§ Lord Juddasked Her Majesty's Government:
What steps they have taken since the 1992 Rio Conference on environment and development to review the effectiveness of the International Tropical Timber Agreement, what proposals they are making for reform of that agreement and what future role they see for the agreement in the effective monitoring of the international timber trade in the context of their policies towards responsible management of the global environment and sustainable development.
§ Baroness Chalker of WallaseyWe continuously monitor the performance of the International Tropical Timber Organisation. In the renegotiation of the International Tropical Timber Agreement the United Kingdom, along with other tropical timber consuming countries, has proposed focusing the objectives of the new agreement on the sustainable production of tropical timber. We have also proposed measures to improve the operational performance of the International Tropical Timber Organisation. We aim to enhance its capacity to meet its target of the year 2000 for all internationally traded tropical timber to come from sustainably managed sources.