Biodiversity policy UK: inquiry on Overseas Territories
The UK Parliament's Environmental Audit Committee has published a report on Sustainability in the UK Overseas Territories. The report argues for better and more consistent policy focus on the part of the UK government, clarity on the respective responsibilities of the UK government and UKOT governments, and various actions with respect to international law and with respect to CBD and other conventions.
It also recommends that Defra should convene UKOT governments with NGOs and research organisations to develop and agree a research programme to catalogue the full extent of biodiversity in the UKOTs. Better planning regimes to value and protect natural capital and promote sustainable tourism industries and economies are also recommended. Marine Protected Areas for the Pitcairn Islands, Tristan da Cunha and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands are proposed (there is already a MPA in place for the British Indian Ocean Territory - the Chagos archipelago).
The UKOTs are: Anguilla; Bermuda; British Antarctic Territory; British Indian Ocean Territory; Cayman Islands; Sovereign Base Areas on Cyprus; Falkland Islands; Gibraltar; Montserrat; Pitcairn Islands; St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; Turks and Caicos Islands; and British Virgin Islands.
