The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in partnership with Total South Africa and the Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo launched Arbor Week at Mofolo City Park in Soweto today. The National Arbor Week Campaign is celebrated annually from 1 to 7 September.
National Arbor Week is a joint venture with various stakeholders and seeking to promote awareness for the need to plant and maintain indigenous trees throughout the country. This initiative highlights the value of trees including those that are threatened by extinction.
Today’s launch saw the roll-out of plan to plant 4 500 trees in the vicinity of Soweto. The first phase of the day saw Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, General Bheki Cele and his counterparts physically planting two Trees of the Year at Metro Park. Later, General Cele went to Freedom Park to hand out 300 fruit trees to the community.
Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo plans to distribute an additional 1 200 fruit trees throughout the month in Freedom Park. Arbor Week starts off with a national launch event and a series of other events in various provinces and districts.
During his address Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Mr Senzeni Zokwana at the launch event at Mofolo City Park said “Forestry is one of the high impact sectors in the economy that contribute positively to economic growth, foreign exchange, job creation, rural development and the development of Small Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMMEs).” Minister Zokwana added that the forestry sector is an essential contributor to national employment levels, directly employing an average of 166 000 people.
In her address, the General Manager: Strategy at Total South Africa Ms Pansy Mekwa said, “Total South Africa is committed to sustainability they believe in a holistic approach of ensuring that communities understand the role and impact of planting trees in our nation.” She added that Total South Africa understands the importance of protecting our surroundings and we are committed to preserving our precious environment.
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 towns in South Africa. This award is given to cities/ towns 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.
The awards went to:
Local Municipality
1st Place - Stellenbosch Local Municipality
2nd Place - Steve Tshwete Local Municipality (Mpumalanga)
Metropolitan Municipality
1st Place - eThekweni Municipality
2nd Place - Tshwane Municipality
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 in September 2015. This launch is a platform to promote the congress and to highlight the value and importance of forests. The congress will be a meeting of role-players and stakeholders from all over the world to discuss crucial and critical forestry matters affecting the world.
For further information please contact:
Ms Makenosi Maroo
Chief Director: Stakeholder Relations and Communications
Tel: 012 319 6787
Cell: 072 475 2956
E-mail: MakenosiM@daff.gov.za
