§ Mr. McCrindleTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) if he will list those projects for which development aid has been provided to assist in rain forest conservation by Her Majesty's Government; and if he will make a statement;
(2) if he will list the amount of development aid provided by Her Majesty's Government to assist in rain forest conservation in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement;
(3) if he will list the amount of development aid per project, the nature of the project, and to whom aid has been provided by Her Majesty's Government to assist in rain forest conservation; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Chris PattenDetails of the Overseas Development Administration's activities to protect rain forests are given in a supplement to the December 1988 issue of "British Overseas Development", copies of which are in the Library.
Identifiable expenditure on bilateral aid for all types of forestry for the calendar years 1983 to 1988 was:
Expenditure by £ thousands Overseas Development on Administrati on Commonwealth Development Corporation Total 1983 2,103 2,502 4,605 1984 4,360 1,968 6,328 1985 5,825 1,217 7,042 1986 7,329 7,973 15,302 1987 6,449 3,490 9,939 1988 (not yet available) 3,391 Expenditure on training and some other technical co-operation in the forestry sector could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. McCrindleTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when assessments are made of the effects of providing aid for rain forest conservation programmes; what is the latest assessment; what consideration is being given to increasing the funding of such projects; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Chris PattenThe Overseas Development Administration's projects in the forestry sector are closely monitored by our project managers and specialist advisers. We have made no general evaluation of the impact of our rain forest conservation activities but we are nonetheless very much aware of the local and global importance of rain forests. As part of our forestry initiative we have identified more than 20 countries where there are good prospects for new British aid-funded activities to promote all types of forestry. We are increasing our funding for forestry research and are encouraging British charities to put forward more forestry projects for joint funding.
22W
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) Financial year Area sq ft (million) "Opportunity cost" rent £ million Contribution in lieu of rates £ million Club sub-scription for minor works and main-tenance £ million Administration charge in respect of (5) £ million Total £ million 1983–84 5.5 24.1 17.3 5.3 1.5 48.1 1984085 4.6 22.6 17.0 5.6 1.3 46.6 1985–86 4.4 23.9 16.1 6.2 1.5 47.7
§ Mr. McCrindleTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what cost benefit analysis has been undertaken of the most effective methods of assisting rain forest conservation by Her Majesty's Government; what conclusions were drawn; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Chris PattenThe Overseas Development Administration has not undertaken any general cost benefit analysis of methods of assisting rain forest conservation. We discuss with individual Governments their countries' needs and Britain's ability to help. Potential projects are subject to economic, social and environmental appraisal.
§ Mr. McCrindleTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on comparative rain forest depletion in(a) Brazil and (b) other parts of the world.
§ Mr. Chris PattenThe latest internationally comparable figures relate to 1976–80. Deforestation rates for tropical moist forest by region and worldwide were:
Tropical closed moist forest Area lost (millions of hectares/year) Percentage of total area Africa 1.20 0.59 Asia Pacific 1.61 0.61 Latin America 3.30 0.54 Worldwide 6.11 0.57 Brazil's deforestation rate for all closed forest and open woodland was 2.32 million hectares or 0.5 per cent. per year. The Brazilian rate has increased during the 1980s but I am not aware of any agreed figures relating to rain forest alone.