Environmental Audit Committee launches inquiry into Sustainability in the Overseas Territories

The inquiry will specifically examine:

• The extent to which UK Government strategy on the UKOTs embodies the principles of sustainable development and appropriately trades-off environmental protection, social development and economic growth;
• How the UK Government is fulfilling its responsibilities to protect biodiversity in the UKOTs;
• How the UK Government is helping the UKOTs adapt to the impact of climate change;
• Whether the recommendations in our 2008 Report, Halting biodiversity loss, on safeguarding biodiversity and practising joined-up government to further conservation have been implemented;
• Whether UK Government strategy on the UKOTs is consistent with the conclusions and commitments on protecting biodiversity reached at the recent United Nations Rio+20 conference;
• How weaknesses in civil society and governance in the UKOTs impact on conservation; and
• How the introduction of ‘Marine Protected Areas’ could safeguard the marine environment in the uninhabited territories.

Submissions on these issues should ideally be sent to the Committee by Friday 30 November 2012. Guidance on preparing submissions is set out below.

FURTHER INFORMATION:

Media Information: Nick Davies  daviesnick@parliament.uk   020 7219 3297   / 07917488141

For written submissions to the Committee, please note:

Each submission should ideally:

• Begin with a short summary in bullet point form;
• Have numbered paragraphs; and
• Be in Word format with as little use of colour or logos as possible.

A copy of the submission should be sent by e-mail to eacom@parliament.uk and marked ‘Sustainability in the Overseas Territories’. An additional paper copy should be sent to:

Clerk of the Committee
Environmental Audit Committee
House of Commons
7 Millbank
London
SW1P 3JA

It would be helpful, for Data Protection purposes, if individuals submitting written evidence send their contact details separately in a covering letter. You should be aware that there may be circumstances in which the House of Commons will be required to communicate information to third parties on request, in order to comply with its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Please supply a postal address so a copy of the Committee’s report can be sent to you upon publication.

A guide for written submissions to Select Committees may be found on the parliamentary website at:

Guide for Witnesses to House of Commons Select Committees ( PDF 431 KB)

Please also note that:

• Material published elsewhere should not form the basis of a submission, but may be referred to within a proposed memorandum, in which case a hard copy of the published work should be included.
• Memoranda submitted must be kept confidential until published by the Committee, unless publication by the person or organisation submitting it is specifically authorised.
• Once submitted, evidence is the property of the Committee. The Committee normally, though not always, chooses to make public the written evidence it receives, by publishing it on the internet (where it will be searchable), by printing it or by making it available through the Parliamentary Archives. If there is any information you believe to be sensitive you should highlight it and explain what harm you believe would result from its disclosure. The Committee will take this into account in deciding whether to publish or further disclose the evidence.