Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much her Department has spent on the Darwin Initiative in each year since 2010.

The Darwin Initiative has funded biodiversity projects in developing countries since 1992 and is managed by Defra. Since 2011 it has been co-funded by Defra and the Department for International Development (DFID). The total expenditure on Darwin Initiative projects and running costs since 2010 is as follows:

2010/11 - £6.1 million

2011/12 - £4.3 million

2012/13 - £5.7 million

2013/14 - £6 million

2014/15 - £6.9 million

Darwin Initiative funding from DFID can only be spent on projects which meet Official Development Assistance (ODA) criteria and this ODA expenditure (reported by calendar year) is as follows:

2010 – Zero

2011 - £2.4 million

2012 - £2.4 million

2013 - £3.1 million

2014 - £5.3 million

Defra additionally manages the Overseas Territories Environment and Climate Fund (also known as Darwin Plus) which is co-funded by Defra, DFID and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). The total expenditure since it was established in 2012 is as follows:

2013/14 - £720,000

2014/15 - £1.8 million