be crucial to delivering a new target under the Convention of Biological Diversity of protecting at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030. The Agreement should also enable a more holistic approach to global ocean governance, facilitating cooperation between existing bodies and filling in gaps, such as requiring Environmental Impact Assessments for new activities in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the compatibility of his Department's sponsorship of UK Seabed Resources for deep sea mining exploration with (a) global ocean conservation and (b) the Government's commitment to protecting at least 30 per cent of global oceans by 2030.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The UK is a global leader in protecting the seas, the ocean and our marine life - and works with stakeholders in the UK and partners overseas to help achieve these aims. The UK will be an ambitious participant in the Super Year 2021. We continue to nurture and grow the Blue Belt Programme of large marine protected areas around the British Overseas Territories, which amount now to a protected area larger than India. We are about to launch our new £500 million Blue Planet fund to support a broad range of activities to protect and restore precious marine ecosystems. And we have been leading the Global Ocean Alliance of countries committed to protecting at least 30% of the world’s ocean by 2030.
As a part of our belief in strong multilateral action on the conservation and sustainable use of the ocean, we will continue to support the requirement for the highest possible environmental standards for the regulation of any deep sea mining which happens in future in areas beyond national jurisdictions.
The licences issued to UK Seabed Resources Ltd include significant conditions in relation to environmental considerations, including sections on protection of the environment and environmental monitoring & reporting. In addition, the licences are issued in line with prevailing legislation which provides further environmental safeguards.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the ability of (a) Regional Fisheries Management Organisations and (b) sectoral bodies to deliver the management of global Marine Protected Areas in line with protecting 30 per cent of the world's oceans by 2030.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK is championing a target to protect at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030 (the ‘30by30’ target) through its leadership of the Global Ocean Alliance and as ocean co-chair of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People.
Importantly, the UK supports the conclusion of negotiations on a new implementing Agreement under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement), which will have provisions that allow for the creation of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in these areas, a key mechanism to deliver ‘30by30’.
Recognising the important role that Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) play in effective ocean governance, the UK has already joined five and is playing an active role in each of them. RFMOs and other sectoral bodies will be crucial to delivering some of the conservation objectives of the MPAs established under the BBNJ Agreement. This will require a positive relationship, including enhanced cooperation and coordination, between the new Agreement and these bodies.
To support this, the UK is in favour of a strong obligation on Parties to the new BBNJ Agreement to work within relevant bodies to deliver measures for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to support Regional Fisheries Management Organisations to conserve marine biodiversity and tackle climate change pressures on the oceans.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
As a new, independent member of five RFMOs, the UK is expanding and enhancing our efforts to sustainably manage fisheries, protect ecosystems and combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing at an international scale. These efforts, through our engagement in Regional Fisheries Management Organisations, other international organisations such as the FAO, and directly with individual States, will include supporting RFMOs in conserving marine biodiversity and tackling climate change pressures on the ocean.
Our work in RFMOs is complemented by the UK’s support of a target to protect at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030 and through our support to conclude negotiations on a new implementing Agreement under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction.
Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department's press release, Gove calls for 30 per cent of world’s oceans to be protected by 2030, published 24 September 2018, how protected oceans will be (a) maintained and (b) enforced as no fishing zones; and how that enforcement is planned to be funded.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK is a world leader on ocean protection. The UK is championing a target to protect at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030 and working to secure its adoption at the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Conference of Parties later this year where the post-2020 global biodiversity framework will be adopted. In support of this target, the UK leads the Global Ocean Alliance and is the Ocean Co-Chair (alongside France and Costa Rica) of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People.
We are also playing an active role in negotiations to conclude a new agreement, under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (“the BBNJ Agreement”). We are pressing for an ambitious BBNJ Agreement to be concluded this year that includes provisions for the designation of globally recognised Marine Protected Areas in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
The UK believes the whole ocean should be sustainably managed to allow the marine environment and sustainable marine economies to thrive. Effective MPAs can cover a range of protection measures including highly protected no-catch sites and those that deliver conservation outcomes alongside sustainable economic activities.
Accountability with effective planning, reporting and review mechanisms will be essential to delivering the post-2020 global biodiversity framework. That is why the UK, in partnership with Norway, is leading a programme of workshops to provide space for discussions between Parties to enhance planning, reporting and review mechanisms to strengthen the implementation mechanisms of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework and the CBD.
To deliver on an ambitious the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, it is essential that the framework is supported by a global uplift in financing for nature and capacity-building. Mobilising resources from all sources (public and private), and at all levels (domestic and international) will be vital to supporting implementation of the goals and targets.
The UK is a major contributor to the Global Environment Facility and wants to see it become the Financial Mechanism for the BBNJ Agreement as it is for the CBD. The UK’s new Blue Planet Fund will also provide additional support for marine and ocean protection for developing countries, complementing the successes of the Commonwealth Marine Economies Programme and Blue Belt Programme for UK Overseas Territories.