To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects the loss of marine biodiversity to be halted; what progress is being made to achieve this; and if he will make a statement. (191615)

The Government are committed to halting the decline of marine biodiversity by 2010.

The establishment of an ecologically coherent network of marine protected areas will help us to meet this goal. Currently we have 151 protected sites with marine features in the UK. This includes 76 Special Protections Areas with marine habitats for birds, 72 Special Areas of Conservation with marine habitats or species, and three statutory marine nature reserves.

The Joint Nature Conservation Committee has been consulting on seven initial offshore sites since December 2007. The consultation is due to close on 14 March 2008.

The forthcoming Marine Bill will give us the powers to designate Marine Conservation Zones for nationally rare, threatened and representative marine features.

To help us to understand the state of our marine biodiversity, we are currently developing indicators to report on ‘marine ecosystem integrity’. This will contribute to the UK’s reporting on the progress being made towards the commitment made under the Convention on Biological Diversity to

‘halt the decline of biodiversity by 2010’.

Trends from the indicator will help us to understand what changes are occurring in the marine environment and where management should be focussed most to prevent further decline.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he has identified any potential multi-purpose marine protected areas; and if he will make a statement. (191733)

We will be considering multi-purpose sites as part of the development of a network of marine protected areas. No such sites have yet been formally identified.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what changes have been made to the Marine Strategy Directive since the original draft was published; whether any of these changes reflect the Government’s position as stated in the European Standing Committee on the Strategy for the Protection and Conservation of the Marine Environment on 14 February 2006; what representations his Department made to the European Commission and EU counterparts following that European Standing Committee meeting; what the Government’s current policy on the Directive is; and if he will make a statement. (191738)

Agreement has been reached on the terms of a draft Marine Strategy Directive following its Second Reading at the European Parliament in December 2007. The draft directive is due to be presented to council shortly for adoption.

The outcome fully reflects the Government’s priorities, and incorporates important changes from the first draft in relation to cost effectiveness and risk-based management (Article 14), co-operation through the regional seas conventions, and the role of the European Commission. The UK was also closely involved in drafting an acceptable definition of ‘good environmental status’ (GES) and ensuring that the descriptors of GES in Annex I are based on the status of the environment rather than the reduction in certain human pressures. The UK Government made substantive representations on the draft directive in the normal way, through council working groups and at council.

The directive will require member states to take the necessary measures to achieve and maintain good environmental status of their waters by 2020 at the latest. This is challenging, but achievable, with sensible safeguards on cost effectiveness and will help member states deliver better protection for their waters. We are already establishing the measures necessary to assess our waters. The Marine Bill will enable the UK to take a leading role in implementing the directive in a way which reflects UK needs and priorities.