§ Mr. GardinerTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the African Forest Law Enforcement and Government Ministerial Conference recently held in Cameroon. [136632]
Mr. Gareth ThomasI represented the UK at the Africa Forest Law Enforcement and Governance Conference which took place in Yaounde, Cameroon, from 13 to 16 October. Officials from DFID, Defra and the FCO also attended. The UK private sector and British NGOs sent strong delegations.
The purpose of the Conference was to build commitment to improve governance and strengthen law enforcement capacity. There was a particular focus on illegal logging, associated trade and bushmeat.
Ministers from 40 countries adopted a Declaration that commits governments from Africa and those of trading and development partners to work together to address these problems. The Declaration contains a series of indicative actions to be taken forward by these governments together with the private sector and NGOs. Independent monitoring of forestry operations and greater transparency in the allocation of forest resources were identified as critical elements for improving governance and countering corruption. Participants concerned with wildlife and the trade in bushmeat were pleased with the attention given to this subject and acknowledged that it cannot he disassociated from wider concerns about the livelihoods of poor people.
There was considerable interest in the EU Action Plan on forest law enforcement, governance and trade that the European Council endorsed on 13 October. Several African countries are keen to discuss the development of voluntary partnership agreements with the EU. Officials from my Department, Defra and FCO will now take this up with colleagues from the EC, other Member States and the African countries concerned.