UK exceeds ocean protection targets through Blue Belt Programme

 

I was incredibly proud to see this week that the UK’s Blue Belt programme has provided £27 million over five years for marine conservation around UK overseas territories and international organisations, safeguarding biodiversity, wildlife habitats and eco systems in some of the remotest places on Earth.

The programme has provided support to the UK Overseas Territory Tristan Da Cunha who now has the biggest Marine Protection Zone, protecting more than 4.3 million square kilometres (sq km) of the most precious marine environment including seven gill sharks, yellow nosed albatrosses and the rockhopper penguins in the remote archipelago.

This is now the largest fully protected marine reserve in the Atlantic Ocean at 687,000 sqkm, closing over 90% of their waters to harmful activities such as sand extraction and deep-sea mining.

This is a great achievement for the UK, and I hope that other countries follow our example in protecting our oceans