15 Aug 2023

Many areas outside national and regional protected area networks contribute to the effective in-situ conservation of biodiversity. Appropriately recognising, reporting and supporting such areas is increasingly important in the context of biodiversity loss and climate change. Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) recognised early in the CBD’s Strategic Plan (2011-2020) that ‘other effective […]

15 Aug 2023

Dogger Bank, a sandbank in the North Sea was designated a marine protected area more than decade ago to conserve its sensitive seabed habitat. Yet for most of that time, industrial fishing vessels legally dragged damaging gear across the seabed, prompting NGOs to cite it as one of Europe’s emblematic “paper parks,” where the designation […]

15 Aug 2023

A paper, published in Conservation Letters, assesses how existing recommendations for climate resilience are applied in real-world MPA management, using criteria from five key management components: objectives, assessments, design, monitoring, and management. The review evaluates 172 management plans for 555 MPAs across 52 countries. The researchers found that MPA management plans contain many underlying scientific […]

15 Aug 2023

A recovery in the number of corals growing on the Great Barrier Reef over recent years has paused, with government scientists blaming bleaching, disease and attacks by starfish. Results from the latest annual surveys of more than 100 individual reefs show a small drop in coral cover over the northern and central parts of the […]

15 Aug 2023

Kelp forests are found along 25% of the world’s coastlines, generally in cold and nutrient rich water, in temperate and polar regions. These marine forests play a critical role in balancing the health of the ocean and the planet. They provide food and shelter for many marine species, create complex habitats, and are considered hotspots […]

10 Aug 2023

        Your Views Needed: Delivery of Strategic Marine Net Gain   What do you consider are the potential mechanisms and priorities for the delivery of strategic Marine Net Gain (MNG)? The Strategic MNG Delivery Task and Finish Group* is seeking views on potential delivery options for strategic net gain in the marine […]

09 Aug 2023

The Environment Agency (EA) has published its strategy for safe and sustainable sludge use. The strategy sets out the purpose, principles and priorities for how the EA will enable safe and sustainable sludge use on land. It sets out how the EA will: enable safe and sustainable sludge use on land modernise and clarify the […]

09 Aug 2023

According to the government, the August 2023 Hydrogen Strategy Update to the Market offers an accessible summary of hydrogen policy development and schemes since the publication of the last update to the market in December 2022. Policy areas covered in this update are: hydrogen production hydrogen networks and storage uses of hydrogen in industry, power, […]