Steve McCabe MP (Birmingham Selly Oak) has signed an early day motion (EDM 647) calling on the Government to sign the Blue Belt Charter and to reaffirm the UK’s leadership in ocean conservation.
The UK is responsible, largely through the UK Overseas Territories, for many of the habitats and species which featured in the popular David Attenborough documentary Blue Planet II – the largest coral atoll in the world, the deepest marine habitats in the Atlantic and a quarter of the world’s penguins. The EDM congratulates Sir David Attenborough on his recent Blue Planet II series, which has brought concerns about the state of our oceans to the fore of public debate and calls on the Government to reaffirm the UK’s leading position in ocean conservation on a global level. The EDM also calls on the Government to sign the Blue Belt Charter and commit to working closely with the governments of overseas territories to deliver on the Blue Belt Charter.
The Great British Oceans Coalition, a group a charities working in the sector, launched their Blue Belt Charter in November which calls on the UK to “remain a leading force within those international bodies concerned with greater protection of the Polar Regions, the UN process for establishing Marine Protected Areas on the High Seas, and within the Regional Fisheries Management Organisations”.
Steve said:
“Sir David Attenborough’s Blue Planet II series is a stark warning of the real challenges we face in conserving our oceans and how important it is to ensure that the Blue Belt remains protected. Signing up to the Blue Belt Charter is an important opportunity for the Government to demonstrate that they are committed to retaining the UK’s leadership in ocean conversation.”
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