§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he will take to encourage North sea states to produce a directory of the North sea coastal margin in order to protect North sea ecosystems; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. BaldryThe United Kingdom delegation to the North sea task force will be presenting a draft of our North Sea Coastal directory to the seventh meeting of the task force to be held in Antwerp from 19 to 22 November. This directory has been compiled for my Department by the Nature Conservancy Council, and subsequently the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, in order to bring together informaton on the conservation interest of the coastal zone. It will be a valauble contribution to the next quality status report on the North sea. We very much hope that other North sea states will support similar studies for their areas. Copies of the draft are being sent to interested organisations in the United Kingdom.