The Blue Belt Programme

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 government’s 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 2016 to 2021, the Blue Belt programme was funded by nearly £25 million from the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will directly fund the Programme for 2021/22, with £8 million funding confirmed.

This 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 recent work and highlights from the Blue Belt Programme with the Annual Update 2020-2021:

• Blue Belt Annual Report 2021 (PDF, 3.87 MB, 13 pages)

For a detailed breakdown of Blue Belt Programme activities and achievements, see the below publications:

• Blue Belt Programme 2016-2020 highlights (PDF, 10.6 MB, 10 pages)

• Blue Belt Programme annual update 2019/20 (PDF, 9.87 MB, 15 pages)

• Blue Belt Programme annual update 2018/19 (PDF, 13.9 MB, 17 pages)

• Blue Belt Programme annual update 2017/18 (PDF, 5.14 MB, 15 pages)

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 the Overseas Territories.

ThisThe isProgramme inassists orderUKOTs to better understand the potential impacts of activities on the health and sustainability of thetheir Territories’ marine environments, and ultimately protect them from harmful activity.

TheFind out more:

Blue Shield is(PDF, a1.96 BlueMB, Belt3 Programmepages)

The fundedGlobal project: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:

BlueGlobal ShieldOcean Wildlife Analysis Network Summary (PDF, 1.962.45 MB, 34 pages)

Additional resources and publications

Below are a selection of public facing documents that have been produced by the Blue Belt Programme’

Pitcairn Islands whale watching code of conduct resources:

• The Pitcairn Islands whale watching code of conduct - booklet (PDF, 3.51 MB, 8 pages)
• The Pitcairn Islands whale watching code of conduct - leaflet (PDF, 1.2 MB, 2 pages)

Climate change report cards:

• Climate change impacts on corals: report card (PDF, 4.91 MB, 16 pages)

Additional resources

• Tristan da Cunha update (PDF, 821 KB, 14 pages)
• Blue Belt: satellite surveillance, evaluation and next steps (PDF, 1.66 MB, 11 pages)
• Summary of unmanned aerial vehicle trails for use in UK Overseas Territories (PDF, 332 KB, 9 pages)
• St Helena Blue Belt workshop (PDF, 1.1 MB, 25 pages)
• Report on the Tristan da Cunha marine protection planning workshop (PDF, 568 KB, 23 pages)
• BIOT conservation management planning workshop report (PDF, 957 KB, 24 pages)
• Beyond the Blue Belt: technology for compliance and enforcement (PDF, 1.18 MB, 39 pages)
• Blue Belt Privacy Notice (PDF, 61.3 KB, 5 pages)
• Blue Belt Programme Roundtable: Protected Area Management Effectiveness (PDF, 2.82 MB, 47 pages)
• Socio-economic roundtable report (PDF, 925 KB, 36 pages)
• Integrated Marine Management – Working with People for Nature

Further information