§ 29. Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the recent UN report on the threat to 1,000 species of mammals and on international efforts to support biodiversity. [63034]
§ Mr. MeacherInformation from the World Conservation Union (IUCN) on the conservation status of species is reported in UNEP's Global Environment Outlook (GEO 3) published recently. The IUCN analysis from the year 2000 estimated that about 24 per cent. (1,130) of mammals and 12 per cent. (1,183) of birds are considered to be globally threatened. Since IUCN's previous assessment in 1996 the number of critically 999W endangered species has increased from 169 to 180 mammals and from 168 to 182 birds. These figures are a stark warning of the need for action to conserve biodiversity and to protect species and an indication of the size of the challenge. It needs international co-operation to address problems on this scale. We are working within existing international agreements to this end and will be looking to the World Summit on Sustainable Development for a renewed level of commitment.
Many mammal species in danger of over-exploitation through trade are listed on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). This regulates trade in animals and plants, and products derived from them, to ensure it is carried out in a sustainable way to safeguard the long-term survival of species. Trade in the most endangered species is banned while that in species which may become endangered is carefully regulated and monitored through a system of import and export permits. There are approximately 30,000 species listed on CITES, around 5,000 of which are mammals.
The UK is taking action at home and abroad to conserve biodiversity. The Darwin initiative launched at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 is a fund to assist countries that are rich in biodiversity but poor in resources to conserve their biological diversity. The fifth report on the Darwin Initiative was published on 17 July and copies placed in the Library of the House. So far it has provided £27 million to over 270 projects with links to some 80 developing countries. Through the UK's contributions the Global Environment Facility (GEF) we are helping developing countries and countries with economies in transition to meet their obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity. We are aiming for a significant replenishment of the GEF as soon as possible. And DFID are supporting sustainable forest management programmes in a number of developing countries.