§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his policy towards controls on the trade in rain forest timber; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. ChalkerThe Government do not support unilateral bans or restrictions in the import of tropical timber. However, they do support and adhere to trade restrictions which have been agreed in international fora—such as appendix I of the CITES lists of endangered species.
The Government believe that bans would be counterproductive and would serve only to speed up the rate of deforestation. They would only rob forests of the value which presently affords them some protection against needless conversion to alternative land uses.
The Government aim to persuade and help tropical timber-producing countries to manage their forests on a sustainable basis.
The International Tropical Timber Organisation also has an important role in helping to promote national policies aimed at sustainable utilisation and conservation of tropical forests and their genetic resources. The Government are helping to strengthen ITTO to ensure that it works more effectively.
The Government are working towards the agreement of a declaration of principles for the sustainable management of the world's forest resources for endorsement by world leaders at the United Nations conference on environment and development 1992.
§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if new logging activities in primary rain forest are currently funded under the bilateral aid programme; and if he will make a statement.
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§ Mrs. ChalkerThe Government do not finance commercial logging projects in primary rain forests. However, some timber extraction may be allowed in projects with wider objectives—for example, in studies of forest regeneration or in helping to promote sustainable management systems.