§ Mr. Menzies CampbellTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure that timber imports from Brazil to the United Kingdom do not come from indigenous and biological reserves.
§ Mr. BaldryIt is the Brazilian Government's responsibility to ensure that timber extraction in Brazil is undertaken legally. The Brazilian Government are aware of our concern that logging in the Amazon should be legal and sustainable.
Our embassy in Brasilia has helped arrange discussions between representatives of United Kingdom timber importers and interested bodies in Brazil aimed at ensuring that all mahogany imported from Brazil comes from legal sources.
Through our aid programme we aim to help strengthen forest policies and management in Brazil.
§ Mr. Menzies CampbellTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what monitoring he is carrying out in respect of the World Bank funded Carajas project in Brazil; and what are his conclusions in relation to evidence of illegal logging and mining activities in indigenous people's territories.
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§ Mr. BaldryThe World Bank loan for the Carajas iron ore project and associated railway was approved in 1982 and closed in 1987. We have no recent information about logging and mining activities in the region.