§ Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps have been taken by the Government since the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 to(a) set goals on environmental protection and (b) improve eco-efficiency and resource productivity relating to biodiversity issues; and what these (i) goals and (ii) improvements have been. [44340]
§ Mr. MeacherBiodiversity: The UK Action Plan, was published in 1994 as the UK Government's strategy for implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity, signed at Rio as part of the Earth Summit in 1992. S74 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 placed a duty on Ministers and Government Departments to have regard to the purpose of conserving biological diversity in accordance with the Convention. 436 action plans have been published for individual priority species and habitat types. Each of the Action Plans contains goals and targets for the conservation, enhancement and sustainable management of these habitats and species within their eco-systems in the UK. A report, "Sustaining the variety664W of life: 5 years of the UK Biodiversity Action Plan" was published by the UK Biodiversity Group in March 2001, and shows the progress that has been made. The 1994 UK Action Plan is in the House libraries and other relevant documentation and the March 2001 report can be found on www.ukbap.org.uk