§ Mr. SayeedTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to curb the importing of illegally cut timber. [44706]
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§ Mr. MeacherCombating illegal logging requires effort from both timber producing and consuming countries. Timber producing countries are responsible for defining and enforcing the national legislative and regulatory frameworks that define legality.
The Department for International Development (DFID) is working with a number of timber exporting countries to help them improve governance and strengthen forest law enforcement. We are also working to develop capacity for the implementation of timber certification schemes in some producing countries.
Domestically, the UK is working to ensure that the import of endangered timber species is in full compliance with CITES, the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species. We are also implementing a new Government timber procurement policy that seeks to procure forest products only from legal and sustainable sources.
The UK has shown leadership under the G8 Action Programme on Forests in promoting bilateral arrangements with timber producing countries whereby countries work together to tackle illegal logging and associated trade. We are currently negotiating the first of these with Indonesia. We hope that bilateral agreements will lead to regional and, eventually, an international agreement that will have a big impact on illegal trade.
§ Mr. SayeedTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research her Department has(a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into the success of the Greening Government scheme in encouraging Government Departments to purchase timber from independently certified sustainable sources; and if she will make a statement. [44704]
§ Mr. MeacherThe Department has commissioned a report on the scale of timber procurement activities undertaken by central Government Departments and the improved guidance required to help buyers purchase timber and wood products from sustainable and legal sources. The final report is not due to be published until the summer of 2002. The timber trade, non-governmental organisations and other interested stakeholders are being consulted on the options for assessing product supplier claims on the sustainability of the source of the wood in their products. A consultation paper has been published on the website of the Tropical Forest Forum in advance of an open discussion on 25 March 2002. Written comments have been invited too. Following completion of the report it is intended that Departments will be given clearer guidelines including how to monitor and report on the evidence presented by suppliers. Departments will be asked to include information on wood product procurement in their returns for the annual reports on Sustainable Development in Government. This should enable their success in purchasing timber from independently certified sources to be evaluated.