HC Deb 24 April 1995 vol 258 cc330-1W
Mr. Dafis

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the principal reasons for the general failure of initiatives taken so far, including the tropical forestry action plan and the International Tropical Timber Organisation, not to prevent the destruction of tropical rainforests. [19803]

Mr. Baldry

[holding answer 21 April 1995]: Much forest loss is caused by local land use pressures which are not subject to resolution through international initiatives. TFAP and ITTO have assisted and encouraged Governments to develop and implement sustainable forest management policies in their own countries, but they cannot replace the overriding importance of national action and local political commitment.

Mr. Dafis

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the willingness or otherwise of the British public to pay, through taxation, for additional measures to conserve tropical rainforests. [19806]

Mr. Baldry

[holding answer 21 April 1995]: Sustainable management of tropical rainforests is principally the responsibility of the Governments of the countries in which they occur. It is not evident that measures taken by them would be directly assisted by taxation levied in the United Kingdom. In due course, producer countries might aim to fund forest conservation partly from a premium on tropical timber certified as being from a sustainable source, but there are differing views on the willingness of consumers to pay such premiums.

Mr. Dafis

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the United Kingdom Government's policy regarding the involvement of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation in the issue of tropical rainforest conservation. [19805]

Mr. Baldry

[holding answer 21 April 1995]: FAO is responsible within the UN system for forest issues and has considerable expertise in forestry. We believe that FAO should increase the proportion of its existing resources which it devotes to assisting the sustainable development and conversation of forests.