§ Mr. Harry BarnesTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contribution his Department is making to the preparations to the United Nations conference on the environment and development which is due to be held in Brazil in 1992.
§ Mrs. ChalkerWe continue to work to make the conference a success. ODA and diplomatic wing officials 229W played a full part in the second meeting of the preparatory committee for the conference in Geneva in March and will continue to do so at future meetings. We have offered £32,000 to the voluntary fund established to finance participation by developing countries in the preparations for the conference. We are helping finance the preparation of national reports from Indonesia, Pakistan and Zimbabwe for the conference. Together with the Department of Trade and Industry we have financed a study on technology transfer to help developing countries address environmental problems, with a focus on global warming.