09 May 2023
The UK government is planning to consult on expanding its targets to tackle sewage even further to cover all coasts, estuaries and marine protected sites, Defra has confirmed. The Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan, published in August 2022, set out stringent targets to protect people and the environment, backed up by £56 billion capital investment – […]
09 May 2023
Seals, sea lions and walruses – a group of animals called pinnipeds – have been heavily exploited throughout much of human history. Many of these species have at some point even been threatened with extinction. But, in the UK, their decline has largely been reversed. Since the Conservation of Seals Act 1970 prohibited the killing or injuring of grey […]
09 May 2023
Government and political institutions should do more to make citizens feel empowered within marine environment decisions and give them the right to participate, new research shows. Marine Citizenship is the term used for people who get involved in changing how humans use the ocean. It has been investigated as a potential policy tool to engage the […]
09 May 2023
Kelp forests provide an estimated value of $500 billion to the world and capture 4.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from seawater each year. A new paper published in Nature Communications aims to fill knowledge gaps by identifying the economic value of marine kelp forests. It suggests that kelp forests across the world provide three main […]
09 May 2023
A United Nations report highlights the opportunities the ocean holds and charts a course to sustainably use marine resources. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Trade and Environment Review 2023, published on 8 May, analyses the world’s ocean economy – worth an estimated $3-6 trillion – and assesses how human activity and multiple […]
09 May 2023
To mark King Charles III’s Coronation, a team of conservationists led by ZSL have launched the UK Sturgeon Conservation Strategy and Action Plan, a science-based guide developed by experts which meticulously outlines the action required to recover numbers of Atlantic and Critically Endangered European sturgeons in the UK. This UK-wide action plan forms part of a larger […]
09 May 2023
A motion from the Scottish Conservatives calling on the Scottish Government to “reconsider” its Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMA) proposals has failed to garner majority support. Three members of the governing SNP party rebelled in a debate over the Scottish Government’s controversial proposals for HPMAs, held on 3rd May. The commitment to introducing HPMAs, in which […]
03 May 2023
The National Infrastructure Commission and Climate Change Committee have written jointly to government urging ministers to take steps to improve the resilience of key infrastructure services to the effects of climate change. Building on recent reports by both organisations, the advisory bodies set out five steps to accelerate national adaptation planning to protect key networks: Setting clear […]
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