§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the illegal importation of timber from the Amazon basin. [69487]
§ Mr. MeacherImports of illegally logged timber can only be seized at import by HM Customs and Excise where the timber concerned is covered by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and can be identified as having been imported in breach of its requirements. The same is true of other Member States of the EU. Thus, even if producing countries establish independent verification of legal compliance with chain-of-custody tracking to ensure timber was
Municipal Waste sent to Landfill thousand tonnes Type 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 London Borough of Bexley UA 66 37 37 42 Corporation of London UA 59 64 68 70 London Borough of Tower Hamlets UA 89 89 84 92 Westminster City Council UA 91 91 117 107 London Borough of Greenwich UA 15 23 23 47 London Borough of Lewisham UA 3 3 3 6 London Borough of Southwark UA 101 108 112 114 London Borough of Bromley UA 144 153 150 169 London Borough of Croydon UA 158 168 165 169 London Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames UA 71 69 64 70 London Borough of Merton UA 91 94 96 99 London Borough of Sutton UA 66 66 81 77 East London Waste Authority WDA 382 404 432 459 North London Waste Authority WDA 351 444 457 380 West London Waste Authority WDA 704 704 711 759 Western Riverside Waste Authority WDA 441 458 454 462 Total 2832 2975 3053 3124 UA—Unitary Authority
WDA—Waste Disposal Authority
252Wlegally or illegally logged, Customs cannot seize or reject imports of illegally logged timber unless they are covered by CITES. New EU-wide legislation is needed to empower customs authorities to prevent entry of illegally logged timber. The UK is working within the EU to identify what legislation is needed and how it can be introduced.