Oral Answers to Questions

John Lamont Excerpts

Tuesday 30th October 2018 Commons Chamber

[George Freeman (Mid Norfolk) (Con)]

9. What steps the Government are taking with international partners to tackle the illegal wildlife trade.

[John Lamont (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk) (Con)]

13. What steps the Government are taking with international partners to tackle the illegal wildlife trade.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mark Field]

I thank my hon. Friend for his comments. A Chatham House study presented at the London conference on transboundary green corridors supported the view that the creation of jobs and local prosperity partnerships can indeed help to protect endangered species. That is why we secured an uplift of some £6 million for the IWT challenge fund, and why DFID is committed to further such work to address these issues.

[John Lamont]

Now that the Government have confirmed that we will adopt a world-leading ban on the ivory trade that applies to ivory of all ages, what steps is the Minister taking to put pressure on other countries to adopt a similar measure, particularly those in the Chinese area?

[Mark Field]

We very much welcome China’s closure of the domestic ivory market. It is, of course, the single largest market in the world. It is vital to ensure that the ban is properly and fully enforced, and that the ivory trade is not allowed simply to relocate to other parts of south-east Asia, or indeed anywhere else. We shall continue to work with the Chinese Government and other Governments to ensure that that does not happen.