§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the United Kingdom contribution to ecological restoration in the Gulf region in regard to(a) dugong habitats, (b) coral reef protection, (c) capping of oil wells, (d) oil pollution of the Kuwaiti desert, and (e) removal of Iraqi mines.
§ Mr. BaldryThe United Kingdom was the first and largest contributor to the International Maritime Organisation's special trust fund to assist environmental recovery in the Gulf. Our £1 million contribution has been successfully used with those of others to clean up some of the Gulf's most sensitive habitats, including salt marsh and572W mangrove. I understand that no floating oil remains at sea. A United Kingdom expert, flown out with Government assistance to survey important Kuwaiti coral islands, found little evidence of damage.
All oil well fires are now out, some capped by a British group of companies which is continuing work on the reconstruction and repair of pipelines in the Sabriyah and Bahra fields. Other British consortia are bidding for recovery work to clear inland lakes of oil and the Natural Environment Research Council is helping to advise the Gulf states on pollution monitoring. Royal Ordnance plc is carrying out minefield clearance operations in Kuwait.