§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will now arrange a meeting with his American counterpart to co-ordinate implementation of the priority elements of the biodiversity convention.
§ Mr. MacleanMy right hon. and learned Friend discussed the biodiversity convention with Vice President Gore and the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency on his visit to the United States last month.
We were very pleased to hear that the United States now intends to sign the convention and we will continue to work with them to resolve our various concerns about the interpretation of some of its provisions with a view to achieving the objective of establishing the basis for ratification of the convention by the end of this year.