§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the letter of 17 June 1997 from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State to the hon. Member for Linlithgow, what support her Department has given to the Iwokrama International Rainforest Centre to provide forest research capacity for the Guyana Shield. [44066]
§ Clare ShortMy Department has committed £3 million to the Centre's Sustainable Human Development Project in order to develop sustainable forest management approaches which will benefit forest-dependent communities living in the Iwokrama Rainforest. It will include support for applied research and capacity building. The European Commission is appraising for EU funding a complementary project on the sustainable and equitable use of biodiversity in the Forest.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is committing £100,000 to the Centre's research programme which is also being assisted by Canada and which will benefit from close association with the Guyana Forestry Commission, also supported by DFID. Some of the Centre's research will be conducted in collaboration with the Tropenbos Foundation.