During every Arbor Week, two or three trees are placed under protection. The trees are selected from commonly found trees species and rare tree species.
At this year’s Arbor Week launch at the Mpumalanga stadium in Hammarsdale, the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Ms Tina Joemat-Pettersson, declared three trees “Champion trees”. The launch took place on 4 September 2013.
Barringtonia racemosa, which is commonly known as powder-puff tree in English, poeierkwasboom in Afrikaans and iBhoqo in isiZulu, Grewia occidentalis, which is commonly known as cross-berry in English, kruisbessie in Afrikaans, Mokukutu in Setswana, Mogwane in Sepedi and Ilalanyathi in isiZulu and Virgilia oroboides, which is commonly known as common wild elder, blossom tree in English and keurboom in Afrikaans have been declared protected trees. All the trees are indigenous to South Africa.
The Minister’s declaration means that the trees are now protected and that no person may cut, disturb, damage or destroy any of them or possess, collect, remove, transport, export, purchase, sell, donate or in any other manner acquire or dispose of any protected tree or any forest product derived from a protected tree, except under a license granted by the Minister or in terms of an exemption from the provisions of a subsection published by the Minister in the gazette.
Contravention of the declaration is regarded as a first category offence that may result in a person who is found guilty being sentenced to a fine or imprisonment for a period of up to three, or both a fine and imprisonment.
Said Minister Joemat-Pettersson, “In 2015, eThekwini District Municipality will host the will host the XIV World Forestry Congress. South Africa was awarded the right to host this congress in 2010. The right was granted by the Food and Agriculture Organisation, FAO. It will be the first forestry congress held on African soil since its inception in 1926 in Rome. The benefits of this congress for the country are numerous. The focus of this year’s event was the forestry sector’s contribution to food security.”
Minister Joemat-Pettersson thanked Total South Africa for assisting the department with planting 2 000 trees in Hammarsdale. 500 trees from the total number will be planted at local schools as part of their food gardens. Indigenous trees are a heritage to our society.
The event was attended by the MEC for Agriculture, and Environment Affairs, Dr Meshack Hadebe, the Executive Mayor of eThekwini Municipality Councillor James Nxumalo, Chairpersons of the National Forestry Advisory Council and the Charter Council and the Chairperson of TOTAL South Africa, Ms Pansy Mekwa.
Arbor Week is celebrated under the theme “Our Forests Our Future” and is from the 01 to 07 September. The focus of this year’s Arbor Week is greening of the country for environmental conservation and development. While Arbor Week is about tree planting, the emphasis of the initiative on the role of trees and forests in addressing food security.
