| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
15 Nov 2004 : Column 991W—continued
BSE
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the recent Food Standards Agency findings on shortcomings in the Meat Hygiene Service in relation to BSE controls. [193294]
Mr. Bradshaw: Defra accepts the conclusions of the FSA's independent inquiry into failure by the Meat Hygiene Service to test some 24–30 month casualty animals. We are addressing those recommendations that fall to Defra. The FSA Board agreed on 14 October that the FSA would work closely with all the parties concerned on an action plan to prevent further failures.
CITES Import Permits
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species import permits have been granted for (a) wild-caught and (b) captive-bred primates from outside the EU in the last five years, broken down by (i) species and (ii) purpose of import. [196811]
Mr. Morley: The following table shows the numbers and species of primates imported from 2000 to date.
15 Nov 2004 : Column 992W
Climate Change
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will examine the report, "Up In Smoke?", on the impact of global warming on human development, by the Working Group on Climate Change and Development. [196495]
Mr. Morley:
The Department welcome the report "Up In Smoke?". The report, put together by leading environmental and development organisations, highlights how the impacts of climate change could undermine achievement of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGS) and that climate change could even reverse human development achievements. It reinforces the need for developed countries to take the lead in actions to mitigate climate change and calls for the provision of greater financial assistance to help developing countries to adapt to the impacts of
15 Nov 2004 : Column 993W
climate change. It also identifies the need for nature conservation and development models that are both climate proof and climate friendly.
Climate change is already happening. Because of past and recent emissions of greenhouse gases, we are already locked in some degree of climate change. As stated in the report, it is the poor and vulnerable communities that are going to suffer the most. The report calls for urgent action from governments. We recognise the need to act now to effectively combat climate change. We fully recognise the need to work with developing countries to help them assess their vulnerability to climate change and adapt to the inevitable changes.
One of the recommendations of the report is to "work toward a better understanding of the threat". The Department works with developing countries to help them improve their understanding of the effects of climate change. Defra has undertaken collaborative research projects with India and China to help these countries assess the likely impacts of climate change. This work involved the development of new approaches to assessment of vulnerability as well as capacity building. New bilateral research projects with China and India are currently being developed.
As highlighted in the report, Africa is one of the most vulnerable countries to the adverse effects of climate change. The report reads: "Africa already has a highly variable and unpredictable climate and climate change is making it worse". The Department and the Department for International Development, DFID, have commissioned a joint study on climate and climate change issues relevant to Africa. The study will identify information gaps, key priorities for further research and options for collective international action for Africa. The results of this study will be made available to the Commission for Africa.
Climate change threatens livelihoods of poor people with long-term pernicious effects on development. The report calls for development models based on risk reduction and incorporating adaptation strategies. The Department is actively involved in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Working Party on Global and Sustainable Policies, which aims to identify the linkages between climate change and development. This work will also be useful in informing the UK's G8 focus on both climate change and Africa.
DFID is supporting developing country efforts to integrate climate change into mainstream poverty reduction agendas. DFID is working with other donors, NGOs, developing country partners and the disaster risk reduction community to better understand how climate risks can be managed. For example, DFID is engaged in a multi-agency effort to identify linkages, complementarities and areas of divergence between disaster prevention and climate change adaptation.
Coastal Defences
Mr. Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she has discussed the weighting given to heritage in the calculation of need for coastal defences with her counterpart in the Dutch Government. [193487]
15 Nov 2004 : Column 994W
Mr. Morley: I have had informal discussions with ministerial colleagues in the Netherlands on matters relating to coastal defences but have not discussed this specific point with them.
Officials from our two countries meet on a regular basis. Recognising the benefits to be gained by shared experiences both in respect of policy and engineering solutions, officials from the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Denmark and England agreed to meet on an annual basis more than five years ago and so formed the North Sea Coastal Managers Group. The English delegation is led by my Chief Engineer.
Meetings of the group have proved an invaluable forum for the exchange of information. However, it is important to recognise that there are differences between the Netherlands and England both in terms of the geography of the coastline and the proportion of the economic wealth at risk of flooding.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |