Deputy Minister Bernice Swarts: Closing of 2024 Arbor Month campaign

Keynote address by Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Ms Bernice Swarts during the closing of the 2024 Arbor Month campaign at Fort Cox Agriculture and Forestry Training Institute, Amathole District Municipality, Eastern Cape Province, 30 September 2024

Executive Mayor of Amathole District Municipality, Councillor Anele Ntsangani,
Executive Mayor of Amahlathi Local Municipality, Councillor Nomakhosazana Nongqayi,
Executive Mayor of Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality, Councillor Nomhle Sango,
Councillors present here today,
Chairperson of the National Forests Advisory Council,
Executive Director of the Forest Sector Charter Council,
Acting Chief Executive Officer, South African Forestry Company Limited,
Representative of TotalEnergies,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

This occasion is taking place at a time when we have just witnessed first-hand our extreme vulnerability to the impacts of a changing climate. The snow fall  that hit parts of the Eastern Cape, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal province  over the past week have caused devastation to homes, communities, businesses and infrastructure. It is society’s most vulnerable who bear the brunt of climate change because they have limited means to prepare for, cope with, and recover from, adverse events in this regard. Just as it is the countries of the Global South that feel the effects of climate change most, despite being least responsible historically for global emissions, it is critical that we strengthen systems for adaptation and mitigation, build resilience in communities and accelerate our decarbonisation efforts and the pace of the just energy transition. The reality we must confront is that the carbon-intensity of our economy is unsustainable.

Ladies and Gentlemen

I launched the Arbor Month campaign on 8 September at Freedom Park, City of Tshwane in the Gauteng province under the theme “Celebrating 30 Years of Freedom: Promoting Environmental Conservation and Sustainable Forest Management”. Today I am happy to be here at the Fort Cox Agriculture and Forestry Training Institute to reflect on the achievements that we made since the launch of the campaign. This institution has a great history in both Forestry and Agricultural fields. It has produced pioneering and captains of the industry in both public and private institutions in Forestry and Agriculture and some of the alumni ceased this opportunity to come and visit to reconnect with the history back in their days as students.

I am proud to announce that this institution is one of the 5 (five) Higher Education Institutions in South Africa that have forestry curricula teaching. As we strive to get quality graduates who will be employable and be entrepreneurs of tomorrow and make a meaningful contribution to the economy, the Department remains committed to work with you to provide support of quality teaching and learning in many ways.

Programme Director

Allow me to remind everyone that the 2024 theme also aims to highlight key areas of forestry and tree planting in terms of their role in creating heritage, wealth and sustaining healthy and resilient communities, through health benefits that are derived in forests including nutritious foods, medicine and rituals, fresh air, clean water and a place for recreation. One of the most important roles of forests is mitigation of climate change. 

Amongst the key activities of the 2024 National Arbor Month campaign is that we have planted 3 000 trees in the local communities surrounding this institute. Today we have planted three trees to represent freedom, heritage and democracy. In addition, 100 trees were donated to the Traditional Authority in BurnsHill to distribute to community members in the area. In addition, together with the Mayor of Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality we have further handed a total of 100 fruit trees to the communities of Ngxondorheni as guided by the team as a confirmation and commitment to the Ten Million Trees Programme, which is a directive of President Cyril Ramaphosa. Achieving this target is not a mandate that is facing the department alone, this is an initiative that calls for greening partners and different stakeholders in the greening space to work together to collaborate and plant trees.

While Arbor Month Campaign is more on tree planting, the emphasis is on the role of trees and forests in food security. I am pleased to see that tree planting has started to gain traction in our rural communities. As the Ten Million Trees programme is in its fourth year of implementation, the department continues to work to ensure the target is reached and has:-

• Firstly, launched the clarion call to the public to participate in the greening programme. In this initiative, a link is provided to the public to register their tree planting activities including pictures and location of the tree-planting activity, online. These are uploaded and the participants are honoured with a certificate for civic duty in contributing towards the greening of the country. 

• Secondly, established the National Greening Forum to provide a platform where stakeholders can plan and account for greening interventions towards the achievement of the Ten Million Trees Programme. The forum meetings are attended by Municipalities and other greening stakeholders. The department has finalised the e-tool system which will be used to monitor and account for the trees planted. 

• Thirdly, introduced the National Arbor City Awards competition that provides incentives and rewards to Municipalities who are doing their best in terms of greening, especially in townships and new settlement areas. This programme is currently being revamped to make it more attractive in the next financial year and municipalities are encouraged to actively participate.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

One of the biggest threats to natural vegetation, property and valuable life is uncontrolled veld and forests fires. It is important to note that we are now in a transition season and the veld is dry. The chance of veldfire igniting, spreading and causing damage to assets and loss of human life is high. The department is empowered by the National Veld and Forest Fires Act, 1998 (NVFFA) to prevent and combat veld, forest and mountain fires throughout the Republic, and provides for a variety of institutions, methods and practices for achieving this purpose. 

Some areas in the country are rated as extremely high veld risk areas due to the fact that more than 90% of the area is covered with woodlands. Every year many lives are lost and millions of rands worth of damages are caused to property, livestock, environment and the livelihoods, especially that of the rural poor. We have just learned that some plantations in Raymond Mhlaba Local municipality, in particular Katberg and Hogsback have been ravaged by fires during the first week of September. Just last week we learnt that huge areas were lost in Ventersdorp in the North West due to fire.

Let us all work together to prevent veldfires from damaging our forests, plantations, grazing land, orchards and the housing settlements.

In an attempt to be proactive in managing uncontrolled fires to date the department has registered 217 Fire Protection Associations (FPAs) and is in a process of aligning these to municipal boundaries to ensure effective use of resources and increase participation and inclusivity especially for the previously disadvantaged communities. To ensure that the FPAs are functional, the DFFE provides financial support to FPAs through the Working on Fire Programme and is in the process of transferring vehicles to district municipalities for use by FPAs. This will be done in phases noting that that there are certain requirements that must be met by the FPAs for benefiting from this support. We are aware of other challenges and the department will work closely with Umbrella FPAs to ensure that such challenges are addressed.

Programme Director

In terms of the contribution of forests in the economy, the Forestry Sector Masterplan has been developed as a growth, transformation and investment plan for the sector which is a collaborative effort between government, industry and labour. The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) is the lead department overseeing the Forestry Sector Masterplan and its implementation which is now in its fourth year of implementation.

One of the key deliverables of the Masterplan is the New Afforestation Programme. Afforestation refers to the establishment of new plantations on virgin land (undisturbed soil). For one to establish plantations a licence is required in terms of the provisions of the National Water Act, 1998, National Environmental Management Act, 1998 and the Conservation of Agricultural Resources Act, 1983. The process involves satisfying the issues of water availability, undertaking costly Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) studies and issues related to soil conservation. 

The DFFE through the then Department of Water Affairs and Forestry undertook a study to assess the potential for afforestation in the country except in the Western Cape. The results reflected an opportunity of 100 000 hectares in Eastern Cape and 39 000 hectares in KwaZulu-Natal. 

The Department has been playing a role of streamlining the afforestation licensing process by paying for the costly EIA studies on behalf of communities. This ensures that delays in afforestation are reduced, and communities are supported in obtaining licenses. Currently the period for issuing licenses from the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) is 90 days. The Department has in the pipeline about 44 000 hectares worth of licenses which are due for EIAs. The department is in the process of finalising the appointment of Environmental Assessment Practitioners (EAPs) to conduct the studies. 

The Masterplan had set a minimum investment target of R16.5 billion, with a maximum target of R30 billion for the year 2025/26. Currently, the rand value of private sector investment has reached R33.2 billion, clearly indicating that the sector has well exceeded the R30 billion target set for the 2025/26 financial year. 

Ensuring that the plantations under the management of the Department are brought back into production is high on the agenda of the Masterplan. Currently, about 6213,58 hectares have been transferred to communities through the Community Forestry Agreement Model in line with Section 29 of the National Forests Act, 1998. This translates to 27 plantations transferred to communities by signing of 23 Community Forestry Agreements. Plans are in place to continue with this process including the leasing of the remaining plantations in the Western Cape. As these transfers take place, it is important for the industry to work closely with the Department in ensuring that post settlement support is provided for these communities so that they can thrive in the sector.  

In closing, I would like to thank our stakeholders Fort Cox Agriculture and Forestry Training Institute and Amathole District Municipality and its local municipalities, Raymond Mhlaba and Amahlathi for collaborating with the Department in hosting this wonderful event. Lastly, I want to sincerely thank our corporate sponsors TotalEnergies for their continued sponsorship for the Arbor Month Campaign, National Greening Programme and the Arbor City Awards competition. 

I thank you

For media enquiries, contact Peter Mbelengwa on 082 611 8197/ pmbelengwa@dffe.gov.za