Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 18
18
Acknowledged
Paragraph: 96
If Marine Protected Areas continue to be poorly managed and monitored, with little enforcement of...
Conclusion
If Marine Protected Areas continue to be poorly managed and monitored, with little enforcement of their protected status, there is a risk that the Government will have established a network of ‘paper parks’. According to monitoring data, the condition of MPAs is much the same as our predecessors observed in 2019: this must call into question the effectiveness of the Government’s approach to managing biodiversity in the UK’s territorial waters.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government acknowledges the need for effectively managed protected areas and notes existing initiatives like new designations and funding for landscapes. It has committed to piloting Highly Protected Marine Areas and will publish a Nature Recovery Green Paper later this year.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
96
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government · verbatim extract
Acknowledged
Accept in principle. As announced in the England Trees Action Plan, and confirmed in the Dasgupta Review response, we will consult this year on the designation of a number of highly protected Marine Protected Areas (HPMAs) in England, to which we are committed. These new areas will protect and restore marine ecosystems by prohibiting extractive, destructive and depositional activities. We expect to be in a position to consult in late 2021/early 2022. We also have a duty to ensure that marine protected areas are effectively managed. We published the Marine Protected Areas Explanatory Note in July 2019, setting out information on how England’s network of MPAs is managed. In December 2020, we published the UK Marine Strategy Part Three report. This assessed the extent to which the UK is achieving good environmental status across 15 descriptors of the marine environment. This assessment shows a mixed picture for biodiversity with indicators not showing good status overall. We recognise that more work needs to be done on this. We have committed to protecting 30% of our land and sea across the UK by 2030, and these plans are a crucial step towards this. Our Marine and Coastal Wildlife Plan will also set out our approach to protecting our marine wildlife and improving our waters, providing a step-change in our approach to marine management. The plan will also set out how we will improve our understanding of the impacts of climate change on our marine and coastal environment, and how we will work collaboratively to develop solutions.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗