UK Target 20: The UK will strengthen capacity-building and development, access to and transfer of technology, and promote development of and access to innovation and technical and scientific cooperation, including through South-South, North-South and triangular cooperation, to meet the needs for effective implementation, particularly in developing countries, fostering joint technology development and joint scientific research programmes for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and strengthening scientific research and monitoring capacities, commensurate with the ambition of the goals and targets of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).

Commitments:

UK

• We will deliver an Official Development Assistance (ODA) portfolio to support developing countries to protect the marine environment and reduce poverty. This includes:
  • the Ocean Country Partnership Programme (OCPP) —the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ (Defra’s) primary technical assistance programme, running from 2021–2026. OCPP provides technical assistance to coastal developing countries, enabling them to strengthen marine science expertise, develop science-based policy and management tools, and create educational resources for coastal communities. Funding for the Global Ocean Accounts Partnership (GOAP)  and the Friends of Ocean Action Alliance (FOA) has been incorporated into the OCPP programme. GOAP is a global multi-stakeholder partnership established to enable countries to develop ocean natural capital accounting to inform decision-making on the sustainable and equitable use of marine resources. FOA is delivered by the World Economic Forum and which focusses on improving the sustainability of blue food production, and helping developing countries recover and diversify their ocean economies following the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • the Global Fund for Coral Reefs—a multi-partner trust fund integrating public and private grants and investments for coral reefs to provide technical assistance, capacity development and monitoring and evaluation to build local capacity and de-risk private sector investment.
  • the Sustainable Blue Economies Programme, which aims to enhance the resilience of small island developing states (SIDS) through better ocean management, poverty reduction, improved livelihoods and greater use of nature-based solutions.
  • PROBLUE — a World Bank programme to support the development of blue economies in SIDS and coastal least developed countries (LDCs). This multi-donor trust fund focuses on management of the blue economy under four strategic pillars: fisheries and aquaculture, marine pollution, oceanic sectors and seascape management.
  • the Ocean Community Empowerment and Nature (OCEAN) Grants Programme, which supports in-country and local communities working on tackling marine issues.
  • the Climate and Ocean Adaptation and Sustainable Transition (COAST) Programme, which aims to improve the adaptive capacities, climate resilience and prosperity of vulnerable coastal communities in developing countries. It is driving a more sustainable and inclusive management of their marine and coastal resources, including through capacity-building at national and local levels and improving access to technologies, techniques and information that support sustainable blue economies in coastal areas.
  • the Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP): a public-private partnership established by the World Economic Forum in 2018 to accelerate the global response to address the problem of ocean plastic pollution. GPAP aims to establish up to 25 plastic partnerships with developing countries by 2025 to strengthen policies and regulations needed to reduce plastic pollution and mismanaged waste.
• We will deliver the Darwin Initiative, which helps to conserve biodiversity and reduce multi-dimensional poverty in low and middle-income countries. Darwin Initiative projects also enhance local stakeholders’ capability and capacity to deliver future biodiversity and multidimensional poverty reduction benefits, a proven approach to strengthening and sustaining impact beyond project completion.
• We will deliver the Reversing Environmental Degradation in Africa and Asia (REDAA) programme (2019–2028). Through a series of research grant calls, REDAA is supporting locally led projects that help both people and nature to thrive in times of climate, resource and fiscal insecurity. Through the research grant calls, REDAA will strengthen the capacity in organisations and groups affecting ecosystems to improve their capability in environmental management.
• We will deliver the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge (IWT) Fund, a competitive grant scheme, between 2022 and 2024 to support interventions to reduce demand for illegal wildlife products, ensure effective legislation, strengthen law enforcement, and address the drivers and impacts between poverty and the illegal trade. All grants should include activities and/or structures that will enhance and strengthen the capability and capacity of identified local and national partners, and stakeholders during their lifetime and in the future.
• We will deliver the Global Centre on Biodiversity for Climate (GCBC), including capacity strengthening and technical assistance for researchers working at the intersection of nature climate and poverty in developing countries. 
• Building on our investment and previous role as Ocean Co-Chair of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature & People (HAC for N&P), we will continue to steer and shape the work of the HAC for N&P, which will support its members to implement the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) target 3 using technical and financial matchmaking tools and a knowledge-sharing platform, including through our role as Ocean Champion on the International Steering Committee. 
• As Chair of the Global Ocean Alliance (GOA), we will continue to steer and shape the work of the GOA to support members to implement the GBF in the ocean by 2030, including facilitating the exchange of information and best practice, signposting tools and resources, and hosting technical and political events.

England

• We will deliver the Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment (NCEA) Programme by March 2025, to collect data on the extent, condition and change over time of England’s terrestrial and marine ecosystems and the benefits they provide. The evidence gathered will ensure we invest in environmental reforms that achieve maximum benefits for nature and society.

UK Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies

The British Virgin Islands 

• We will plan and make investments in the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College (HLSCC) training institution, with a focus on the charter yacht sector and marine environmental research and protection.
• We will develop links between Caribbean Sustainable Fisheries and the HLSCC to develop aquaculture training courses.
• We will develop, in conjunction with the HLSCC and other local non-governmental organisations, a pilot coral farming project to determine feasibility and techniques appropriate to the Virgin Islands’ conditions.
• We will develop the marine scientific research capacity of existing government agencies and the HLSCC to better support national marine research needs and to become a regional centre of excellence for marine scientific research and training.

The Falkland Islands

• We will continue working with countries in the broader region to share information and resources to facilitate better management of our marine environment.

Gibraltar

• We recognise the importance of working across boundaries and building strong partnerships at different levels and will actively seek to create partnerships with Morocco and with other UK Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.

UK

• There is a global commitment to mobilise $200 billion a year of nature finance by 2030, including through a new fund, under the Global Environment Facility, to tackle the nature crisis; and an expectation that $20 billion of public and private finance will flow internationally into nature by 2025, increasing to at least $30 billion by 2030.
• The UK is providing funding to a Global Centre on Biodiversity for Climate to support research and development that can generate evidence and unlock new approaches to addressing biodiversity and climate challenges simultaneously.

Scotland

• Our Marine Science and Innovation Strategy sets out our intention to maximise opportunities for the marine environment by working through dynamic partnerships both nationally and internationally.
• Our co-ordinated agenda for marine, environment, and rural affairs (CAMERAS) outlines how partners aim to make best use of resources through strengthening collaboration and co-ordination and improving the delivery of evidence to users. 

Wales

• The Nature Recovery Action Plan includes as themes for action: increasing knowledge and knowledge transfer; realising new investment and funding; upskilling and capacity for delivery; mainstreaming, governance and reporting our progress — transformative actions to influence behaviour and investment decisions to ensure we maintain and enhance biodiversity.

UK Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies

The British Virgin Islands

• The Virgin Islands Strategic Blue Economy Roadmap 2020–2025 was developed with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It sets out an integrated approach to ocean-based sustainable development which brings together economy, environment and society, consistent with the Sustainable Development Agenda (2030), Aichi Target 11 and the Paris Agreement (the Roadmap was developed before the Global Biodiversity Framework was agreed and is therefore consistent with the Aichi Targets agreed under the CBD for 2011–2020).

The Falkland Islands

• The Falkland Islands Environment Strategy 2021–2040 sets out the Falkland Islands’ objectives for the next 20 years, so that we can work towards a shared vision for the future of our environment.

Gibraltar

• The 25 Year Environment Plan sets out Gibraltar’s long-term strategy for protecting and enhancing its environment over the next quarter century. It provides a structured framework to guide policy, planning and environmental management.