Vol. 410 No. 1
29 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will outline the progress which has been made in the implementation of the decision of the Dublin EC Summit of June 1990 that the Commission open discussions with Brazil and other Amazonian Pact countries in relation to the destruction of tropical forests; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The Dublin European Council of 25-26 June 1990 asked the Commission to open discussions as a matter of urgency with Brazil and other Amazonian Pact countries with a view to developing a concrete action programme involving the Community, its member states and these countries aimed at preventing the continuing and rapid destruction of tropical forests. Subsequently, the Group of 7 — the main industrialised countries—at the Houston Economic Summit of August 1991 expressed their willingness to co-operate with the Brazilian Government on this issue and requested the World Bank to prepare a proposal in close consultation with the EC Commission.
The World Bank, the Brazilian authorities and the EC Commission representatives met on a number of occasions in the latter part of 1990 and during the early months of this year, most recently last month, to work on the proposal and to prepare an agreed approach. While agreement has yet to be reached on a detailed programme, the following are the main elements under consideration: a programme of preservation, management and recovery of the resources of tropical forests; an international board for monitoring of activities under the programme and an appropriate time-frame and budget for the programme.
Progress on the contacts between the Commission, the Brazilian authorities and the World Bank have been discussed by the Council of Ministers on two occasions recently: at the Development Council on 27 May and at the Environment Council on 13 and 14 of this month. At both Councils, Ministers confirmed the importance it attaches to the rational management and the conservation of tropical forests, which are of vital importance both to the developing and to the developed countries.
