Developing Countries: Biodiversity
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of historical UK-linked deforestation and extractive industries on biodiversity loss in the Global South; and whether her Department supports global ecological restoration initiatives.
Answered by Stephen Doughty
Global deforestation rates peaked in the 1980s at around 15 million hectares per year, driven by a range of factors, including global demand for agricultural commodities, timber and wood products. Deforestation rates have since declined to around 10 million hectares a year but much more needs to be done to protect forests, which are a vital refuge for biodiversity, support the livelihoods of over one billion people worldwide and are crucial to limiting the damaging effects of climate change.
The UK is supporting efforts to restore critical global ecosystems and is on track to deliver £3 billion in International Climate Finance for nature and biodiversity by March 2026. This includes funding to international initiatives such as the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund, which aims to restore 30 per cent of degraded ecosystems globally by 2030.
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