Day 268 - 24 Jun 96 - Page 27
1 At last, however, deep concern is being shown both in
2 Brazil and internationally in the situation of the cerrados
3 - particularly in the sustainability of the modern system
4 of agriculture and the conservation of their rich
5 biodiversity. The former could be extremely precarious if,
6 for instance, world soya prices fell. Here, as was pointed
7 out to me by Dr. Luetzenberger, a former Brazilian
8 Secretary of the Environment, agricultural subsidies paid
9 by the European Community are important in maintaining the
10 present level. In general, inputs of fertilizer and other
11 costs are so high both for cultivation of crops and
12 maintenance of planted pasture that the cerrado
13 agricultural system could be very vulnerable. To address
14 such problems the Centro de Pesquisas Agropecuarias do
15 Cerrado/EMBRAPA, a large Brazilian Government-financed
16 institute devoted to agriculture in the cerrados, is
17 urgently investigating changes to make cerrado land-use
18 more rational and environmentally friendly.
19
20 A number of scientific tears are at present surveying the
21 diversity of natural vegetation throughout the cerrado
22 biome. Their combined efforts have produced an explosion
23 of information which is beginning to reveal underlying
24 biogeographic patterns and an astonishing floristic
25 heterogeneity. Their results will be extremely useful in
26 planning conservation of cerrado biodiversity. Amongst the
27 most active of the groups working on cerrado conservation
28 is WWF/Brazil who have many ambitious plans including the
29 establishment of extractive reserves."
30
31 There are two references which I do not think bother us in
32 this case.
33
34 MR. JUSTICE BELL: No. Right. Although I said we would only go
35 down as far Mr. Patel, I see number 6 is Kaiowa Brazil
36 translation. Can you identify that? And then unless Mr.
37 Atkinson has anything to say, we might read that, if, in
38 fact, it is something to be read rather than just taken as
39 read in.
40
41 MR. MORRIS: It is very brief.
42
43 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Where do I find that?
44
45 MR. MORRIS: It should be, I believe, behind Fiona Watson. It
46 was in the documents disclosed by her.
47
48 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Behind who?
49
50 MR. MORRIS: Fiona Watson of Survival International.
51
52 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Let me just find it. She is in divider 8 in
53 that same bundle.
54
55 MR. ATKINSON: Tab 9.
56
57 MR. JUSTICE BELL: That is Susanna Professor Hecht.
58
59 MR. ATKINSON: Fiona Watson is at G9.
60
