Day 058 - 30 Nov 94 - Page 27
1 matter are now very closely controlled and, in the case of
2 forestry, very much held under the forestry -- Forest and
3 Water Guidelines to which I have referred.
4
5 Q. Is the modern restrictions on the use of fertilizers
6 greater than it used to be in forestry?
7 A. Yes, I think that applies to all use of chemicals and
8 agriculture and forestry, yes.
9
10 Q. Before we move on to biodiversity, a general question just
11 struck me: Was there some kind of sea change in the 80s in
12 terms of environmental concern with forestry management?
13 Is this something that has happened in most countries?
14 There has been a tightening up of laws, concern expressed,
15 different practices introduced? Would that be fair comment
16 to say that the 80s was some kind of significant -----
17 A. Oh, yes. I do not think there is any question that in
18 the area of forestry attitudes changed and practices
19 changed. I think we have identified one of the reasons why
20 it became a forestry programme, and that is because trees
21 have matured that have been planted in the postwar periods,
22 and consideration of what should be replanted became one in
23 which decisions could be made for entirely different
24 reasons from those that were made in the immediate postwar
25 times.
26
27 Q. So would it be fair to say that pressure from
28 environmentalists coincided with the economic
29 practicability ---
30 A. Yes.
31
32 Q. -- of introducing new changes?
33 A. Yes, there is no question whatever that organisations
34 that drew attention to potential problems as well as actual
35 problems were influencing throughout the whole of that
36 period the attitudes of both the people who involve
37 directly in forestry and the government that, of course,
38 identifies the policy for any given country.
39
40 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Is it possible for you to place
41 chronologically a watershed where commercial aims which
42 have clearly been prevalent for some considerable period of
43 time came to be balanced by environmental concerns?
44 A. Yes. As far as the United Kingdom is concerned in
45 forestry, in 1985 the government published its guidelines
46 for the forestry management in both the private sector and
47 in state ownership of forestry, and they included all the
48 environmental issues of multi-purpose forestry in that
49 programme. So, since 1985 the Forestry Commission has been
50 interpreting these rules and has, obviously, developed them
51 as they have progressed.
52
53 MR. MORRIS: So the recognition of environmental concerns on
54 that scale in this country was 1985, then the practices
55 were then, presumably, examined and they there were audits
56 or whatever in the late 80s which led ---
57 A. Yes.
58
59 Q. -- to actual changes?
60 A. Yes. I think it would be fair to say that from 1985
