International Development

Chris Grayling Excerpts

Thursday 18th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Patricia Gibson (North Ayrshire and Arran) (SNP)]

I echo the comments of the right hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell) about how we often see, through the budget of the Department for International Development, examples of the UK at its best—trying to address the discrepancies, as he put it, in poverty and wealth between nations and peoples across the globe. If we were to use the language of global Britain, that might be one of the best examples to turn to.

The orders are welcome in their attempts to address global poverty. Much mention has been made of Africa, and at first glance it looks as though it will be business as usual for our international aid budget. However, if you will permit me, Madam Deputy Speaker, I would like to explain briefly why I do not think that that is the case, welcome though today’s announcements are.

Once we discount most—not all, but most—Tory MPs, there is no disguising the fact that the momentous decision and announcement this week has caused great alarm. It will have far-reaching consequences for the poorest people in the world—the poorest people on earth. The overwhelming consensus of opinion would bear that out, certainly among experts who work in the field of international development.

I cannot help but notice that, despite her name being on the Order Paper for the very welcome measures that have been put forward, the outgoing Secretary of State for International Development is not here today. I wonder whether her conspicuous absence should be seen in the light in which it appears. Perhaps she also has concerns about the recent announcement that has been made.

The announcement could not stand in greater contrast with the lesser course that many of us in the House fear is now being steered towards international aid. We have rightly heard today much praise for the work of the Department for International Development, and one wonders why a Department that has garnered so much praise and attracted so much admiration should suddenly find itself downgraded. The move has been described by those working in the field as an “act of political vandalism”. I will leave others to judge for themselves, but in my constituency, questions are being asked about whether this decision is ideological.

[Chris Grayling (Epsom and Ewell) (Con)]

May I remind the hon. Lady that, in the hypothetical situation of an independent Scotland, the policy of the SNP is to have foreign affairs and international development in the same Department?

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

Order. Before the hon. Lady responds, I want to remind her and other Members in the Chamber that we are addressing the orders, rather than getting into a whole other debate. That is what we are here to scrutinise.

--- Later in debate ---

[Chris Grayling (Epsom and Ewell) (Con)]

You will be delighted to know, Madam Deputy Speaker, that I do not plan to talk about Government organisations.

I want to speak briefly on one of the key areas in which the African Development Bank operates. We have heard a lot from the Minister, from the Labour spokesman, the hon. Member for Cardiff South and Penarth (Stephen Doughty), and from my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell), a previous Secretary of State, about the important work being done to alleviate poverty, improve infrastructure and bring in water supplies. I want to talk about another aspect of the Bank’s work, particularly right now as we head towards a delayed COP summit and the conference on biodiversity next year: the need to stop and then start to reverse the process of deforestation in Africa. The African Development Bank is doing a lot of important work in this area. DFID is also doing a lot of important work, both with the Bank and elsewhere, but we must step up this activity for two reasons.

First, such activity can play a vital role in climate change. We know the impact that deforestation around the world has had on climate change. We tend to talk a lot about the Brazilian rainforest, but there has been a much greater degree of deforestation on the African continent. There is the potential over the next 10 years for that to continue and to get much worse. For example, in the Congo basin there has already been a significant loss of forest cover. It is a politically unstable area and it has not been commercially exploited in the way that some other parts of Africa have been. We cannot afford to see those huge rainforests disappear. We must also start to recreate some of the forestation that has been lost.

The second crucial reason is the protection of endangered species. With the disappearance of forest cover, more and more habitats have disappeared, and more and more species have found themselves in critical danger. We must therefore do more through our development budgets to halt and reverse the process of deforestation. If that is done wisely, it can provide commercial, professional and tourist opportunities that can help to boost those economies.

Our Government are already doing good work. The African Development Bank is also doing good work, for example in Niger. In other parts of Africa, we have seen where it is possible to make a real difference. Ethiopia, a country that has suffered extraordinarily from land degradation over the years, has done an amazing job in starting to replant areas of forest. We also know that planting can generate genuine commercial opportunities. Let us take, for example, the Zambesi teak tree. The general view is that if a 100-year-old tree is lost, it cannot be replanted and brought back, but I have been to a recreated rainforest in Borneo, which 20 years ago was a palm oil plantation. Today, it is a thriving area of rainforest. It can be done. Plants such as the Zambesi teak tree can grow to full height in 20 years. If stewarded carefully, they can provide a resource for economic activity, as well as the opportunity to recreate habitats which have been lost.

So this is an enormously important area. I very much hope that the funding that we are going to approve today—the support that goes into the African Development Fund and through it into the international forest projects—can make a real difference.

I urge the Minister to put absolutely at the heart of what this Government do in the coming years the support that is so desperately needed for the recreation of what were once fertile, forested areas and are now areas of arid landscape. We should do everything we can to put money into supporting the existing forestation in those parts of Africa where we cannot afford to lose it and where we, in doing so, play a central part in what is going to be necessary in the fight against climate change.

This is not just about electric cars, solar energy, welcome though it is, as my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield said, and the exploitation that we are seeing of the enormous potential for solar power in Africa; it is also about recreating habitats and replanting forests, protecting and recreating mangrove swamps, and helping African farmers to maximise the potential of what they have, while protecting the environment at the same time.

I feel passionately about recreating habitats and removing the threat caused to so many species by the disappearance of the areas in which they live. We are already doing good things, but my message to the Minister today is: please, as we plan the strategy of our international aid in the future, can we make sure that the recreation of habitats and the protection of forests are absolutely at the heart of what we do in supporting the African Development Bank, and projects in Africa and around the world?