Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asks the British Government what they will do about the Yasuní

Recorded on the UK government website is:

Ecuador: Yasuni Rainforest Reserve
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:

What support they intend to offer the Government of Ecuador in preserving the Yasuni rainforest reserve. [HL5494]

The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change & Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): Joan Ruddock met the Yasuni Green Gold Campaign last week. We are supportive of approaches to develop incentives to reduce emissions from both wholesale deforestation and more gradual damage. The UK has contributed £15 million to the World Bank Forest Carbon Partnership Facility which will assist developing countries in working out how they can participate in and benefit from evolving incentive mechanisms for avoided deforestation.

Wednesday: a Yasuní Green Gold meeting at the House of Commons

Colin Challen kindly set up a meeting for us in the House of Commons. His introduction showed a clear understanding of the concerns of the campaign and set us up well to go on and talk in more detail. Colin has also started an Early-Day-Motion (see next blog entry) a petition outlining the campaign asks for MPs to sign - So get your MP to sign!
Colin also offered to write to ministers and departments and most importantly to ask a question about the Yasuní to Gordon Brown at Prime Ministers question time!

Also excited and willing to lend a hand was Baroness Hooper who is very interested in both Ecuador and environmental issues. We were thrilled that Martin Horwood the chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tribal Peoples which works alongside Survival International was also behind the campaign saying he thought it was great in bringing together all the issues and would help in whatever way he could.

Good result!