Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 38
38
Accepted
Advocate procedural changes within CCAMLR to reduce single nation veto over conservation measures.
Recommendation
The Government should advocate procedural changes within CCAMLR, such as time-limited objections or consensus-building mechanisms, to reduce the ability of a single nation to exercise an indefinite veto over conservation measures. (Recommendation, Paragraph 182)
Government Response Summary
The government accepts the recommendation, stating it is actively working to increase the efficiency of CCAMLR and advocating for improvements to its decision-making process 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.