Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 36
36
Accepted
Intensify diplomatic engagement to unblock MPA proposals and strengthen coordination among CCAMLR members.
Recommendation
The Government should intensify its diplomatic engagement, using both bilateral and multilateral channels to address the concerns of China and Russia and to highlight the global and regional benefits of marine protection. It should also strengthen coordination with like-minded CCAMLR members such as the EU, Australia, and the United States to maximise collective influence. (Recommendation, Paragraph 180)
Government Response Summary
The government accepts the recommendation, stating it is actively working with like-minded members, including through bilateral engagements, to secure support for marine protection measures and advocate for improvements to CCAMLR's decision-making process.
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.