Day 058 - 30 Nov 94 - Page 44


     
     1        far as I am aware) the basis on which the analysis
     2        continues, those are 1992, the early part of 1992, are
     3        looked upon as being a practical and realistic source of
     4        information.
     5
     6   Q.   That coincides with your experience of Finland, does it?
     7        A.  Well, the only way in which I would relate my
     8        experience to it is by the information that I have been
     9        provided by those who are involved in the forest industry
    10        which is referred to in this document to explain and to
    11        identify where the problem exists.
    12
    13   Q.   It says here on the third paragraph:  "The committee
    14        estimates the number of threatened animal and plant species
    15        in Finland at 1,692".  Then in the fourth paragraph, the
    16        second sentence it says:  "The majority of all threatened
    17        species of 43 per cent".
    18
    19   MR. JUSTICE BELL:   Find that difficult to understand but never
    20        mind.
    21
    22   MR. MORRIS:  "43 per cent live in forests.  By the same reason
    23        forestry is the primary cause in 41 per cent of the
    24        threatened species for species being threatened".  Do the
    25        Ministry of the Environment figures as quoted there
    26        coincide with what you understand the situation to be?
    27        A.  Provided you include the proportion of the 1,029 which
    28        are in need of monitoring, which does not actually reflect
    29        extinction or near extinction, yes.
    30
    31   Q.   But there are concerns over them, yes?
    32        A.  There is concern and so there should be; this is an
    33        issue that the forest industry have been addressing not
    34        only since 1992 but before those dates.
    35
    36   Q.   Is this the sort of problem, the threats to species, which
    37        the forestry industry has now taken into consideration in
    38        terms of improving its practices?  Is this one of the areas
    39        that they want to improve upon?
    40        A.  Yes, in response to that, as you will note, the
    41        original Conservation Committee's Report was 1986, as
    42        stated in the document you just presented to me, and the
    43        analysis of this has led to action within the forest.  You
    44        will appreciate that your document states that 43 per cent
    45        out of a total of 1,692 threatened species are occurring in
    46        woodlands, that is 727 of them are occurring in woodlands,
    47        and that includes a high proportion of those that are in
    48        need of monitoring.
    49
    50   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  It does not say what percentage of those who 
    51        are actually endangered are in the forest? 
    52        A.  It does not identify that in that report, but analysis 
    53        done by the Finnish industry concerns itself with all these
    54        levels of endangerment.
    55
    56   MR. MORRIS:  Just the last thing on this document:  I should
    57        have maybe read out the sentence just before on the fourth
    58        paragraph:  "Regardless of the increase in number of
    59        threatened species, the reasons for habitats and
    60        populations being threatened are nearly the same as

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