The UK is home to cold-water corals domestically and significant tropical reefs in its Overseas Territories.

In England, our deep-water coral habitats, situated within The Canyons Marine Conservation Zone, are protected by the Marine Management Organisation’s byelaw restricting bottom-trawling.

We also work closely with our Overseas Territories through the Coral Conservation in the Overseas Territories Working Group to support resilience-based reef management, collaboration and implementation of national reef action plans.

The nature security assessment on biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and national security identified coral reefs in SE Asia as one of 6 ecosystems of strategic importance for the UK. The UK is the largest donor to the Global Fund for Coral Reefs, a blended finance instrument that mobilises action to protect, restore and safeguard coral reef ecosystems and the communities that depend on them including in SE Asia.

The UK’s Blue Planet Fund supports partners in South East Asia to protect their corals reefs and mangroves by providing funding for locally-led solutions, technical assistance, and to catalyse additional finance. The UK is the largest donor to the Global Fund for Coral Reefs, a blended finance instrument that mobilises action to protect, restore and safeguard coral reefs and the communities that depend on them. Our bilateral programme, Climate and Ocean Adaptation and Sustainable Transitions (COAST), works closely with partners in Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam. The UK has also signed the Mangrove Breakthrough and the High-Level Climate-Resilient Coral Reef Commitment.

The UK Overseas Territories biodiversity strategy, last updated on 12 January, details the importance of the Chagos Archipelago in supporting the healthiest, best managed large ecosystem complex in the Indian ocean, and confirms that - after the UK-Mauritius treaty comes into force - we will support the Mauritian Government in an enhanced partnership to ensure the future protection of that unique environment. As discussed at length during the debates on the Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill, the treaty is entirely compatible with the UK's other environmental commitments and obligations.

The impact of climate change and marine heatwaves on coral reefs is increasingly concerning. A network of global coral reef scientists under the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) confirmed the 4th global coral bleaching event in 2024. While we cannot yet quantify the full impact to reefs, we do know this is the largest bleaching event ever recorded. UK Government is currently working with international partners at the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network to develop the Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2025 report, which will combine monitoring data from over 120 countries to provide a comprehensive view of the status and trends of the world’s reefs.

We have taken action both at home and abroad to support a resilience-based management approach in addressing the range of threats facing coral reefs. By tackling local and regional threats and combined with action on climate change, we are supporting coral reefs to resist and recover from coral bleaching and changing environmental conditions. This includes funding the Coral Conservation in UK Overseas Territories working group to share best practice on reef management and support partnership working between UK Overseas Territories, committing £40.25 million to the Global Fund for Coral Reefs between 2021 and 2026 through our International Official Development Assistance Marine Programming, and contributing our scientific technical expertise to international organisations like ICRI and the Coral Research & Development Accelerator Platform.

The UK is home to cold-water corals off our coast and tropical coral reefs within our Overseas Territories. With 4,700 square kilometres of corals across our UK Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies, the UK is responsible for the twelfth largest area of coral reefs in the world. Coral reefs host about a quarter of all known marine species and are a key source of food, livelihoods and economic opportunities to people in more than 100 countries around the world. We are engaged with this initiative from the University of Edinburgh and continue to consider all relevant evidence concerning the status and management of coral reefs, such as the 2025 global coral reef status report by the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network.

The OSPAR (Oslo and Paris convention for the Protection of the Marine environment of the North-East Atlantic) Convention prohibits the dumping or leaving in place of any disused offshore Oil and Gas installation in the marine environment. To re-purpose an installation, for example as a strategic compensation measure, installations would need to be re-classified and regulated by the relevant competent authority.

The Overseas Territories governments have responsibility for management and protection of the marine environment. Through the Conflict, Security and Stability Fund, the FCDO have supported the Overseas Territories to develop coral reef action plans and provided technical advice on tackling Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease, which has been rapidly spreading across the Caribbean. In addition, Turks and Caicos Islands joined the FCDO's Blue Belt Programme in 2022. This programme supports enhanced protection and sustainable management of marine environments, including additional protection for key species and habitats.

The UK Government has been working closely with our Overseas Territories (OTs) in the Caribbean and Western Atlantic in response to stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD).

In 2020/2021, HMG’s Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) funded a Collaborative Coral Reef Working Group with the Caribbean OTs. This group actively welcomes input from OT government representatives, non-governmental organisations and other key stakeholders involved in coral conservation and SCTLD treatment. This group has met at least once a month since December 2020 to discuss all aspects of SCTLD, including treatment and management options. Its funding has been secured through to March 2024.

As part of the Disaster Resilience in the UK OTs and the Coral Reef Action Plans projects funded by CSSF, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) are assessing the impact of coral loss and degradation on climate resilience, biodiversity and the economy. The reports, which will include the refined model outputs, risk maps and economic valuation report, will be available in the coming months.

Beyond the Caribbean, the Collaborative Coral Reef Working Group includes Bermuda in all activities due to its proximity to the Caribbean region. Links have also been made to UK OTs in the Pacific and Indian Oceans through other UK agencies to ensure that access to the Working Group’s resources and training materials will allow for prevention and early detection of the disease should it spread to these regions.

The UK Government has been working closely with our Overseas Territories (OTs) in the Caribbean and Western Atlantic in response to stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD).

In 2020/2021, HMG’s Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) funded a Collaborative Coral Reef Working Group with the Caribbean OTs. This group actively welcomes input from OT government representatives, non-governmental organisations and other key stakeholders involved in coral conservation and SCTLD treatment. This group has met at least once a month since December 2020 to discuss all aspects of SCTLD, including treatment and management options. Its funding has been secured through to March 2024.

As part of the Disaster Resilience in the UK OTs and the Coral Reef Action Plans projects funded by CSSF, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) are assessing the impact of coral loss and degradation on climate resilience, biodiversity and the economy. The reports, which will include the refined model outputs, risk maps and economic valuation report, will be available in the coming months.

Beyond the Caribbean, the Collaborative Coral Reef Working Group includes Bermuda in all activities due to its proximity to the Caribbean region. Links have also been made to UK OTs in the Pacific and Indian Oceans through other UK agencies to ensure that access to the Working Group’s resources and training materials will allow for prevention and early detection of the disease should it spread to these regions.

The UK Government has been working closely with our Overseas Territories (OTs) in the Caribbean and Western Atlantic in response to stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD).

In 2020/2021, HMG’s Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) funded a Collaborative Coral Reef Working Group with the Caribbean OTs. This group actively welcomes input from OT government representatives, non-governmental organisations and other key stakeholders involved in coral conservation and SCTLD treatment. This group has met at least once a month since December 2020 to discuss all aspects of SCTLD, including treatment and management options. Its funding has been secured through to March 2024.

As part of the Disaster Resilience in the UK OTs and the Coral Reef Action Plans projects funded by CSSF, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) are assessing the impact of coral loss and degradation on climate resilience, biodiversity and the economy. The reports, which will include the refined model outputs, risk maps and economic valuation report, will be available in the coming months.

Beyond the Caribbean, the Collaborative Coral Reef Working Group includes Bermuda in all activities due to its proximity to the Caribbean region. Links have also been made to UK OTs in the Pacific and Indian Oceans through other UK agencies to ensure that access to the Working Group’s resources and training materials will allow for prevention and early detection of the disease should it spread to these regions.

The UK Government has been working closely with our Overseas Territories (OTs) in the Caribbean in response to Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD).

In 2020/2021, the UK Government provided £100,000 to pilot a collaborative working group with the Caribbean OTs. This group actively welcomes input from OT government representatives, non-governmental organisation (NGOs) and other key stakeholders such as dive operators and field study centres involved in coral conservation and SCTLD treatment. This group has met at least once a month since December 2020 to discuss all aspects of SCTLD, including treatment and management options.

The funding of this group is now secured through a three year £497,000 Darwin Plus grant that started in June 2021 and ends in March 2024. Direct funding through this grant is provided to OT government partners, including NGOs, who are directly supporting the treatment efforts in-country. Notably, for this Darwin Plus grant, the Department of the Environment and Coastal Resources in the Turks and Caicos Islands are funding the Turks and Caicos Reef Fund, and the Ministry of Natural Resources in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) are partnering with the National Parks Trust of the Virgin Islands.

Over the last two years, through the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund, the UK Government has also funded NGOs to deliver work on behalf of, or alongside governments, to implement SCTLD treatment. This has included discussions on treatment. Agreements have been put in place to formalise these arrangements following discussions with OT government departments in Bermuda, BVI and Montserrat.

The UK Government has been working very closely with our Overseas Territories (OTs) in the Caribbean in response to Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD), including a Collaborative Coral Reef Working Group which has supported local and regional collaboration between Caribbean OTs. The following funding has been provided to each of the UK OTs in the Caribbean for the treatment and management of SCTLD:

Over 2020-2022, £208,608 was provided to the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI): £108,608 for disease treatment and £100,000 to pilot a collaborative working group with the Caribbean OTs. The collaborative working group includes training and equipment provisions within UK OTs for SCTLD.

In 2020/2021, the British Virgin Islands (BVI) received £75,000 for SCTLD via the Conflict, Stability and Security (CSSF) Fund.

In 2021/2022, the UK Government provided further funding across the OTs for coral reef monitoring and SCTLD management. This included £102,000 to the TCI, the BVI, and the Cayman Islands, £92,000 to Anguilla, and £91,000 to Montserrat.

The UK has co-signed a letter to UNESCO Director-General to underscore the importance of a transparent process and consultative decision making in interactions with member states.

​The Cruise Berthing Facility Project was raised during Lord Ahmad's visit to the Cayman Islands last year and the Governor maintains a regular dialogue with those on both sides of this debate. Environmental protection is an area of devolved responsibility in Overseas Territories. Cayman law requires that an environmental impact assessment be conducted before a development of this nature proceeds. An updated environmental impact assessment has been submitted to the Environmental Assessment Board for review; once this review is complete a period of public consultation will commence before a final report is issued. Under the Blue Belt programme, United Kingdom funding has been provided to support the Overseas Territories protect and manage their marine environments. The programme is currently on course to protect 4 million square kilometres of ocean around the UKOTs. Further funding was announced in August for FY 2020/21 to continue this important programme.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.