Biodiversity
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish baseline data for the extent of degraded ecosystems in terrestrial, inland waters and the marine environments in the UK in line with Target 2 of the Global Biodiversity Framework.
Answered by Mary Creagh
The Government publishes a wide range of data relevant to ecosystem condition and restoration across terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments. In the marine environment, assessments of progress towards Good Environmental Status are publicly available through the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science's Marine Online Assessment Tool.
Defra’s Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment Programme will deliver a baseline assessment of the environment at a national and regional scale, including datasets across England's terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems. It will conclude in 2028 having completed its five-year strategic sample.
The Government will continue to build the evidence base and monitoring approaches needed to support a robust assessment of ecosystem restoration across the UK.
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