Minister for Environment John Cortes last week chaired the 10th meeting of the Council of Environment Ministers of the UK Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.

The meeting was attended by Ministers and representatives from 11 territories, including Turks and Caicos, St Helena, Cayman, Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey.

The meeting received presentations from experts on a number of issues of interest, including Green Finance, funding for environmental projects, and protected area and habitat management and improvement.

Minister Cortes said: “These meetings are extremely useful in exchanging experience and expertise and co-ordinating work between the territories, and between the territories and the UK Government.  The UKOTs boast some of the world’s most delicate and complex ecosystems and habitats, with at least 3,300 species which occur nowhere else in the world. Collectively, we harbour a truly staggering amount of biodiversity, which in turn provides many goods and services (e.g. tourism, storm-protection and carbon-capture).  We have a duty to protect and restore this, and we achieve more by doing this collectively.”