With its diverse collection of 16 Overseas Territories, the UK is the custodian of more than 6 million sq km of ocean around the world. Since 2010, the UK government has been working with other governments, local communities, and conservationists – including Blue Marine – to designate in its waters some of the world’s largest marine protected areas (MPAs). 

Comprised of Blue Marine and a group of partner NGOs, the Great Blue Ocean coalition came together in 2015 to create the Blue Belt Charter, which sought the protection of 4 million sq km of ocean in the UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs).  

The UK government subsequently launched the Blue Belt Programme in 2016. This has since supported the creation of MPAs in 10 Overseas Territories, which now protect more than 4.4 million sq km of sea across the Pacific, Indian, Atlantic, and Southern Oceans, and the Caribbean Sea. 

In 2017, Blue Marine’s #BackTheBlueBelt campaign ran on social media during the broadcast of David Attenborough’s ‘Blue Planet II’ series  on the BBC. At its height #BackTheBlueBelt was mentioned on social media every 1.8 seconds, and MPs were being directly messaged on Twitter by the British public every 7.5 seconds. More than 285 MPs signed the Blue Belt Charter. 

The Blue Belt is an international conservation initiative that works closely with the UKOTs to help them create and maintain healthy marine ecosystems. The UKOTs are home to up to 90 per cent of known endemic UK biodiversity, and host a huge range of unique and endangered species, often found nowhere else on earth.   

The programme has been central to the UK government’s ambition to lead action on the global problems of overfishing, species extinction and climate change. By assisting the UKOTs to protect the ocean, the Blue Belt aims to halt biodiversity loss, enable sustainable growth, ensure climate change resilience, and connect people with the natural environment.  

The Blue Belt programme supports the Territories in the management of their marine environments, safeguarding them for future generations. Its work covers these core themes: 

  • understanding and protecting biodiversity. 
  • strengthening governance and management frameworks. 
  • managing human impacts. 
  • assisting compliance and enforcement. 
  • capacity building and ocean literacy. 

 

In combination with the Darwin Plus grants scheme for the UKOTs, the Blue Belt is the UK’s largest contribution to global conservation. Blue Marine continues to be a dedicated supporter of the programme.