Forestry, at the Woolworths Trust Eduplant 2006 awards ceremony, Crown Mines,
Johannesburg
28 September 2006
Programme Director,
Award winners,
Colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen,
1. Introduction
It is an honour for me to be part of this prestigious event. This evening, I
stand before you with pride because I see how much these young people are
striving to make a better life for themselves whilst caring for the
environment.
I am pleased that the Eduplant programme, which has been important to the
Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, has attracted other organisations as
partners Woolworths Trust, South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC)
Education and the Department of Agriculture through LandCare. My department has
been involved from the beginning of this programme and we have seen it grow
into a national programme and we welcome the involvement of these other
partners to help improve the reach and impact of this programme.
Earlier this month we celebrated Arbour Week and the theme for this year was
"Plant a tree � Grow our future", this theme is very relevant to the work of
Eduplant.
2. Arbour issues
When I launched Arbour Week at the zoo on 1 September this year, more than 3
500 learners attended and on the day they responded by planting trees at the
zoo and at their respective schools. This was done as these learners and many
others recognised that trees plays a major role in their lives and that by
planting trees they can ensure that the South Africa they live in now and in
the future has the forest resources to provide for their social, economical and
environmental needs.
It was good interacting with the learners and one of the key lessons is that
forestry and trees offers an important way to restore peoples' dignity. To this
end I will intensify my focus on urban greening especially in townships. This
will be achieved by working closely with our current partners who include
non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and municipalities and we look forward to
establishing new partnerships.
3. Education
In addition to programmes like Eduplant my department is embarking on a
process of working with the Department of Education so that issues relating to
the water and forestry sectors are included in the school curriculum. Forestry
has been classified as a scarce-skill sector and the sector together with my
department is looking for ways to ensure that more students study in the field
of forestry. In the past two years my department together with the Forestry
Industrial Education and Training Authority (FIETA) had been offering bursaries
to students who choose to study in the forestry field and we will continue to
offer bursaries through institutions that offer courses in this field and many
of the children here have a wonderful advantage from the early experiential
learning that they have gained through Eduplant.
We have been actively participating in the SABC career fares and I would
like to encourage educators to take the learners to such fares, to ensure
exposure of the learners to the forestry sector. So far we have received great
feedback from our stakeholders regarding these fares. At the beginning of this
year we also collaborated with Keith Kirsten to inform educators and learners
about the different initiatives. A 13 part television (TV) series was produced
with Keith Kirsten, which showcased the importance of trees and forestry in
South Africa.
I urge educators to contact my department using its toll-free number to get
more information on these programmes. The number is 0800 200 200.
For next year we are planning to introduce a learnership programme for our
staff, and for learners with a senior certificate. This will ensure that we are
able to transfer skills to young people who are not in a position to go to
university or a university of technology.
We have also been running an internship programme providing opportunities
for new graduates to gain experience in forestry and the possibility of a
longer term career with my department. These skills are needed to support the
growth and development of the forestry sector, which has been identified as a
national priority by the President and is reflected in Accelerated and Shared
Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA). For those who are not aware AsgiSA
is the government's accelerated and shared growth initiative and identifies all
the priority sectors which need to be developed urgently in support of the
growth targets that government has set.
Forestry offers so many benefits and future opportunities to the economy and
to individuals with various disciplines such as our world-leading breeding and
growing of trees, manufacturing of paper and sawn timber and many other
products which we obtain from forestry and which form a central part of our
everyday lives and the country's growth and development. Annually the sector
contributes in the order of R16 billion to the economy. It employs 170 000
people mainly in rural areas where poverty is particularly severe, and aside
from these massive economic benefits there are millions more people whose
livelihoods depend on the goods and services they derive from forests.
We have identified the most appropriate areas for new aforestation which
will make a massive contribution to Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment
(BBBEE), job creation and poverty eradication and we are working closely with
the departments' of agriculture, land affairs and environmental affairs as well
as the private sector to overcome the challenges which face the actual planting
of trees in these areas.
4. Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment
Education and skills development are also key elements of our strategy for
BBBEE. We are in the process of finalising the draft Charter and to ensure that
this Charter is indeed broad-based we have included the availability of
forestry skills as a fundamental requirement for achieving the objectives of
the charter, which is closely linked to the future growth and development of
the sector. It is very important for the department that our Forestry Sector
Charter facilitates growth of the sector and creates the opportunity for new
players to enter the forestry sector.
Another critical aspect of developing the forestry sector and ensuring the
competitiveness of South Africa in the international economy is for us to have
greater levels of research and development. We are currently developing a
strategy in consultation with all forestry research institutions in South
Africa, which will identify priority research areas and resources and will be
aligning it to our BBBEE Charter.
5. Awareness raising and profiling of forestry
Within my department the forestry function has been restructured to make
sure that it receives the attention and support which it requires. To this end
I am in the process of appointing a Deputy Director-General to be responsible
for the forestry function and who will champion the function both within
government and the sector generally.
As part of our approach to creating awareness of the forestry industry, my
department has for the past two and a half days been offering information
sessions to all the learners here. We informed them of the role of the forestry
sector in poverty alleviation and also looked at careers in forestry.
I hope the materials that have been produced will offer educators enough
information for them to be able to teach children the importance of trees and
the way in which different forestry products are made.
I also urge all of you that have access to the internet to visit the
forestry website which has a massive wealth of further information on all
aspects of forestry and for those who don't have access to the internet, please
contact our regional offices who can make this information available to you.
Our internet website is: www.dwaf.gov.za.
Specifically for reaching out to youth and women who were previously
marginalised in forestry as with many other sectors, we are also appointing a
youth and gender specialist for forestry who will be a key player in programmes
such as Eduplant and other interactions with schools.
6. Conclusion
To conclude, I would like to encourage all the entrants and the winners of
this competition to use the skills learned through this process and to apply
them both at school and in their communities. I would like to see this
programme grow especially to benefit the schools which need gardens the most. I
would like to see more non-governmental organisations (NGOs) involved in what
Food and Trees for Africa are doing, and I am confident that they would be
willing to share their skills for a better life for all.
To the partners, I say congratulations, you have done it once again. Let us
keep this partnership growing. I would like to thank the Department of
Education for allowing the educators and learners to attend the workshops and
to take part in this competition. I wish to praise your active participation as
this programme would never succeed without your commitment. To the schools that
have entered, thank you for entering because through this you are sharing your
knowledge and your efforts with the programme facilitators. For those who did
not enter this year, we have to make an effort to ensure they do, so that they
can also be exposed to the wonders of the Eduplant programme, and in so doing
reap the benefits from information sharing and skills development.
To all the sponsors that have made this day possible, thank you very much.
Your contribution is noted and highly appreciated. To Food and Trees for
Africa, keep up the good work. Your management of this programme is appreciated
and I am sure all the partners feel the same.
I thank you!
Issued by: Department of Water Affairs and Forestry
28 September 2006
