Day 073 - 13 Jan 95 - Page 32
1 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Thank you. I will hand that back to
2 Mr. Morris.
3
4 MR. RAMPTON: If your Lordship would like a copy for your
5 Lordship's bundle, I will happily surrender mine; I have
6 one.
7
8 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I think it is just as well. What was the
9 reference number of that one?
10
11 MR. MORRIS: No. 10.
12
13 MR. RAMPTON: I will hand mine up. If in due course I should
14 need one (which I doubt) I will ask for one.
15
16 MR. MORRIS: If we move on, there was a conclusion in the
17 Swedish section on page 33 about paper sought from Swedish
18 forests being damaging to the environment. Is that the
19 same rationale for the other conclusions you have made on
20 other countries or is there some specific -----
21 A. Yes, I think that is the rationale; merely that the
22 existence of new law, which a lot of law was about the
23 privatisation of the forest lands in Sweden but, in fact,
24 it also was addressing the problem of biodiversity loss.
25 I think this indicates that at an earlier date there was
26 biodiversity loss, and the new enactment of the law covers
27 that biodiversity loss in part.
28
29 Q. So are you saying that you are happy with the management of
30 Swedish forests at the moment?
31 A. I am. I would not myself be happy with the management
32 of Swedish forests because definitely there are great
33 improvements. One of the serious things in Sweden is the
34 continuing felling of old growth and the lack of protected
35 forests, particularly in the south of Finland -- sorry, the
36 south of Sweden, excuse me, the south of Sweden, where old
37 growth forests are very, very poorly represented in any way
38 and a minute part -- I think it is 0.34 -- has any
39 protection of any sort. That is not enough because there
40 were a number of different environmental areas in the south
41 of Sweden and they do not represent, what is in protection
42 does not represent all of the areas that are typical of the
43 south of Sweden.
44
45 Q. But in terms of the present plantation practices in Sweden,
46 as compared to the native forests or old growth forests,
47 what is the conclusion?
48 A. They will not be as biologically rich. They will not
49 contain all the functions of an old growth forest, there is
50 no doubt about that, or a native or an apple forest.
51
52 Q. Is that difference a significant difference or is it -- if
53 we are talking about the biodiversity of a native forest,
54 say, at the scale of 100 per cent, what would be the
55 equivalent biodiversity, just on a very rough scale, for a
56 well-managed Swedish plantation forest currently?
57 A. I would be generous to them and give them 65 per cent.
58
59 Q. That is currently?
60 A. Currently under the latest -----
