Published15 December 2022
Last updated16 December 2022 — See all updates
Wildlife, plants and habitats at risk across the globe are set to
benefit from new government funding announced today by
Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey at the UN Convention on
Biological Diversity (COP15).
The UK will pledge nearly £30 million to support developing
countries in delivering the ‘30by30’ target, which is aiming to
protect least 30 percent of the world’s land and ocean habitats
by 2030. The target has the support of over 100 countries
globally, with UK negotiators driving to get it included in a new
UN Global Biodiversity Framework being negotiated in Montreal
this week.
Today’s funding announcement signals a major commitment to
provide nations with the tools they need to protect fragile
ecosystems and tackle some of the causes of habitat loss such as
deforestation, and unsustainable farming and fishing practices,
and protect wildlife threatened with extinction.
Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey said:
At COP15 countries can put nature back on the road to recovery
with a strong Global Biodiversity Framework that includes a
commitment to see at least 30% of the world’s land and ocean
protected by 2030.
In support of this objective I’m pleased to announce up to £29
million to support developing countries in delivering the
‘30by30’ target and £5 million of funding for projects which
showcase the incredible work underway to study and restore nature
across our network of Overseas Territories.
The UK is also announcing today funding for the study and
restoration of wildlife and plants under threat from a changing
climate and invasive species in our overseas territories. The
Darwin Plus scheme will support over 20 conservation projects in
these unique and globally significant environments.
Projects to benefit from the £5.79 million of new funding
include:
- Using satellite technology to monitor seabird populations in
South Georgia
- Reintroducing threatened plants such as Falkland Rock Cress
and two bird species - Cobb’s Wren and Tussac-bird - to the
Falkland Islands wildlife reserves
- Helping support endangered sea turtles on the Cayman Islands
- Measuring the impact of Humpback whales on Krill populations
around South Georgia
The announcement was made as the next stage of negotiations at
COP15, known as the High-Level Segment, commenced, with world
leaders, international businesses and civil society coming
together to agree action to reverse the twin challenges of nature
loss and climate change.
The UK is leading a coalition of high-ambition countries at the
negotiations trying to secure a landmark global biodiversity
framework which will end the global decline of species and help
preserve the fabric of life on earth.
We will continue to provide further leadership on the world stage
when it comes to protecting our natural environment, with the
first round of our new funding project – Darwin Plus Local –
opening for applications in January 2023. More details on how to
apply will be published in due course.
The UK government has today opened a new call
for evidence for the purposes of updating the UK Overseas
Territories Biodiversity Strategy to further build upon our work
supporting and improving biodiversity across all the UK Overseas
Territories.
