The Minister for Environment & Climate Change John Cortes last week chaired a virtual meeting of the Council of Environment Ministers of the Overseas Territories (OTs) and the Crown Dependencies (CDs).

The Council, which meets twice a year, first met in Gibraltar in 2015 and discusses matters of mutual interest in relation to the Environment.

At this meeting the Council endorsed a new Framework on Best Practice in Environmental and other research, which will support research projects in the territories. Support was also given to the work of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Protected Areas Working Group, which is compiling data on protected areas in the UK and territories.

Council discussed Overseas Territories participation in international environmental conferences and supported an initiative by Lord Randall of Uxbridge for the creation of an All-Party Parliamentary Group on Biodiversity in the OTs and CDs.

In addition to Gibraltar, the he meeting was attended by representatives from the UK Overseas Territories Association (UKOTA), Alderney, Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, Montserrat, Pitcairn., St Helena, Tristan da Cunha. and Turks & Caicos Islands. The Secretariat was provided by the UK Overseas Territories’ Conservation Forum (UKOTCF).