Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 7
7
Deferred
Illegal mining increasingly drives deforestation; FCDO programmes expand to address this.
Conclusion
Illegal mining is increasingly recognised as a driver of deforestation in some regions. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has indicated that its programmes addressing deforestation are to be expanded to cover a wider range of forest risk commodities, beyond timber, and will expressly include mining. We welcome this explicit recognition of a broader range of drivers of global deforestation. (Paragraph 27) The UK’s contribution to tackling global deforestation 47
Government Response Summary
The government's response focuses solely on existing United Kingdom Timber Regulations (UKTR) and FLEGT Regulations, and plans to review the Timber Regulations in 2024, completely omitting any mention of mining as a driver of deforestation, which was the focus of the committee's conclusion.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
Illegal logging is a major driver of deforestation, leading to loss of biodiversity, and contributing to climate change. It also damages rural communities and results in revenue loss for governments and legitimate businesses. By imposing greater responsibility on those placing timber and timber products on the UK market for the first time, our regulations support the embedding of sustainability standards in national requirements in origin countries, working towards legally backed forest stewardship. The United Kingdom Timber Regulations (UKTR) prohibit the placing of illegally harvested timber on the market. Under the Withdrawal Act, UKTR applies to GB. Businesses must exercise due diligence on timber imports to demonstrate legality of harvest. The Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Regulations and associated Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPA), aim to improve the supply of verified legal timber to the UK market. Producer countries who have agreed a VPA with the UK and can demonstrate effective nationwide controls verifying legality of harvest, can issue FLEGT licences. We plan to commence a review of the Timber Regulations in 2024. Full details of arrangements for engaging with stakeholders for this review will be announced in due course.