§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to propose to the forthcoming Group of Seven summit a policy for a clear commitment to cease support of multilateral and bilateral aid that causes unsustainable damage to intact tropical forests.
§ Mrs. Chalker[holding answer 8 July 1991]: The Government believe that multilateral and bilateral aid should not support unsustainable activities in tropical forests. They take every opportunity to make this position clear and are prepared to do so, if necessary, at the summit.
§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is Her Majesty's Government's policy on the development of a legally binding global instrument to conserve the world's forests;
(2) what steps Her Majesty's Government have taken towards facilitating the establishment of an international instrument on forests, to be signed in Brazil at the Earth Summit in 1992.
§ Mrs. Chalker[holding answer 8 July 1991]: The Government support proposals for a statement of principles on the management of the world's forests which is to be endorsed by world leaders at the UN conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Brazil in June 1992. The Government are also grateful for the agreement of a legally binding instrument thereafter. We are engaged in discussions with a wide variety of developed and developing countries in the context of the preparations for the UNCED towards this end.