§ Mr. BoothTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will report on the outcome of the meetings of the Commission on Sustainable Development in April this year and of the governing council of the United Nations Environment Programme in May. [29351]
§ Mr. GummerI attended the high level segments of both meetings. The Commission on Sustainable Development reached agreement on the establishment of an intergovernmental panel on the protection and sustainable management of the world's forests. The CSD also provided ample evidence of the efforts being made across the world at national and local levels to implement agenda 21. A number of countries, including the United Kingdom, made presentations of their experience in developing a national strategy for sustainable development. Copies of the United Kingdom's report to the CSD were presented and copies have been placed in the Library.
The governing council of the United Nations Environment Programme approved a refocused work programme and agreed to continue its mandate as the world's environment voice. The United Kingdom was instrumental in setting in train a review of UNEP's
615Wgoverning structure. The executive director has been given the responsibility to produce options for reform to be considered at the next governing council in 1997. The United Kingdom also took the initiative in sponsoring a decision which invites UNEP to introduce green housekeeping measures and to urge the remainder of the United Nations system to follow its example.