§ Norman BakerTo ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what percentage of Africa she estimates was covered in forest in(a) 1975, (b) 1985, (c) 1995 and (d) 2002. [122665]
23W
§ Hilary BennComparable UN estimates for forest cover in Africa are available for 1990 and 2000. Forest cover fell from almost 24 per cent. of total land surface to just under 22 per cent., a net loss of 0.8 per cent. or 5.2 million ha a year (a loss roughly equivalent to the size of France annually). There were particularly high rates of loss of mangrove forests and in Cote d'Ivoire and Congo of natural forest.
Estimates of forest cover are available for 1980 and 1975 (25 per cent. in 1980 and between 17 per cent. and 33 per cent. of land area in 1975), but are not truly comparable as (a) they are based on different definitions of forest cover and (b) the assessment methods used in 1975 were neither accurate nor complete.
Deforestation between 1990 and 2000 was higher in Africa than in Asia. This is because 62 per cent. of Asia forest cover is now plantation, and this has compensated for loss of natural forest, whereas in Africa only 4 per cent. is plantation.
While "deforestation rate" is one official indicator for measuring success or failure of Millennium Development Goal 7 it is an imperfect one that hides differential impacts on poor people and does not capture the underlying causes of reducing forest cover—population growth, trade (including trade in illegal timber), macro-economic policies, weak governance, unclear access rights and conflict.
Sources:
State of the World's Forests 2002, FAO
State of the World's Forests, 1995, FAO
An Interim Report on the State of Forest Resources in Developing Countries, 1988, FAO
Sommer, A. "Attempt at a Global Assessment of Tropical Moist
Forests", Unasylva, 112–113, Vol 28.1976
Global Forest Watch—various
§ Norman BakerTo ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development if the Secretary of State will take steps to prevent industrial fishing by EU countries from seriously depleting fish stocks off the coast of Africa. [122668]
§ Hilary BennWe recognise that there is a risk to the fish stocks of African coastal states and that the activities of European fishing vessels, supported by EC negotiated access agreements, could be contributing to this.
We acknowledge that this is a very serious issue because very many poor people in these countries depend on healthy fish stocks to provide sources of livelihood, income and nutrition. However, the sale of access rights to foreign vessels also contributes substantially to the Government revenue of several African countries where there are few alternative sources of funds.
We believe that the solution lies in coherent policy and effective control rather than in outright prevention. In conjunction with the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, we are actively promoting the incorporation of measures for effective social and environmental impact assessment and regular stock assessment into these agreements. DFID's contribution to the current review of the European Union's Common Fisheries Policy is directed at securing these measures. Once the Policy reflects these improvements, we will 24W closely monitor how they are implemented. Finally, DFID funds several development programmes and initiatives aimed at increasing the capacity of developing countries in fisheries generally and in the negotiation of fisheries access agreements in particular. We are currently discussing with a number of African countries support to strengthen policy for a fairer distribution of the benefits generated from such agreements.
Finally, DFID funds several development programmes and initiatives aimed at increasing the capacity of developing countries in fisheries generally and in the negotiation of fisheries access agreements in particular. We are currently discussing with a number of African countries support to strengthen policy for a fairer distribution of the benefits generated from such agreements.