Environmental Audit Committee - Inquiry launch: Governing the marine environment

With so many competing demands on our seas and oceans, are international treaties adequately protecting this vital ecosystem?

While much attention has been focused on protecting ecosystems on land in a bid to meet the Government's 30x30 target, the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) is considering how the UK is faring in meeting its obligations to protect marine environments.

The UK has signed and ratified a number of international agreements to champion marine protection. However, with so many competing pressures on the oceans—such as fishing, undersea cabling, renewable energy, shipping, leisure and research demands—do existing international commitments meet the need to ensure a sustainable marine environment?

As part of this work, EAC will be undertaking a stocktake of the UK's international commitments, and how far they go towards meeting the Government's pledge to protect 30% of marine environments by 2030. Members will also be asking, in light of competing pressures on the marine environment, whether the Government has a comprehensive strategy in place to ensure its marine spatial planning is fit for the future, and what the benefits and drawbacks are from the operation of Marine Protected Areas and Highly Protected Marine Areas.

Environmental Audit Committee Chair, Toby Perkins MP, said:

“Time is ticking to meet our pledge to protect 30% of land and seas by 2030. While much of the focus has been on land, what progress are we making in protecting our seas and oceans? Are international agreements that the UK has signed and ratified driving progress in maintaining environmental protection as our seas and oceans buckle under the pressure of so many competing demands?

“Through this inquiry, our Committee will consider the current state of play ahead of the UN Oceans Conference in June 2025. If we find there are limitations to the current governance arrangements of the marine environment, we will urge Ministers to get these issues high up on the conference agenda.” 

Environmental Audit Committee members, Barry Gardiner MP and Anna Gelderd MP, said:

“It is crucial that we act with urgency to ensure the sustainable future of our marine-based industries, our local fishing communities, and our precious marine ecosystems allowing them to not only survive, but also thrive.

“The High Seas are a global common good, but they have been recklessly exploited. The U.K. has the opportunity through the Global Oceans Treaty to establish a robust marine governance framework that balances protection of the marine ecosystem, sustainable fishing, and other uses of the marine environment.

“We urge anyone with information and views on these vital matters to submit evidence to the Committee.”

Terms of reference

The Committee invites written submissions addressing any or all of the issues raised in the following terms of reference by 17.00 on Friday 17 January 2025:

Governance and Delivery of International Marine Treaties

1. Does the Government have an adequate strategy to address the actions required to ensure alignment with its environmental obligations under multiple international marine treaties?
   1. How do the UK's environmental obligations under international marine treaties interact, contradict or overlap?
   2. What non-legally binding instruments, including Memorandums of Understanding, related to the marine environment apply to the UK?
   3. How should the UK ensure it aligns with advisory opinions that impact the interpretation of international treaty obligations, such as the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea's ruling that carbon dioxide should be treated as an ocean pollutant?
2. How effectively are the UK's obligations in respect of marine protection under environmental treaties being implemented in UK law?
   1. Are there obligations from treaties that the UK has signed, but not ratified, that have yet to be implemented in legislation?

1. How does the UK's performance compare to other UN ratifiers in delivering its environmental obligations under international marine treaties?
   1. What are the economic consequences and trade-offs for the UK in exceeding its legally-binding obligations to protect the marine environment?

Marine Planning and Protection

1. What are the existing pressures on the marine environment?
2. Does the UK have a sufficiently integrated and effective marine spatial planning strategy?
   1. How well does the UK's current approach to marine planning operate across (1) different regions and sectors and (2) areas for which devolved administrations have responsibility?
   2. Are responsibilities for resource allocation, asset designation, and strategic planning clearly defined and well-coordinated across Government?
   3. What arrangements and resources are in place for the implementation, monitoring, reporting and enforcement of the government's marine environment objectives?
3. Are the economic, social, environmental, and scientific demands on the marine environment adequately balanced in the context of marine spatial planning?
   1. Does the UK sufficiently balance the fishing quota with scientific data to ensure sustainability in fishing stocks?
   2. Is the subsidy regime for fisheries management suitable for ensuring long-term sustainable fish stocks?
4. What actions should be taken to ensure the UK's marine spatial planning function is fit for the future?
   1. How can responses to climate change be incorporated into marine spatial planning to ensure adaptive and sustainable management of marine resources?
   2. How can emerging technologies improve the accuracy and efficiency of seabed mapping and monitoring to support marine spatial planning?
5. How does the UK Government work with devolved nations to ensure that commitments such as '30 by 30' are met across the four nations in a fair and equitable way?
6. How can the consenting process for marine developments be improved to ensure effective collaboration between planning officers and developers, while balancing environmental protection and economic growth?
7. Do UK regulations give sufficient protection to the environment covered by Marine Protected Areas in domestic waters?
   1. If not, what can be done to give sufficient protection?
   2. What are the benefits and challenges of designating Highly Protected Marine Areas? Should more areas be covered?