§ Mrs. SpelmanTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what her Department's policy is on deforestation. [73281]
§ Clare ShortDeforestation is a serious problem in many countries but it affects people in different ways and is not always harmful. It is driven by many factors that vary in nature and scale from place to place. Some of these factors, such as unsustainable timber extraction, are linked to the forest sector while others, such as agricultural and energy policies, lie outside the forest sector.
Each country has a particular set of circumstances, in terms both of the direct and underlying causes of deforestation and of the scope for action in addressing them. My Department works with developing countries to address the underlying causes of deforestation in the context of their national forest programmes and wider strategies for sustainable development. We have also supported work by the Intergovernmental Forum on Forest on the underlying causes of deforestation and forest degradation.