L Hendricks: Launch of Arbor Week 2006

1 September 2006

Programme Director
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Johannesburg Zoo
CEO of TOTAL
Learners
Ladies and gentlemen

It is wonderful to be here today at the Johannesburg Zoo to officially
launch the start of Arbor Week, an annual event where we celebrate the
importance of trees. I would like to congratulate the Zoo for all of their work
and our main sponsor for today, TOTAL.

Trees are an integral part of the history of humankind as it the word arbor
is derived from Latin.

The idea for Arbor Day originally came from Nebraska. A visit to Nebraska
today wouldn’t disclose that the state was once a treeless plain. Yet it was
the lack of trees there that led to the founding of Arbor Day in the 1800s.

J Sterling Morton advocated planting of trees, shrubs and flowers and on 4
January 1872, Morton first proposed a tree-planting holiday to be called “Arbor
Day”. The date was set for 10 April 1872. Prizes were offered to countries and
individuals for planting probably the largest number of trees on that day. It
was estimated that more than one million trees were planted in Nebraska on the
first Arbor Day.

Arbor Day has now spread beyond the United States and is observed in many
countries of the world.

Historically, South Africa has not had a culture of tree planting and it was
not until the 1970s that a real need to promote tree planting was recognised.
The concept of a National Arbor Day ensued from 1973 Green Heritage Campaign.
The government approved in 1982 the establishment of National Arbor Day and it
has been in place countrywide since 1983. In 1996, the Minister of Water
Affairs and Forestry, emphasising its importance in South Africa, extended
Arbor Day from one day to one week. The campaign has evolved into a major event
that receives major publicity and public participation throughout South
Africa.

The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry has initiated National Arbor
Week to celebrate South Africa's trees and to raise awareness of their
importance. Through Arbor Week we hope to:
* promote a better knowledge of trees, particularly indigenous trees
* highlight the important role that forestry plays in our economy, especially
in the rural areas
* raise awareness of the dangers of veld and forest fires
* highlight the vital role of trees in our lives by organising a variety of
greening events
* encourage everyone to participate in tree planting and greening
activities.

The Department has identified a tree of the year. Up to 2001 only one tree
was selected. From 2002 two trees were identified as tree of the year, with one
tree being a tree that is rare and another one that is common in South Africa.
Trees has already been identified and published for up to 2015.

Trees of the year for 2006 are:
Raphia australis (Common name: Kosi palm, Umvuma) rare species
Burchellia bubaline (Common name: Wild pomegranate, isiGolwane, umFincane)
common species

The Department also provides annually a pamphlet on these trees indicating
their distribution, general information and its uses.

Ever since 1996, Arbor Week was celebrated with messages attached to it.
These were environmental as well as nation building messages. Some of the key
themes for the previous years were the following:
* greening: where communities and schools were encouraged to participate in
tree planting and greening programmes for beautification and improvement of
their immediate environment
* commercial value of trees: where the benefit that are derived from making
products out of trees such as paper, planks and medicines where highlighted. It
also emphasised the employment and business opportunities provided by trees and
forests
* veld and forest fires: here the focus was on the prevention and combating of
uncontrolled wild fires and encourages the formation of Fire Protection
Associations
* remembrance tree planting: where communities and individuals were encouraged
to plant trees in memory of their loved ones and individuals who contributed to
community development and nation building.

Arbor Week has been used in promotion and launching of major greening
initiatives such as new recreational parks and tree planting in low cost
housing. Commercial and community based nurseries benefited through the supply
of trees for greening and other tree planting events associated with Arbor
Week. These have helped in the stimulation of local economic development.

In terms of the National Forests Act of 1998, certain tree species (types of
trees) can be identified and declared as protected. The Department of Water
Affairs and Forestry followed an objective, scientific and participative
process to arrive at the new list of protected tree species, enacted in 2004.
The poster depicting these trees plus a guide to identify them will be launched
during this year’s Arbor Week.

The Department also supports other activities as part of its awareness
programme that is evolved from Arbor Week and is celebrated during the month of
September. One of these activities is the EduPlant programme, which is the
national schools' Permaculture programme. EduPlant has impacted on schools,
national government and the community of South Africa in a positive way and
contributes to sustainable development, poverty alleviation, skills and
capacity building and much more. EduPlant focuses on Permaculture, a system of
farming and gardening that combines plants, animals, buildings, water, the
local people and the landscape in a way that produces more energy than it uses,
recycles all nutrients and waste, and imitates nature as much as possible. The
programme is a partnership between the Department of Water Affairs and
Forestry, Food and Trees for Africa and other role players.

Another of these activities of the Department is the Arbor city award. The
Arbor city award is a greening competition that was introduced by the
Department of Water Affairs and Forestry in conjunction with the Institute for
Environment and Recreation Management during 2002. Its main purpose is to
recognise and provide incentives to towns and cities for their greening efforts
with specific focus on the previously disadvantaged townships and village
areas. This competition has been run per province since its inception; the
Gauteng, Eastern Cape, Free State and KwaZulu-Natal provinces have already
conducted this competition. This year it is being conducted in Limpopo.

For future engagement in Arbor Week, the department is preparing a booklet:
Trees and Forests Booklet for Schools. The booklet will cover the following
aspects:
- the importance of trees
- types of trees and species
- botanical classification of trees
- protected trees and types of forests.

Another activity of the department is champion trees. The Department of
Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) initiated the Champion Tree project to
identify and protect individual trees or groups of trees of national
conservation importance. This is the first project of its kind in Africa.

To date the Sofia Oaks was declared a champion tree and a further 27 are
currently being evaluated. The champion trees will be made public during next
year’s Arbor Week celebration when these trees will be honoured for their
significant contribution they have made to society.

Forestry today is about the relationship between people and the resources
provided by the forests. As in other countries, people living in and around
forests collect a wide range of items growing in the forests to sustain and
supplement their livelihoods. Forest resources provide three types of benefit,
namely: (i) the supply of basic needs, (ii) saving of cash resources, and (iii)
a buffer or safety-net during times of misfortune.

Today we are recognising learners from the different schools who, with the
support of their educators, have made a difference in their school environment.
Last year, during Arbor Week, the Johannesburg Zoo and TOTAL handed out trees
to schools for them to plant. The Zoo gave some training in partnership with my
Department and Food and Trees for Africa, and when TOTAL and the Zoo visited
these schools, they found that the schools have improved their environment
through greening and by starting food gardens. Today we will be recognising
their efforts.

Learners will also have the opportunity after this morning’s session to be
taught more about trees and plants such as how to plant trees and herbs, the
importance and uses of the plants and herbs, and the difference between
indigenous and exotic trees, as well as learning more about careers in
forestry.

I would like to congratulate all the schools, organisers and sponsors for
their wonderful work. This project really confirms that by empowering our youth
the theme for this years Arbor Week of ‘planting a tree, growing our future’
has real meaning.

Finally, I would like to thank everyone for their contribution to making
today’s programme a success. I hope that when we return to our homes and
schools, we take with us more knowledge about trees as well as the importance
of trees to our environment and society, so that we can make an impact on our
communities.

I thank you.

Issued by: Department of Water Affairs and Forestry
1 September 2006
Source: Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (http://www.dwaf.gov.za)