Day 073 - 13 Jan 95 - Page 12
1 Q. So, when the thinking began to change at 1985 when do you
2 think the actual practices changed?
3 A. The practices started changing, the ideas and practices
4 started changing, I suppose, in 1985, but these things did
5 not start to hit the forest floor, which is about 1990, and
6 they are now coming to light on the forest floor, you might
7 say. It takes a bit of time for these things to work
8 through the system. Felling licence and replanting grants
9 from before 1985 were still in existence, and often those
10 were the ones that people were working under. So, about
11 1990 things on the forest floor start to look better.
12
13 Q. Very briefly, I am going to refer you to one of your
14 references, which is No. 6 World Wildlife Fund publication,
15 Forests in Trouble. I apologise that I have not got copies
16 for the Judge yet. When I gave them to the Plaintiffs they
17 made a copy of all the relevant material, but they did not
18 make a copy for -----
19
20 MR. RAMPTON: No, not all, some.
21
22 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Go ahead for the moment. I will listen to
23 the evidence. You must make sure that I have a copy of
24 anything you particularly want me to look at in due course.
25
26 MR. MORRIS: What is the status of this publication and, indeed,
27 the World Wildlife Fund? First of all, the status of the
28 World Wildlife Fund in the forestry, regarding forestry
29 concerns?
30 A. First of all, the World Wildlife Fund is, perhaps, the
31 world's largest or most reputable organisation concerned
32 with the protection of wildlife. It is what I would call a
33 "conservative organisation". It is not a campaigning
34 organisation as such. Its main task is to look after
35 wildlife. It is very well funded. When I say it is a
36 conservative organisation, for instance, the International
37 President of the World Wildlife Fund is His Royal Highness
38 the Duke of Edinburgh, and in this country the Chairman is
39 a Mr. Langham. I think he is Mr. Morris Langham of Langham
40 Construction Company. So, essentially, it is a
41 conservative organisation with very good research
42 facilities. Its international secretariat is based in
43 Geneva.
44
45 Q. What is the status of this particular report?
46 A. The report was commissioned by WWF in, I think, 1992.
47 They asked Nigel Dudley, who is a researcher, to compile
48 it. You might say the status of the report is it is the
49 most authoritative report on the destruction or the
50 problems with temperate and boreal forests in existence in
51 that sort of general publicly accessible form.
52
53 Q. On page 11 there are some conclusions. I am particularly
54 interested in the last paragraph. Do you have it there?
55 A. I have this.
56
57 Q. I am particularly concerned with the management and forest
58 plantation; would you like to read that and comment?
59 A. Right.
60
