§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consequences have flowed from the meetings held by officials of the hon. Member for Bath (Mr. Patten) with Megadon and Pa-ikan Amer-Indian chiefs from the rain forest.
§ Mr. Chris PattenAt my meeting on 28 April with Chief Raoni, Chief Payakan and representatives of the Rainforest Foundation, I invited the Rainforest Foundation to apply for joint funding by the Overseas Development Administration of a project to enforce demarcation of the protected area of the rain forest. When a proposal comes forward, I shall consider it sympathetically.
§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government are taking to halt the destruction of tropical rain forests; and what he is doing to promote the concept of sustainable yield in timber management in tropical rain forests.
§ Mr. Chris PattenThe Overseas Development Administration is implementing a forestry initiative aimed at increasing our aid for the sector in an effort to combat forest destruction. We are using the aid programme to promote the concept of sustainable yield in timber management, for example through a £3.7 million forestry inventory and management project in Ghana. We also promote the concept through participation in tropical forestry action plan sector reviews and in the International Tropical Timber Organisation. The recent sixth session of the ITTO council decided to request the executive director to propose ways of implementing policies to promote sustainable management of natural forests and woodlands.