Lords open inquiry into protected areas with leading experts

The aim of this session is to gather views on how the UK’s commitment to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030 should be delivered in England.

It can be followed live on Parliament TV or in person in Committee Room 4, Palace of Westminster on Wednesday 8 March from 10am.

Giving evidence will be:

• Professor Jane K Hill, Research Theme leader for Resilient Ecosystems in York Environmental Sustainability Institute, and at Department of Biology, University of York
• Professor Callum Roberts, Professor of Marine Conservation in the Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter
• Dr James Robinson, Chair, IUCN UK Protected Areas Working Group, and Director of Conservation at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust
• Professor Rick Stafford, Chair of the British Ecological Society’s, Policy Committee and Professor of Marine Biology and Conservation, Bournemouth University.

Questions the committee are likely to ask include:

• what is the current environmental state of the protected areas in England which might be included in the commitment to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030?
• what are the main factors affecting the environmental state of England’s protected areas on land and sea, including stressors and positive management practices?
• to what extent could the regulatory regime be better used to drive improvements to the management and monitoring of protected areas?
• how can protected landscapes like National Parks and AONBs contribute to the ‘30 by 30’ goal and what (if anything) needs to change for them to do so?
• what works well in the Government’s existing schemes and engagement with the overseas territories on protected areas, and what improvements could be made?