§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on action to mitigate oil spills and ecological damage in the Gulf.
§ Mr. HeseltineThe states whose coastlines are most at risk from the oil deliberately released from Iraqi installations or as a consequence of Iraqi shelling have the primary responsibility for response action. Recognising the unprecedented scale of the threat, both the coalition Governments and the wider international community have offered assistance to the Gulf states in the form of expertise or pollution control equipment. I described the initial assistance offered by the United Kingdom in my letter to hon. Members of 6 February which included both expert advice on pollution control and assessment of the biological effects of the oil spill. Our current information is that the largest oil slick has had a serious impact along parts of the coastline of Saudi Arabia from Khafji as far south as the island of Abu Ali. Protective booms are in place round the intakes for major industrial and desalination plants along the Saudi coast and work has begun on protecting the most ecologically sensitive sites.
§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the destruction of coral reefs in the Gulf forming the spring spawning grounds for large shrimp fisheries.
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§ Mr. Heseltine[holding answer 18 February 1991]: The assessment of the biological effects of the Gulf oil spill carried out by the Natural Environment Research Council for my Department includes a description of the likely effects of oil on the coral ecosystem in the Gulf. A copy of this report is in the Library. We do not yet have sufficiently detailed information from the Gulf to determine how serious the impact of the slick has been, but it is likely that at least some of the coastal reefs between Khafji and Manifa in Saudi Arabia have been affected.