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.
