Day 058 - 30 Nov 94 - Page 30


     
     1        questionable.
     2
     3   Q.   I believe there are very strong environmental concerns
     4        about eucalyptus, eucalyptus plantations?
     5        A.  There have been expressions of concern about it,
     6        although a mature eucalyptus forest is a very elegant
     7        forest.
     8
     9   Q.   There are quite serious problems with draining the water
    10        table from eucalyptus plantations, is there not?
    11        A.  The eucalyptus uses a lot of water and, therefore, you
    12        have to make sure your plantings are not going to affect
    13        other considerations.
    14
    15   Q.   Do you mean that is an example you are giving of
    16        restructuring and rethinking in an environmentally
    17        conscious direction?
    18        A.  Not really, Mr. Morris.  I am not actually stating that
    19        the countries concerned have done all their planting
    20        programmes for environmental reasons.  But, equally, such
    21        matters as the planting of the eucalyptus is not entirely
    22        relevant because eucalyptus is not used as a resource
    23        normally for packaging material.
    24
    25   Q.   No, I know, but I was trying to identify the relevant
    26        forests relevant to this case of those countries
    27        I mentioned, whether the kind of rethinking and
    28        restructuring which you have suggested happened in Britain
    29        at the end of 80s, for example, has happened in those other
    30        countries as well ---
    31        A.  Mr. Morris -----
    32
    33   Q.   -- relevant to those forests that are relevant to this
    34        case?
    35        A.  Yes, the direct answer to this is that the European
    36        forestry organisations meet with great regularity and have
    37        all been very much through their governments attendant at
    38        the various Commission on Sustainable Development and the
    39        other meetings on the environment, and the government
    40        policies have all been modified in accordance with those
    41        changing rules.
    42
    43   Q.   Is it fair to say that all the forest industry and
    44        governments of those countries recognise some of the
    45        damaging qualities of the plantation practices that were
    46        happening since the Second World War and are now concerned
    47        to take steps to improve the situation; would that be a
    48        fair statement?
    49        A.  I think it would be fair to say that the recognition of
    50        the environmental benefits and responsibilities of forestry 
    51        are very widely accepted now.  As for restructuring for the 
    52        appearance of the forest, that is not necessarily directly 
    53        relevant to the degree or extent of biodiversity in a
    54        forest, because many of the European forests are, by our
    55        standards, highly extended in terms of maturity.  They are
    56        older forests in terms of the number of older trees and,
    57        with quite strong thinning regimes, there is a very
    58        considerable biodiversity in a number of European forests.
    59
    60   Q.   So, in the other countries which you mentioned, just say

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