§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he has taken on the preparation of a national plan based on the forest principles agreed at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development.
§ Sir Hector Monro[holding answer 7 December]: I have been asked to reply.
The guiding objective of the forest principles is to contribute to the management, conservation and sustainable development of forests and to provide for their multiple and complementary functions and uses. These principles already underlie the Government's forestry policy, the various elements of which were drawn together and published in a single statement in September 1991. This set the framework for the development of forestry in Britain.
The Government have now started preparing their national plan for the implementation of the forest principles. This will be published before the end of 1993.