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<p>As announced in the Natural Environment White Paper, the Government is committed
to the negotiation of a new implementing agreement under the UN Convention on the
Law of the Sea for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity
in areas beyond national jurisdiction. These should, in particular, address the designation
of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and the fact that there is currently no universally
accepted legal framework for the international recognition of MPAs in the high seas.
My Department, working in close cooperation with the Department for Environment Food
and Rural Affairs, has played an active role in discussions on this issue at the United
Nations Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction,
and we are pressing for a decision by September 2015 to commence formal negotiations
on a new agreement in accordance with outcome of the United Nations Conference on
Sustainable Development.<br> <br>Leading by example in the areas within our own jurisdiction,
the UK has a number of MPAs around the UK, and additionally there are three MPAs around
the UK’s overseas territories.</p>
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