The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) in partnership with Total South Africa, the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, eThekwini municipality and Food & Trees for Africa launched Arbor Week at the Botanic Gardens on Thursday, 04 September. National Arbor Week Campaign is celebrated annually from 1 to 7 September 2015.
National Arbor Week is a joint venture of various stakeholders and seeks to promote awareness for the need to plant and maintain indigenous trees throughout the country. This programme highlights the value of trees including those that are threatened by extinction.
This year’s theme “Forests and People: Investing in a Sustainable Future” was adopted from the World Forestry Congress, which will be hosted by South Africa on 7 to 11 September 2015. This launch is a platform to promote the congress and highlight the value and importance of forests.
The congress is a convergence of scientists, policy-makers, government officials, technicians, civil society organisations and other role players to discuss and debate challenges, solutions and new innovations affecting the forestry sector globally. It commenced in 1926 and will be hosted for the first time on Africa soil in Durban.
The launch day kicked started with a handing over of trees to the community of KwaMakhutha. This was followed by a walk-about by the Minister and his delegation through a rehabilitated forest and the clearing of alien invasives, where 400 indigenous trees have been planted.
This rehabilitation was done as part of the legacy projects for the World Forestry Congress (WFC) in collaboration with eThekwini Municipality and Future Leaders of Change, a youth based organisation involved in environmental management initiatives within KwaMakhutha and greater eThekwini Municipality. As part of the launch, a plague was unveiled at Adams Mission to mark as one of the WFC legacy projects.
Today’s launch also saw the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Mr Senzeni Zokwana accompanied by Deputy Minister General Bheki Cele and their provincial counterparts physically plant trees in the area of KwaMakhutha.
During his address at the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Mr Senzeni Zokwana said at the launch event at Botanical Gardens said “as a department we are saying that tree planting should not be restricted to the celebration of Arbor Week only, but the campaign should be regarded as a culmination of what has been done throughout the year, regarding the greening of the country through the planting, care and maintain existing trees.
“Every day should be treated as a tree planting day,” Minister added.
A total of 115 households, seven community projects and five schools will benefit through agricultural support in terms of production inputs, garden tools and fruit trees in the areas of KwaMakhutha and Adams with the aim to distribute over 3000 trees comprising of two fruit and one indigenous tree per household.
In her address, the General Manager: Strategy at Total South Africa Ms Pansy Mekwa said, “Over the last five decades Total South Africa has been an enthusiastic and generous social investor and it has been always been important for us to ensure that we are involved with initiatives that truly make difference”.
Furthermore, she encouraged all South Africans to participate in various greening initiatives “such as planting the first seed in order to grow a better future for ourselves and the generations to come”.
The highlight of the event was the awarding of prizes to the winners of the Arbor City Award. The Arbor City Award is a competition that was introduced to promote the greening of cities and townships. This award is given to cities/ townships that go an extra mile to green their areas of jurisdiction. DAFF supports and facilitates the planting of trees as part of the implementation of the National Greening Strategy and the celebrations of National Arbor Week.
For the 2015 competition, a total of 32 municipalities entered the competition and six municipalities were shortlisted and adjudicated through site visits to greening projects in their localities.
The awards went to:
Local Municipality
First Place - Hessequa Local Municipality (Western Cape)
Second Place - Emnambithi Local Municipality (KwaZulu-Natal)
Metropolitan Municipality
First Place - Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality (Gauteng)
Second Place - eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality (KwaZulu-Natal)
The Million Trees Programme was launched during the 2007 Arbor Week campaign as part of the South African contribution to the United Nations Environment Programme “Plant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign”, where communities, industry, civil society organisations and governments are encouraged to plant at least one billion trees worldwide.
To date about 852 731 trees have been planted and a million trees will have been planted by end of Arbor Week as part of the Million Trees Programme. Of these over 3500 trees will be planted throughout in the KwaMakhutha area and 5000 around the KZN province.
For further information please contact:
Makenosi Maroo
Chief Director: Stakeholder Relations and Communications
Tel: 012 319 6787
Cell: 072 475 2956
E-mail: MakenosiM@daff.gov.za
