Day 073 - 13 Jan 95 - Page 43
1
2 Q. So long as there is a necessity for paper in the world, do
3 you agree it is better to take it from a plantation forest
4 than it is from old growth forest?
5 A. It is better to take it from established old plantation
6 forests.
7
8 Q. So long as the need for paper continues to increase in the
9 world, by what means do you suppose that human beings will
10 provide themselves with paper?
11 A. There are, in fact, a lot of alternative fibres. For
12 instance, Kenaff is a fibre which can be grown in desert
13 areas. From the information I have seen, it can actually
14 grow seven times the biomass of boreal forest. There is
15 another fibre which is being touted and is now legally
16 allowed in Europe, which is in fact a denatured cannabis
17 plant, hemp, but it is a denatured one or detoxified one.
18 Again, this can provide greater bulk, greater yield, than
19 northern boreal forests.
20
21 There are people actually now producing paper both out of
22 hemp, which is related to canvas, and Kenaff. One of the
23 problems is the forest industry is so locked into forestry,
24 and all their machinery around forest, it is very hard for
25 them to look at these alternative fibres. Bagasse is
26 another alternative fibre. It is the waste from sugar
27 cane. Cotton waste can be used for fibres for paper and,
28 in fact, forests are not the only fibre that can be used
29 for paper.
30
31 Q. So do I take -- I think I have understood you correctly --
32 your position to be this, Mr. Hopkins, that OK, as the
33 lesser of two evils one can take timber from established
34 plantations to make paper but, first, one should not take
35 it from old growth forests and, second, one should not
36 establish new plantations to provide timber either for
37 industrial or for paper making usage; is that right?
38 A. It is better to take it from plantations. There is an
39 argument for plantations on cleared land, agricultural
40 land, but, yes, it is better to take it from existing
41 plantations than from old growth.
42
43 Q. If the supply from existing monoculture plantations is not
44 sufficient, why, then, one should look to alternative
45 sources; is that right?
46 A. No. You can look to alternative sources immediately.
47
48 MR. JUSTICE BELL: In your own time can you pursue that because
49 I would like to know if it is suggested that we can meet,
50 say, even 10 per cent of the world's demand for paper
51 beyond that which can be obtained from recycled products,
52 from Kenaff or other fibres. Suppose we were going to,
53 what sort of area of the world would have to cover the
54 wherewithal for those fibres?
55
56 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, that was ------
57
58 MR. JUSTICE BELL: In your own way and time, Mr. Rampton,
59 I would like to know some answers to those questions.
60
