Day 058 - 30 Nov 94 - Page 29


     
     1        the wetlands are those which are most noted for a very
     2        broad diversity of flora and fauna.  But I think it would
     3        be fair to say that one of the reasons the programme has
     4        been halted is that it would and has disturbed the balance
     5        of nature to some extent.
     6
     7   Q.   Can we move on to page 13?  You said the Forestry
     8        Commission spent 10.3 million on research.  That is all
     9        aspects of research, yes?
    10        A.  That is correct.
    11
    12   Q.   In recent years there has been a shift of emphasis towards
    13        research which included conservation, recreation, landscape
    14        and water studies?
    15        A.  Correct.
    16
    17   Q.   When did that shift become significant, would you say?
    18        A.  From the 1985 restatement of policy on forestry.
    19
    20   Q.   So when that policy was brought in, when did the research
    21        shift physically take place?  Was that immediate or was it
    22        within the next five years it began to really ----
    23        A.  Mr. Morris, I can only speak from my own direct
    24        experience and that is that when I became a Forestry
    25        Commissioner I did go to the forest research, and I was
    26        quite surprised how much time and effort was put into
    27        things other than the growing of trees.
    28
    29   Q.   This restructuring of forests -- in paragraph 2 -- are now
    30        practised in all European forests and in Scandinavia.
    31        Would that restructure be occurring in the late 80s?  Is it
    32        roughly parallel to Britain?
    33        A.  If we are talking about Scandinavia -- the Scandinavian
    34        policy has modified but, generally, they have always
    35        regenerated as much as they could by natural regeneration.
    36        It has been their pattern to do so and the mixtures of
    37        species that you mentioned earlier, the aspens and the
    38        rowans and the birch, of course, are significant in their
    39        forests.  Birch, incidentally, has about 17 per cent of the
    40        total forest area.
    41
    42   Q.   But for the other European forests has there also been some
    43        kind of paralleled restructuring and rethinking in the late
    44        80s or early 90s or whatever?
    45        A.  I think this is fairly evident if you are driving
    46        through the forests of northern Europe, that you do see a
    47        mixture.  They are not all complete monocultures.  There is
    48        a mixture certainly along the routes that one is likely to
    49        take.  I think it has been a policy generally.
    50 
    51   Q.   I mean, in the specific countries that are mentioned as 
    52        relevant France, Germany, Italy, Czech Republic, do you 
    53        happen to know if that restructuring and rethinking has
    54        occurred in the same way as it has occurred in the UK?
    55        A.  There have been additional species brought in.  The
    56        forest of the south of France and in northern part of Italy
    57        would include large numbers of forest areas of eucalyptus,
    58        for example.  That is bringing in a different species than
    59        was there before.  How much that has actually been done for
    60        environmental reasons as opposed to economic reasons is

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