Day 073 - 13 Jan 95 - Page 11
1 semi-natural woodland to coniferous plantation as well as
2 continuing plantation on high elevation areas in Scotland,
3 Wales, places like that, in the north of Scotland in the
4 highlands.
5
6 What I would say is that, in fact, the conversion of
7 English semi-natural ancient woodlands to coniferous
8 plantations has been -- I do not normally like to use words
9 like "ecological disaster", but there has been such a
10 radical change in those woodlands, those forests, that they
11 are just totally different things now. The environmental
12 values of many of our ancient woodlands are totally gone,
13 and have been replaced by monocultures which are just
14 monocultures grown commercially for wheat or field or corn.
15
16 What I would say is that, in fact, since about 1985 there
17 has been a major shift in thinking of the Forestry
18 Authority and the Forest Commission, and the more
19 destructive elements of previous policy have been stopped
20 to a great extent because of public pressure, often purely
21 just for the visual thing of large areas covered with a
22 monotonous looking coniferous forest, particularly in
23 Scotland. The Scots are very upset about this; and also
24 Wales. But also because of an increasing recognition that
25 the way things were managed before 1985 was very bad for
26 nature conservation, biodiversity, and the general sort of
27 non-commercial values of forests.
28
29 In fact, to a certain extent, I would say that of the
30 various countries in supplying timber and paper pulp that
31 McDonald's might use, we are very lucky in this country in
32 that, in fact, we have, perhaps, some of the highest and
33 best standards and guidelines, I say guidelines, in the
34 world.
35
36 Q. For?
37 A. For maintaining biodiversity, nature conservation
38 values, water values, generally what you might say the
39 non-commercial aspects of woodlands and forests; things
40 other than just -----
41
42 Q. Of plantation?
43 A. Of plantations, yes.
44
45 Q. Does that mean that those plantation forests in this
46 country are, when compared to previous natural or
47 semi-natural woodland, are they equivalent in biodiversity
48 now with the new standards, or not?
49 A. No, the plantation forests are not equivalent to the
50 previous natural forests at all. They could not be,
51 basically, because you have species which actually do not
52 belong to the area and they will be north American species
53 still.
54
55 Q. Of trees?
56 A. Of trees, yes, coniferous north American species, which
57 are not natural to the area. Things are getting better,
58 but they will never return to the state of ancient
59 semi-natural woodland.
60
