The chapter starts by highlighting the role of international legal and policy drivers on domestic conservation law. In a post-Brexit world, the role of international law is bound to become even more significant, hence the fact that the UK is a party to many multilateral environmental agreements setting out conservation obligations is significant. The chapter then moves to the legal regime for the protection of marine biodiversity in England, starting with an introduction into the regulatory bodies and then focusing on the two main legal instruments for the designation and management of marine protected areas: the Habitats Regulations 2017, as amended and the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009, offering a comparison between the two in terms of designation and management provisions. Finally, a note on key implementation challenges is offered. The legal map presented is framed using the conceptual categories of new commons and enclosures defined in Chapter 1.

This chapter discusses regulatory uncertainty and change by focusing on a major legal and political disruptive force, that is Brexit. The chapter investigates how Brexit is affecting the conservation of marine biodiversity as well as the legitimacy and accountability of marine conservation regulation, thereby potentially impacting on the commoning of conservation law. The chapter, after a note to remind the reader of the multiple entanglements between EU and UK law, introduces key challenges to environmental law due to the changing governance architecture, considering specifically the role of environmental principles as well as that of institutions for ensuring the accountability for environmental standards. A section on the changes brought about by Brexit amendments to the Habitats Regulations follows and precedes the chapter conclusions.