Sustainability in the UK Overseas Territories
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House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee Sustainability in the UK Overseas Territories Tenth Report of Session 2013–14 Volume I Volume I: Report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence Additional written evidence is contained in Volume II, available on the Committee website at www.parliament.uk/eacom Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 8 January 2014 HC 332 [incorporating HC 846-i-ii, Session 2012-13) Published on 16 January 2014 by authority of the House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited £0.00 Environmental Audit Committee The Environmental Audit Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to consider to what extent the policies and programmes of government departments and non-departmental public bodies contribute to environmental protection and sustainable development; t o audit their performance against such targets as may be set for them by Her Majesty’s Ministers; and to report thereon to the House. Current membership Joan Walley MP (Labour, Stoke-on-Trent North) (Chair) Peter Aldous MP (Conservative, Waveney) Neil Carmichael MP (Conservative, Stroud) Martin Caton MP (Labour, Gower) Katy Clark MP (Labour, North Ayrshire and Arran) Chris Evans MP (Labour/Co-operative, Islwyn) Zac Goldsmith MP (Conservative, Richmond Park) Mark Lazarowicz MP (Labour/Co-operative, Edinburgh North and Leith) Caroline Lucas MP (Green, Brighton Pavilion) Caroline Nokes MP (Conservative, Romsey and Southampton North) Dr Matthew Offord MP (Conservative, Hendon) Dan Rogerson MP (Liberal Democrat, North Cornwall) [ex-officio] Rt Hon Caroline Spelman MP (Conservative, Meriden) Mr Mark Spencer MP (Conservative, Sherwood) Dr Alan Whitehead MP (Labour, Southampton, Test) Simon Wright MP (Liberal Democrat, Norwich South) The following members were also members of the committee during the parliament: Richard Benyon MP (Conservative, Newbury) [ex-officio] Ian Murray MP (Labour, Edinburgh South) Sheryll Murray MP (Conservative, South East Cornwall) Paul Uppal MP (Conservative, Wolverhampton South West) Powers The constitution and powers are set out in House of Commons Standing Orders, principally in SO No 152A. These are available on the internet via www.parliament.uk. Publications The Reports and evidence of the Committee are published by The Stationery Office by Order of the House. All publications of the Committee (including press notices) are on the internet at www.parliament.uk/eacom. A list of Reports of the Committee in the present Parliament is at the back of this volume. The Reports of the Committee, the formal minutes relating to that report, oral evidence taken and some or all written evidence are available in a printed volume. Committee staff The current staff of the Committee are Simon Fiander (Clerk), Nicholas Beech (Second Clerk), Richard Clarke (Committee Specialist), Andrew Wallace (Senior Committee Assistant), Anna Browning (Committee Assistant), Sayeda Begum (Committee Support Assistant) and Nicholas Davies (Media Officer). Contacts All correspondence should be addressed to the Clerk of the Environmental Audit Committee, House of Commons, 14 Tothill Street, London SW1H 9NB. The telephone number for general enquiries is 020 7219 6150; the Committee’s email address is [email protected] Sustainability in the UK Overseas Territories 1 Contents Report Page Summary 3 1 Introduction 5 White Paper 6 Inquiry 7 Joint Ministerial Council of the Overseas Territories 8 2 Responsibility 9 Power 9 Moral responsibility 9 Legal responsibility 10 Convention on Biological Diversity 11 Aarhus Convention 12 Environment Charters 14 3 Protecting biodiversity 15 Monitoring 15 Threats 16 Sustainable development 16 Environmental funding 19 European Union funding 19 National Lottery funding 19 Marine Protected Areas 20 Annex 1 Visit to Cayman Islands 22 Programme 22 Observations 23 Legislation 23 Environment Protection Fund 24 Cayman Turtle Farm 24 Waste management 24 Conclusions 26 Recommendations 27 Formal Minutes 29 Witnesses 30 List of printed written evidence 30 List of additional written evidence 31 List of Reports from the Committee during the current Parliament 32 Sustainability in the UK Overseas Territories 3 Summary The Overseas Territories: Security, Success and Sustainability was the first White Paper to address the UK’s relationship with the Overseas Territories since 1999. That 13-year gap between White Papers is indicative of policy drift by successive Governments. During our inquiry, the UK Government expressed general but unspecified aspirations to ‘cherish’ the environment in the Overseas Territories, but it was unwilling to acknowledge or to address its responsibilities under United Nations treaties. This was disappointing, because the environment in the Overseas Territories is globally significant and comprises 90% of the biodiversity for which the UK Government has responsibility. We found that the Government has failed to negotiate the extension of the Convention on Biological Diversity—the flagship United Nations policy on biodiversity protection—to the Overseas Territories. In addition, the Government has not ensured the accurate monitoring of biodiversity in the Overseas Territories. Taken together, the Government is unclear on what it is responsible for and why it is responsible for it. In environmental terms, the 2012 Overseas Territories White Paper was a missed opportunity. Sustainability in the UK Overseas Territories 5 1 Introduction 1. The 14 United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs) comprise Anguilla; Bermuda; British Antarctic Territory; British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT); Cayman Islands; Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia in Cyprus (commonly known as Sovereign Base Areas); Falkland Islands; Gibraltar; Montserrat; Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands (commonly known as Pitcairn Islands); St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; Turks and Caicos Islands; and Virgin Islands (commonly known as British Virgin Islands or BVI). 2. The UKOTs are geographically diverse: Anguilla, Cayman Islands, Montserrat, Turks and Caicos Islands and British Virgin Islands are in the Caribbean; Bermuda is in the North Atlantic; Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha are in the South Atlantic; Pitcairn Islands are in the Pacific; Sovereign Base Areas and Gibraltar are in Europe; and the locations of British Antarctic Territory and of BIOT are self-explanatory. The UKOTs encompass vast tracts of ocean, thousands of coral atolls, tropical forests and a polar wilderness six times the size of the United Kingdom. 3. Eleven of the UKOTs have permanent populations, ranging from the 63,000 residents of Bermuda to the 50 or so inhabitants of the Pitcairn Islands. Three UKOTs—British Antarctic Territory, BIOT and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands—have no permanent population. Taken together, the total population of the UKOTs amounts to some 250,000 people, which is loosely equivalent to that of Nottingham.1 1 Foreign and Commonwealth Office, The Overseas Territories: Security, Success and Sustainability, CM 8374, June 2012 6 Sustainability in the UK Overseas Territories Figure 1—The United Kingdom Overseas Territories White Paper 4. In June 2012, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) published The Overseas Territories: Security, Success and Sustainability.2 It was the first White Paper specifically to address the UK’s relationship with the Overseas Territories since Partnership for Progress and Prosperity: Britain and the Overseas Territories, which was published in 1999.3 The 2012 White Paper covers defence, economic development, governance, communities and the environment. Considering the environment alone—defence, development, communities and governance are also important—the international significance of the biodiversity in the UKOTs means that 13 years is too long a gap between Overseas Territories White Papers and indicates policy drift by successive UK Governments. We therefore welcome the publication of the 2012 White Paper. 5. The UK oversees engagement by the UKOTs in UN programmes (see paragraph 16). The UN has introduced several overarching environmental initiatives in the past 13 years, such as the Aarhus Convention, the Nagoya Protocol and the Rio +20 Sustainable Development Goals. If any Overseas Territories White Papers had been introduced in the past 13 years, they would have allowed the UK to develop its strategy to engage the UKOTs 2 Foreign and Commonwealth Office, The Overseas Territories: Security, Success and Sustainability, CM 8374, June 2012 3 Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Partnership for Progress and Prosperity: Britain and the Overseas Territories, March 1999 Sustainability in the UK Overseas Territories 7 in the UN’s evolving environmental programmes. That did not happen, and the 2012 White Paper included no such policy detail. 6. The 2012 White Paper set out the UK Government’s aspirations in relation to the environment in the UKOTs. The Prime Minister indicated the scale of his ambition in the foreword: We see an important opportunity to set world standards in our stewardship of the extraordinary natural environments we have inherited. This Government is ambitious for our Territories as we are ambitious for the United Kingdom. This White Paper sets out our commitment to work with the Territories to address the challenges we face together. This is a commitment from across the UK Government.4 The Foreign Secretary shared