§ 41. Sir H. Roperasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what policy is being pursued for the replanting of depleted forest areas in the Colonial Territories.
§ Mr. LytteltonIn many Territories local legislation provides for the establishment of forest reserves. In Territories where forestry is comparatively advanced, such as Malaya, the Western Region of Nigeria, Trinidad and Cyprus, fellings in any one year are restricted, either by acreage or by volume, to allow for regeneration by natural seedling growth. In 1901 less advanced Territories, commercial extraction is controlled by regulations prohibiting the felling of trees of less than a prescribed girth. In some Colonies, particularly in East and Central Africa, depleted indigenous forests are being replaced by plantations, often of coniferous softwoods.
§ Sir H. RoperIs my right hon. Friend able to assure us that effective policies are in operation in all our Colonial Territories where there are forests?
§ Mr. LytteltonNo, I will not say that effective measures are in force everywhere, but we are trying to see that they come into force everywhere.