Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to provide assistance to (a) Ecuador, (b) Paraguay, (c) Peru and (d) Brazil following forest fires in those countries.

The UK has closely monitored recent forest fires in Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Brazil. The UK's support for sustainable development and climate change adaptation should reduce drought impacts and wildfires long-term. In Ecuador and Peru, we are contributing up to £12.3 million through the Andes-Amazon Biodiverse Landscape Fund and in Brazil, through the Amazon Fund (£80 million contributed, with a further £35 million committed). In Paraguay, we support capacity building on forest fire mitigation and response amongst indigenous and local communities. Climate Minister Kerry McCarthy MP visited the Amazon Rainforest last week, meeting firefighters on the front-line using equipment purchased through the Amazon Fund.