Day 239 - 23 Apr 96 - Page 32


     
     1   Q.   "Phyto" is Greek for "plant".  While you have got this map
     2        out, Mr. Monbiot, although it is Mr. And not Doctor, is it
     3        not?
     4        A.   That is correct.
     5
     6   Q.   Mr. Monbiot, if you look at Sinop, you will see that within
     7        this area of ecological tension, ON is a mixture of canopy
     8        forest and seasonal forest.  "Seasonal" means "deciduous"
     9        or "semi-deciduous" I take it?
    10        A.   Yes, that is correct.
    11
    12   Q.   There is marked to the northeast of Sinop an area said to
    13        be an tropical which means under the hand of man, does it
    14        not?
    15        A.  That is correct.
    16
    17   Q.   Agricultural area, I think. If we look at the key at the
    18        bottom, the one which is headed "areas of ecological
    19        tension" on the right-hand side we see farming activities
    20        with dots on it, yes?
    21        A.   Yes, that is correct.
    22
    23   Q.   And there is an area to the northeast of Sinop which is, I
    24        can tell you, roughly speaking, 50 kilometers across and
    25        150 kilometres along.  Do you know that area of Brazil?
    26        A.   That particular area, I have not been into that area.
    27
    28   Q.   Have you been to Sinop itself?
    29        A.   I have not been to Sinop.
    30
    31   Q.   Have you been to the countryside around Sinop?
    32        A.   I have been to the north of Mato Grosso but not within
    33        a couple of 100 miles of Sinop.
    34
    35   Q.   What about Pontas e Lacerda, have you been there?
    36        A.  Not to the town itself but I have been a bit further up
    37        the road in Rondonia.
    38
    39   Q.   You will notice that to the east of Pontas e Lacerda, there
    40        is a large area of secondary vegetation and agricultural
    41        activity being F with dots on it?
    42        A.   That is correct.
    43
    44   Q.   This map appears -- you perhaps know better than me whether
    45        it is true or not -- from the legend that it was finished
    46        in 1983, or the information was gathered between 1973 and
    47        1983; that is right, is it not?
    48        A.   Yes.
    49
    50   Q.   So, at any rate by 1983, those were well established 
    51        agricultural areas? 
    52        A.  That is correct, although I think one thing worth 
    53        pointing out is that agriculture there is an ongoing
    54        process, especially with the forest reserves which continue
    55        to be eroded.
    56
    57   Q.   You appreciate also, do you not, that McDonald's have not
    58        taken any cattle from those areas since 1982.  You have
    59        read that?
    60        A.   I have read that.

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