§ Ms WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what action her Department is proposing to stop imports of illegally logged timber entering the United Kingdom. [158760]
§ Clare ShortThe enforcement of import policy is a matter for the Department of Trade and Industry and Her Majesty's Customs and Excise.
In developing countries my Department provides capacity-building assistance to Governments and institutions to help them monitor logging and enforce forestry laws. For example, last year we initiated a £25 million project in Indonesia which will, among other things, help civil society groups and reformers in the Government tackle the illegal logging problem in their country. We are also co-sponsoring, with the World Bank and other donors, a ministerial-level East Asia Forest Law Enforcement Conference later this year.
The UK has also taken a lead in the G8 in promoting action to tackle illegal logging. Following the Okinawa Summit last July, central Government Departments are now required actively to seek to purchase timber and timber products from legal and sustainable sources. DFID is funding research into options for intergovernmental action to address illegal logging, including the possible creation of an international legal framework.