The Wildlife Trusts are brining people together via a series of online workshops to co-develop a UK Marine Citizen Science Strategy. This initiative arose from discussions at recent UK Marine Citizen Science Network. Anyone with with an interest in UK marine citizen science, including leaders of marine citizen science projects, marine citizen science volunteers and […]
The UK Government has published a report on the impact of their Blue Belt programme over the last decade. It shows how the Government’s £20 million Blue Belt Programme, and collaboration with the UK Overseas Territories, has improved protection and management of key marine ecosystems. n 2016, only 5% of the world’s ocean was formally […]
NWME 2026 took place on a very hot day in Liverpool on 24th June and was a great success. The conference brought together over 50 experts, practitioners, and organisations working across the Irish Sea region to share knowledge, ideas, and enthusiasm for our marine ecosystems. The aim was to showcase what has been happening in […]
On 10th July 2026 the UK Government formally ratified the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement (also referred to as the High Seas Treaty), which was adopted by UN member states in 2023. In doing so the UK joined a growing number of countries that have ratified this key international Agreement to help to protect […]
Closes 28th September 2022 Defra has launched a consultation on proposals to designate pilot Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs), including a candidate site of Allonby Bay, Cumbria. In 2019 the UK Government commissioned an independent review, the Benyon Review, to explore the concept of HPMAs. The Review concluded that they are an essential component of […]
MCCIP has published a suite of outputs on ‘responding to key challenges in UK marine climate change’, building on the evidence presented in the latest MCCIP report card (2020) and providing a snapshot of the key issues facing the UK marine climate change community and guidance on how to address them. The outputs are designed […]
A historic resolution was reached at the UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi on 2nd March. Representatives from 175 nations endorsed a resolution to end plastic pollution and create an international legally binding agreement by 2024. The resolution addresses the full lifecycle of plastic, including production, design and disposal. As well as climate change implications and […]
Consultation closes 11:45 p.m., 11th May 2022 Defra is seeking views on proposed new environmental targets under the Environment Act 2021. The Act requires that at least one target in each of four priority areas is set in: air, water, biodiversity, and resource efficiency and waste reduction. It also requires targets to be set for […]
The UK Government has, today (23rd June) formally adopted the marine plans for the North West, North East, South West and South East of England. The marine plans have been produced by the Marine Management Organisation on behalf of the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Accompanying each of the […]
The Government has – on 8th June 2021 – published its response to the Highly Protected Marine Areas Review which they had previously commissioned former Environment and Fisheries Minister Richard Benyon to undertake to examine whether and how the strongest protections for areas of sea, known as Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs), could be introduced. […]