To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions he has had with the Governments of (a) Brazil, (b) Ecuador and (c) Peru about the conservation of the Amazonian rainforest, with particular reference to (i) tackling illegal logging, (ii) managing farming in the forest and (iii) encouraging sustainable use of the forest. (92951)

The Government are working with Brazil, Ecuador, Peru and other countries to establish a policy framework for deforestation under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Ways of working towards sustainable forest management in the context of expansion of agriculture and illegal logging are the subject of debate in the United Nations Forum on Forests and elsewhere. Sustainable forest management will be one of the areas of collaboration under the UK-Brazil dialogue on sustainable development.