Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to address the accelerating deforestation of the Ivory Coast due to the illegal growth of cocoa crops.

We are very much engaged in supporting efforts to end deforestation, including through the Department for International Development (DFID) funded Cocoa and Forests Initiative, which was launched in London in March. Under this initiative, the cocoa and chocolate industries have committed publicly to end deforestation associated with cocoa production in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. DFID has provided support for consultations on Joint Frameworks for Action on Cocoa and Deforestation with government, farmers and civil society in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, to ensure the industry commitment is implemented.