Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 33
33
Accepted
Promote pragmatic, compromise-based approach for interim conservation measures at CCAMLR.
Recommendation
The UK should work to prevent a recurrence of this regulatory stalemate. In recognition of the challenges of achieving unanimity, the Government should promote a pragmatic, compromise-based approach that enables interim conservation measures to be adopted while longer-term agreements are negotiated. This would help safeguard marine ecosystems while maintaining CCAMLR’s credibility. (Recommendation, Paragraph 177)
Government Response Summary
The government accepts the recommendation and states it is actively working to prevent regulatory stalemate by advocating for improvements to CCAMLR's decision-making process and pragmatic, compromise-based solutions to enable conservation measures.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The Government accepts these recommendations. 39. The UK is a strong advocate for effective governance of the Southern Ocean and has consistently sought to establish a comprehensive network of Marine Protected Areas in the Southern Ocean under the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). Proposals for three large-scale MPAs in East Antarctica, the Weddell Sea and the Antarctic Peninsula have been pending for several years, despite strong scientific backing. The UK is actively working with like-minded Members, including through bilateral engagements, to garner the support of all CCAMLR Members, including China and Russia, to adopt these crucial marine protection measures. 40. The UK is also working to increase the efficiency of CCAMLR and continues to advocate for pragmatic, compromise-based solutions to enable conservation measures to be adopted, including advocating for improvements to CCAMLR’s decision-making process, to ensure the organisation can meet its conservation mandate for the Southern Ocean.