Source · Select Committees · International Relations and Defence Committee
Recommendation 29
29
Paragraph: 244
How to read this label. It records the position parsed from the published government response. It is not an official government label and does not show whether action was delivered.
The UK Government should continue to advocate for the establishment of marine protected areas, including...
Conclusion
The UK Government should continue to advocate for the establishment of marine protected areas, including in the Arctic. The Agreement on Biological Diversity Beyond National Jurisdictions offers the UK and its partners a unique opportunity to do the same for the high seas and the central Arctic Ocean in particular (although we recognise that it will likely be several years before the Agreement comes into force, and that the Agreement’s impact in the Arctic will be limited as long as Russia is not a party). We encourage the UK Government to ratify the treaty as soon as practicable and take the lead on establishing Arctic marine protected areas under the Agreement as soon as feasible.
Paragraph Reference:
244
Government Response
Position Not Stated
HM Government · verbatim extract
Position Not Stated
Agree. 28. The UK was pleased to be one of the first countries to sign the 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) at the UN on 20 September 2023. The Agreement was laid before Parliament for scrutiny on 16 October 2023. Work is underway across government departments and in consultation with a wide range of stakeholders to bring forward legislation and other measures required to translate the detailed and complex provisions of the Agreement into UK law before the Agreement can be ratified. 29. Once the Agreement has sixty parties it will enter into force and the Conference of the Parties will be able to take decisions on the establishment of Area Based Management Tools, including Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction. The UK will play a proactive role in preparing for the implementation of the BBNJ Agreement, including consideration of potential proposals for the establishment of MPAs.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗