Day 268 - 24 Jun 96 - Page 27


     
     1        At last, however, deep concern is being shown both in
     2        Brazil and internationally in the situation of the cerrados
     3         - particularly in the sustainability of the modern system
     4        of agriculture and the conservation of their rich
     5        biodiversity.  The former could be extremely precarious if,
     6        for instance, world soya prices fell.  Here, as was pointed
     7        out to me by Dr. Luetzenberger, a former Brazilian
     8        Secretary of the Environment, agricultural subsidies paid
     9        by the European Community are important in maintaining the
    10        present level.  In general, inputs of fertilizer and other
    11        costs are so high both for cultivation of crops and
    12        maintenance of planted pasture that the cerrado
    13        agricultural system could be very vulnerable.  To address
    14        such problems the Centro de Pesquisas Agropecuarias do
    15        Cerrado/EMBRAPA, a large Brazilian Government-financed
    16        institute devoted to agriculture in the cerrados, is
    17        urgently investigating changes to make cerrado land-use
    18        more rational and environmentally friendly.
    19
    20        A number of scientific tears are at present surveying the
    21        diversity of natural vegetation throughout the cerrado
    22        biome.   Their combined efforts have produced an explosion
    23        of information which is beginning to reveal underlying
    24        biogeographic patterns and an astonishing floristic
    25        heterogeneity.  Their results will be extremely useful in
    26        planning conservation of cerrado biodiversity.  Amongst the
    27        most active of the groups working on cerrado conservation
    28        is WWF/Brazil who have many ambitious plans including the
    29        establishment of extractive reserves."
    30
    31        There are two references which I do not think bother us in
    32        this case.
    33
    34   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  No.  Right.  Although I said we would only go
    35        down as far Mr. Patel, I see number 6 is Kaiowa Brazil
    36        translation.  Can you identify that?  And then unless Mr.
    37        Atkinson has anything to say, we might read that, if, in
    38        fact, it is something to be read rather than just taken as
    39        read in.
    40
    41   MR. MORRIS:  It is very brief.
    42
    43   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Where do I find that?
    44
    45   MR. MORRIS:  It should be, I believe, behind Fiona Watson.  It
    46        was in the documents disclosed by her.
    47
    48   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Behind who?
    49
    50   MR. MORRIS:  Fiona Watson of Survival International.
    51
    52   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Let me just find it.  She is in divider 8 in
    53        that same bundle.
    54
    55   MR. ATKINSON:  Tab 9.
    56
    57   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  That is Susanna Professor Hecht.
    58
    59   MR. ATKINSON:  Fiona Watson is at G9.
    60

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