Asked by: Lord Bishop of Norwich (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of Official Development Assistance has been spent on ecosystem conservation, protection and restoration and tree planting internationally in the last five years, and what proportion of Official Development Assistance is forecast to be spent in these areas in the next budget period.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Over the last five years (2018/19 - 2022/23) the UK spent £1,397 million of Official Development Assistance (ODA) on programmes that protected and restored nature, including £865 million specifically targeting forests. Between 2021/22 and 2025/26 the UK has pledged to spend at least £3 billion of our International Climate Finance (ICF) on restoring and protecting nature, including £1.5 billion on forests. Our latest results [UK International Climate Finance results 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)]show that between 2011 and 2023 UK ICF has avoided 413,000 hectares of ecosystem loss, and generated or protected ecosystem services valued at £5,302,000.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Norwich (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Communion Forest, an initiative comprising local activities of tree growing and ecosystem conservation, protection and restoration undertaken by parishes, dioceses and provinces across the Anglican Communion.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government has not made a formal assessment of the Communion Forest Initiative but would be happy to meet with representatives to hear more about their work. It is heartening to learn about this initiative from the Anglican Communion, as it echoes the importance this government places on efforts to restore and protect forests. Please thank your teams for their efforts, noting that it is important that we all are working to combat climate change and reverse forest loss.