§ Mr. GouldTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action the Government have taken since September 1990 to reform the tropical forestry action plan.
§ Mrs. ChalkerThe United Kingdom participated in the ad hoc expert group in Geneva in March to develop revised goals and objectives for the TFAP and revisions to its organisation and management following the independent review of TFAP published in May 1990. The group emphasised the need for the TFAP to be country-led, nationally owned process overseen by a consultative group which would monitor quality and impact.
The FAO Council in June 1991 agreed that a small "contact group" of developing and developed countries, NGOs and international agencies should further develop the ad hoc group proposals and report to FAO's Council in November. The ODA will play an active part, if invited.
In countries where the ODA has been involved in TFAP activity since September 1990, officials have followed the recommendations of the independent review in formulating projects and strengthening planning capacity in-country.
§ Mr. GouldTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what bilateral aid has been given to developing countries to address the social and economic reasons for forest loss since September 1990; and what steps he has taken to assess its effectiveness in promoting agroforestry and reforestation;
(2) if he will list, with figures, the research projects wholly or partly funded by the Government, aimed at improving the productivity of forests in developing countries since September 1990.
§ Mrs. ChalkerThe following ODA forestry research projects have been approved since September 1990. These fall into two categories: strategic research and bilateral country programme activities. All have increased forest productivity as a major objective.
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Project ODA contribution £ Strategic Research Tree crop interactions in agroforestry prototypes in the Sahel 169,200 Management of miombo woodland as community woodlots 81,000 Comparative study of traditional and introduced tree crops 164,000 Rainforest regeneration in threatened forests of Northern Amazonia 46,000 Investigating soil characteristics and relationship to vegetation status on Mt. Cameroon 43,000 Collection of Calliandra calothyrus seeds and distribution 22,000 Reproductive biology of Contra alliodora 74,000 Evaluation of tree species' potential for fodder (in Central America and Africa) 292,000 170W
Project ODA contribution £ Study of Inga genetic resources in Central and South America 268,000 Mangrove distribution, vulnerability and management in Central America 34,000 Recovery of tropical forest ecosystems from major disturbances (Indonesia) 60,000 Impact of invasive tree species and control (Jamaica) 73,000 Agroforestry and Mycorrhiza research for semi-arid land of East Africa 60,000 Modelling approach to new logging practices (Malaysia) 45,000 Diseases of forest tress in South East Asia 26,000 Long-term production prospects of logged and unlogged forest in Uganda 98,000 Contribution of fruit-eating primates to natural forest regeneration in Uganda 142,000 Africa Acacia rhizobial technology and ecology (Zimbabwe) 204,000 Dipterocarps, Awarcariacae studies and their application 291,000 Study of seed growth of ecophysiology and Dipterocarp varieties 63,000 Molecular study of the genetic resources in the genus Lencaena 66,000 Comparative physiology, field performance and propagation of prosopsis plants 243,000 Improving yield and sustainability of food production by control of soil acidity 142,000 Reliability of genetic parameters estimated from forest tree progeny tests 161,000 Bilateral Research Programmes Production of national database of land resources in Belize 143,000 Developmental potential of rosewood and other species in Para State, Brazil 634,000 Establishment of new biological research station in Caxiuana National Forest, Para State, Brazil 1,351,000 Biological study of ecology, natural regeneration and flora of flooded forest, Para State, Brazil 246,000 Pilot management project to demonstrate artificial regeneration techniques and management procedures in Cameroon 1,900,000 Forest ecology research and staff training in Ghana 333,000 Entomological research in Guyana's forest 190,000 Development of a small and medium scale wood industry in Honduras 1,956,000 Managing lowland dipterocarp forest as a sustainable and productive resource (Indonesia) 2,644,000
Project ODA contribution £ Biological control of aphids attacking conifer plantations in Malawi 612,000 Development of a sustainable forestry research capacity in Nepal 4,921,000 The following projects have investigation of social/ economic reasons for forest loss as part of their overall objectives [Strategic Research (SR); Bilateral (B)].
£ Belize forest planning and management (B) 3,356,000 Impact of rainforest logging on local people in Sumatra (SR) 32,000 Resistance of forests to Hurricane Gilbert (Jamaica) (SR) 200,000 Indigenous forest conservation project (Kenya)(B) 4,860,000 Integration of social forestry issues into objectives of Cross River State, (Nigeria)(B) 1,690,000 Adoption of hedgerow intercropping by Third World farmers (SR) 48,000 Under ODA's joint funding scheme, finance is also provided for many non-governmental organisation projects. Details of these could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
ODA has long-established procedures for monitoring and evaluation of projects including feedback of evaluation lessons to all seven programme managers. ODA is currently evaluating five completed forestry projects, in Kenya, India, Lesotho, Nepal and Cote d'Ivoire. The results of this are expected in mid-1992.