L Mossop-Rousseau: Fourth Natural Forests and Woodland Symposium

15 May 2006

Delegates, guests and visitors to South Africa, I wish to welcome you all on
behalf of Minister Sonjica who expressed her apologies not to be present here
today to mark this Fourth Natural Forests and Woodlands Symposium, hosted by
the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. She particularly requested me to
welcome all the international delegates. Welcome to South Africa, the Eastern
Cape and Port Elizabeth in particular. Several of you came to South Africa to
share with us your research findings and knowledge about a range of subjects
that relate to natural forests and woodlands. Ever since the First Symposium in
1998 there had been interest and participation from beyond our borders. We are
grateful that this Symposium again captured your attention and that you are
willing to share with us.

The Natural Forests and Woodland Symposia are presented by the Department to
provide an opportunity for leaders in science, new technology and policy
opinion leaders to talk to each other and to people who can apply your
innovations for the benefit of our society. It is encouraging that a good
number of the Department’s Forestry staff has registered to attend. Colleagues,
this is a valuable opportunity to gain information first hand. Do not let the
opportunity pass you by. We also welcome our colleagues from other departments
and organisations. Forestry is not the exclusive domain of this department.
There are other organs of State that play a crucial part in the sustainable
management of our forests and your presence here is highly relevant. I
sincerely hope that it will prove to be worth your while and will exceed your
expectations in terms of what you gain from being here. Of course the symposium
is about more than the information that is presented; it is also about the
networking and linkages that we build. Therefore every participant is
important.

It is the department's purpose with the Symposium to bring people together
and create a sense of unity around our common interest in the sustainable
management and conservation of our precious forests. This is the Fourth
Symposium of its kind and I believe that previous symposia were well attended,
offered valuable scientific and policy information and helped to strengthen the
very important links among researchers, policy developers and implementers.

When you look at the proceedings of these symposia, one can see that there
are trends on some themes. With the natural forest classification process for
example, one sees a progression from its inception at the time of the Second
Symposium to the presentation of a proposed system at this symposium. One also
sees the progression in terms of our legislative tools that enable us to
implement our policies. When the First Symposium was hosted in 1998, the
National Forests Act, 1998 (Act 84 of 1998) and the National Veld and Forest
Fire Act, 1998 (Act 101 of 1998) were both being finalised. By the time of the
third Symposium we were looking forward to the release of the first
Regulations. Now, at this Symposium you will begin to reflect on the
legislation, its implementation and some of the results, deficiencies or
problems that are being experienced. It is about ten years now since the
Forestry White Paper was developed that provided the foundation for the
legislation that we currently have. Newly emerging challenges may by now become
evident.

All the progress in policy development and implementation of course depends
on the valuable research that many of you are doing and information that is
shared during these symposia. One can also see a progression in the change of
emphasis in research, as reflected in the titles of your presentations. It will
be unfortunate if there is no progression. For this reason it is so important
for the department to present this platform where we can all share our work and
determine what progress is being made and where the new research needs and
opportunities are emerging.

As was done at previous symposia I wish to use this opportunity to say a few
words about developments in the Department.

Restructuring has been mentioned in the past as a priority matter within the
department. Significant portions of the department's indigenous forests have
been transferred to SANParks since the last Symposium as part of this process.
Some of our plantation areas along the eastern escarpment of Mpumalanga have
also been designated for conversion and rehabilitation to natural vegetation.
As such these areas are earmarked for transfer to become part of the Kruger to
Canyons conservation corridor initiative. There are still a significant number
of natural forests for which the department remains responsible in the form of
State forests. Of course the restructuring process is an ambitious undertaking
and it will probably continue for several years to come. There has also been
further restructuring within the department. A most significant development in
recent times is that Forestry has been elevated to the status of a full branch
within the department and a Deputy Director-General (DDG) for Forestry will be
appointment within this year.

The department has enjoyed the benefit of international donor support for
more than 10 years. Much of the restructuring has been supported by these donor
agencies, not only through financing, but also through their technical
expertise. During the last financial year the donor projects that supported
forestry all came to their conclusion. The department is now on its own. With
the departure of the donor agencies we also lost the presence of their staff.
Much of the work they have been doing now falls upon our own departmental
staff. Even though the department is short staffed it is ambitious in its
undertakings. Let us harness the expertise we have and keep up the good work we
are doing.

One of our ambitious new undertakings relate to woodlands. This had been an
area of little attention for a number of years. However, you will learn through
the course of this event that the department has now approved a strategy and an
implementation plan that will guide the roll out of our policy in terms of
woodlands. You will realise that your contributions as an academic community
had been significant in revealing the importance of woodlands as a forest
resource in South Africa. Thus you have shaped our policies and much of the
subject specific guidelines pertaining to the management of this forest
resource. There is plenty of scientific information available about the
woodlands, yet we have to realise that we still do not know as much as we
should. So by the time we present the Fifth Symposium we will be looking
forward to the new research findings you will be presenting. The department
hopes that this Symposium will provide you adequate opportunity to set your
aims and identify new priority research opportunities. Many of you are already
busy with relevant new research and we will be looking forward to the
outcomes.

As a research community it will be of interest to you that the department is
in the process of developing a more strategic approach towards supporting and
promoting forestry research in South Africa. Our mandate in the legislation is
clear. There is a specific task team working on this project and we are looking
forward to producing a protocol document and a research strategy that will
indicate the department’s role and research priorities. This should also
provide direction in terms of the budget provisions needed for research in the
short to medium term.

As much as it is important to do research in forestry, it is also important
that we develop a human resource base of skilled and capable forestry
professionals, not only for the management of the country’s commercial forest
resources, but also for the indigenous forests and woodlands. It is being
realised in the sector that there is a skills shortage developing which may in
future become a threat to the sustainable management of our forests. It is
important that we have symposia like these where we can refresh and update our
existing core of professionals. It is important that we should also recruit
people into the forestry profession.

This is a challenge for which we should engage with our Education
colleagues, because the development of the required skills base starts at
school, where the basic foundations of mathematics, geography and natural
sciences are laid. We should of course also ask ourselves if we contribute
adequately to the education of our nation. We should at least ensure that the
people of our country have a basic understanding of forestry, because all our
people in South Africa depend on forest goods and services in some form every
day. One just is not sure whether they quite realise that.

It is evident that we have a few challenges ahead of us. As an audience
concerned with the natural forest resources, you realise that the conservation
of these present real challenges in the face of demand for resources. In some
cases developers fix their targets on the land occupied by forests with the
hope of financial gain through replacement of the forests with other forms of
land use. In other cases people depend on the actual forest resources for
sustaining their livelihoods. In our policies and approaches to regulation we
should be balanced. This is in fact a principle of our policy and Forestry
legislation. It calls for good judgment on the part of those that have to
enforce the law, and it requires that we educate people about the value and
importance of our forests.

A challenge that we should not overlook is that of Climate Change. It is
something you will be discussing during the symposium and surely we will be
talking about it during similar future events.

I hope the Symposium will empower you and inspire you to ensure that we
retain our forests for future generations while optimising the benefits that
local communities derive from them in the present. On behalf of Minister
Sonjica, I thank all of you that contributed to the event, including the
organising committee, Merle Falken and her team that arranged the logistics,
those that contributed resources in the form of funding for participants and
gifts. Our colleagues from the Working for Water Programme contributed some
gifts for al of you, while some of our international delegates were funded by
donors, including the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO). A special word
of thanks and best wishes also goes to each of you who will be presenting.

With that, ladies and gentlemen, I thank you and declare the proceedings of
the symposium open and wish you a successful conference.

Issued by: Department of Water Affairs and Forestry
15 May 2006