International Marine Protected Area: Sargasso Sea

Question

Asked by

To ask His Majesty’s Government whether they intend to support the establishment of an international marine protected area in the Sargasso Sea under the Global Ocean Treaty.

My Lords, the UK recognises the global importance of conserving the Sargasso Sea and has long worked with the Government of Bermuda on science-led conservation, including with the Sargasso Sea Commission. Together, we have been spearheading the Hamilton II Declaration, a political initiative that allows the UK and its co-signatories to signal support for the development of a collective proposal under the BBNJ agreement for area-based management tools, which would be used to protect this environmentally significant area.

I thank the Minster for her Answer; I am comforted by it. It is well documented that networks of ecologically connected MPAs deliver greater conservation benefits. Will the Government commit to working alongside other Atlantic countries to advocate at upcoming international fora for a network of Atlantic MPAs?

I will have to take the right reverend Prelate’s word that that is the case. That certainly makes sense to me. As signatories to the agreement, we would hope to work with our partners, wherever they may be, to bring the benefits of this treaty as widely as possible.

My Lords, I know that we have signed the global ocean treaty, but have we ratified it yet? Does the Minister think that the Commonwealth, which is increasingly involved in maritime affairs, with 33 island states, has an important role to play and could it make it work still better?

The Commonwealth is a vital international union of countries that can do much good around the world. As for ratification, the noble Lord is right—we have not ratified it yet, but I hope that we will be able to do so imminently.

My Lords—

My Lords—

My Lords, we have plenty of time. The Liberal Democrat Bench is next, then the Cross Benches.

I appreciate that. The Sargasso Sea is extremely important for hundreds of species, so will the Government advocate for the highest level of protection, under which all industrial fishing, in particular, is banned?

Exactly what will be contained within the measures needs to be negotiated and worked through. We are working closely with the Government of Bermuda to get this right. Our aim is to get this settled for the first conference of the parties under the agreement, which I think will happen early next year.

Does the Minister recognise that there is a real risk that the global ocean treaty remains just words on paper if something is not done to create operational effect, and that the ideas put forward by the right reverend Prelate for some collective action—for example, in the Sargasso Sea—make a lot of sense? Will the Government now take steps to organise, with other like-minded countries, some way of turning the words on paper into reality?

The noble Lord is absolutely right and that must not be allowed to happen in this case. This agreement is important and it seeks to resolve something that I think many noble Lords care deeply about. The practical implementation now needs to happen at pace and there will be a conference happening early next year, as I said, to put the ideals in the agreement into action.

My Lords, we are supportive of the Government doing the right thing and protecting our most biodiverse areas, seas and oceans. On Report of the Diego Garcia military base Bill, the Minister admitted that Mauritius does not have the capabilities to protect the current marine protected area, one of the largest in the world. Can the Minister assure your Lordships’ House that the Government will never again seek to transfer the BIOT to a nation incapable of or unwilling to protect the current marine protected area?

To say that Mauritius is unwilling is a bit harsh—it is very willing and it has committed to do this. We have committed to work alongside it to make sure that the waters around the archipelago are protected.