My Lords, the UK has long been at the forefront of efforts to protect forests and halt and reverse deforestation, and we look forward to a strong focus on forests at the upcoming COP 30 in Brazil. Through our diplomacy partnerships and development programmes, we focus on forest governance, sustainable trade and investment, and mobilising finance to protect and restore forest biomes. We work across the tropics, including in the Indonesian region of Papua. We work closely with the Government of Indonesia to support sustainable development and Indonesia’s green transition.
I thank the Minister for his reply. West Papua has some of the greatest forests in the world. Unfortunately, they are rapidly being cleared to produce coconut oil and for other agri purposes. The other dimension is, of course, that West Papua is occupied by Indonesia and there is a heavy military presence. As a result of this, sometimes the local indigenous population are pushed off their ground to make way for these plantations. Will His Majesty’s Government make representations to the Government of Indonesia—the Minister just said they work closely with them—to protect the rights of the local people? As one placard of a protest group put it, West Papua is not an empty land.
I thank the noble and right reverend Lord for his question on this important issue. The UK respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Indonesia, including the region of Papua. We support the efforts of the Indonesian authorities and civil society to address the needs and aspirations of the Papuan people. All Papuans need to benefit from the development of the region. Where we have human rights concerns, we raise them, as we have done at both ministerial and senior official level. We continue to support a visit by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to the region. Our UK mission in Geneva raised this with the high commissioner’s office in April 2025, and we have encouraged both parties to agree dates.
My Lords, over the last two decades, we have seen the development of large-scale palm oil plantations in West Papua, and that has led to the clearance of vast swathes of primary rainforests, which are some of the most biodiverse in the world. What assessment have the Government made of the environmental and human rights impact of palm oil production in West Papua, and what steps are they taking to ensure that UK imports of palm oil are not linked to deforestation or associated abuses?
I thank the noble Baroness for her question. The UK is supportive of the implementation of the Indonesian sustainable palm oil standard to support Indonesia’s sustainable economic, social and environmental objectives. Agricultural expansion for a small number of commodities, as the noble Baroness rightly notes, is the biggest driver of forest loss. We need to improve the productivity of existing land to reduce pressure on the forest frontier. We need to realise more economic benefits for forest countries from preserving forests than from deforestation. The UK is supporting small farmers and the Government of Indonesia in their commitment to greater food security, and working to improve supply-chain transparency internationally. This includes supporting international partnerships and initiatives such as the Tropical Forest Alliance. The UK ODA programme promotes sustainable farming in countries such as Indonesia by working with national Governments.
My Lords, the Tropical Forest Forever Facility, due to be launched at COP 30, is the Brazilian Government’s proposed blended finance mechanism to ensure that Governments and businesses around the world are able to provide the much-needed finance to stop the devastation deforestation causes, while making a return on their investment. This is crucial. We are not talking about loans or grants. Will the Government commit to making an investment in the TFFF when the World Bank facility opens? If not, why not?
I thank the noble Baroness for raising the Tropical Forest Forever Facility; it is a very important part of the direction of travel on this subject and we welcome Brazil’s leadership on global forest finance, climate and nature, particularly in the lead-up to COP 30. We do need to find new ways to leverage private sector investment, as I think we all agree, into forest protection, and bold new ideas such as the Tropical Forest Forever Facility are really exciting and show great promise in the eyes of the Government and others. We are working with Brazil and other partners on the design and feasibility of the Tropical Forest Forever Facility ahead of COP 30 and we are keen to make as much progress as possible. We are hoping to see prioritisation of forests as an essential part of the solution to the climate and nature crisis. The Tropical Forest Forever Facility is developing at pace, and it is testament to President Lula’s leadership that he has committed to a $1 billion investment. The UK has provided over £1 million in technical assistance.
My Lords, last week I read with concern a piece in the Times saying that No. 10 is apparently blocking a report by the Joint Intelligence Committee, which it saw as “too negative”, as it was apparently warning that we are approaching serious tipping points in the Amazon rainforest that would create food shortages as well as huge national security threats. Can the Minister tell me whether this is true, whether the report exists and whether it is going to be published?
I thank the noble Baroness for her question. I am afraid that we do not comment on speculation. This Government are taking robust action to boost UK food security and turn the tide of nature’s decline, as well as prepare for the impacts of a changing climate and nature loss. This includes treating biodiversity loss as a security risk, investing in nature protection and restoration at home and abroad, and delivering £11.6 billion in international climate finance.
My Lords, will Ministers make clear in their discussions with Indonesia about this important issue that we absolutely recognise the territorial integrity of Indonesia, especially given its rapidly growing importance, not only in the region but internationally, as the country with the fourth-largest population in the world and as a growing economic force?
As I have already said, the UK respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Indonesia, including the region of Papua. The UK is working to agree a strategic partnership with Indonesia, and we hope to make progress on that soon.
My Lords, by coincidence, this morning I had a meeting facilitated by ActionAid UK with babassu coconut-breaking women from the Cerrado in Brazil. Will the Minister acknowledge what they told me: that deforestation is associated not just with climate change and collapsing nature but, in West Papua, Brazil and elsewhere, with human rights abuses, the displacement of indigenous people, and violence against women and girls?
I thank the noble Baroness for her question. I have already commented on the UK’s stance on human rights in Papua, but I also recognise that, as she said, deforestation is not only associated with the climate. In fact, the biggest contributor to the growth of deforestation in recent times has been wildfires.
My Lords, under the previous Government, the UK played a key role in a number of international agreements that included measures to halt deforestation, and we passed the landmark Environment Act 2021. That demonstrates how important we think this issue is. Can the Minister confirm that the Government will seek to work with businesses in a constructive way to reduce our global impact on deforestation?
I thank the noble Lord for his question. I am very happy to confirm, as I have said, that the UK continues to build on the work of the previous Government at the forefront of international efforts to champion forests and tackle deforestation. I stress that mobilising finance and business for the protection of forests and the ecosystem services they provide is an essential, and perhaps the most important, part of that.
My Lords, does the Minister recognise that someone such as me, who has visited West Papua frequently in recent years, can have no doubt whatever about the scale of the deforestation and the fact that it is being done to plant oil palms? Can he set out what precise steps we are taking to ensure that palm oil produced in that way and as a result of deforestation does not enter the United Kingdom?