JNCC is delighted to be supporting the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and the UK Overseas Territories (OTs) in the development of a new strategy for biodiversity in the territories.
This collaborative process involves engagement with a range of stakeholders from across the Overseas Territories and beyond. To complement engagement in the UK and in-territory, Defra and JNCC have today (Friday 16 December 2022) opened a Call for Evidence to invite all interested parties to have their say on the priorities for protecting biodiversity in the UK Overseas Territories, and to help shape the strategy to ensure it meets the needs of both nature and the territories’ inhabitants.
The strategy will be guided jointly by the priorities and ambitions of the UK Government alongside the 14 UK Overseas Territories. Once developed, it will serve as a tool to guide future priorities and investment in protecting and restoring biodiversity in the territories.
JNCC’s CEO, Dr Gemma Harper, said: "This Call for Evidence is being launched at a time when delegates at COP15 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), meeting in Montreal, have issued a stark warning that biodiversity loss continues to accelerate worldwide. Working together for a united vision for biodiversity is paramount.
"Small island nations, like many of the UK Overseas Territories (OTs), are global biological hotspots, with a rich diversity of habitats and species, providing a host of benefits, but this diversity is also often fragile and vulnerable. Development of this new strategy is a necessary step in maintaining healthy and diverse ecosystems in the Overseas Territories, to ensure a resilient nature for future generations."
Engagement with the Overseas Territories on the strategy’s development is already underway, through online surveys and interactive workshops. This latest stage, a Call for Evidence is open to all interested parties, and runs until 24 March 2023.
To find out more, visit the Call for Evidence webpage.