Centre For Environment Fisheries Aquaculture Science
Since 2016 the UK Overseas Territories have enhanced marine protection across over 4 million square kilometres of marine environment with support from the Blue Belt Programme.
From the vast penguin colonies of South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands to the marine turtles of Ascension Island, the UK Overseas Territories are home to globally significant biodiversity.
This flagship programme has been central to the UK governments ambition of leading action to tackle the serious global problems of overfishing, species extinction and climate change.
Objectives and funding
Above image shows geographic scope of the Blue Belt Programme.
The Blue Belt Programme works closely with UK Overseas Territories to help them enhance the protection and management of their precious marine environments. The Overseas Territories that are included within the programme are highlighted above.
The Blue Belt enhances marine protection across over 4 million square kilometres of marine environment by:
- understanding and protecting biodiversity
- strengthening governance
- managing human impacts
- supporting sustainable fisheries management
- supporting compliance and enforcement.
Between 2022 2025, the Programme will be funded directly by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Offices International Programme Fund.
The funding will provide ongoing support for the management, enforcement and scientific monitoring of Marine Protected Areas, and will allow us to develop our understanding of the effectiveness of the marine protection in place. We will also be able to support other OTs who wish to enhance their marine protection and sustainable management.
The Blue Belt Programme is supported by two world leading organisations the Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) and the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) on behalf of the UK Government.
Achievements
The Blue Belt Programme has supported the UK Overseas Territories to enhance marine protection across more than 4.3 million square kilometres of marine environment.
See latest work and highlights from the Blue Belt Programme with the Annual Update 2021-2022:
For a detailed breakdown of Blue Belt Programme activities and achievements, see the below publications:
Sub-Programmes
The Blue Belt Programme provides funding to two sub-programmes: the Blue Shield Programme, and the Global Ocean Wildlife Analysis Network.
These Programmes work with UK Overseas Territories to support them with specific elements of the marine conservation and management process.
The Blue Shield
The Blue Shield is a maritime domain awareness project, which works to assess and understand the activities that take place within the marine zones of Overseas Territories.
The Programme assists UKOTs to better understand the potential impacts of activities on the health and sustainability of their marine environments, and ultimately protect them from harmful activity.
The Global Wildlife Analysis Network
This network of underwater cameras, known as Baited Remote Underwater Video Systems (BRUVS), will monitor biodiversity and marine ecosystems across the Overseas Territories.
Cameras will be deployed across the Atlantic, Indian, Pacific and Southern Oceans, and will improve understanding of these marine environments, helping ensure they are protected and sustainably managed for future generations.
Find out more:
Additional resources and publications
Below are a selection of public facing documents that have been produced by the Blue Belt Programme
Working towards a blue future is a collection of recent research papers undertaken by both the Blue Belt Programme and key partners.
Pitcairn Islands whale watching code of conduct resources: