The Presidential One Billion Trees Campaign has planted more than seven million trees across South Africa since April this year, with government positioning the initiative as a driver of food security, job creation, rural development and economic empowerment.
In his weekly newsletter on Monday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the trees had been planted across all provinces under the campaign, which forms part of the existing National Greening Programme.
The campaign aims to plant one billion trees over the next five years in partnership with communities, traditional leaders and the private sector.
More than two million trees have been planted in the Western Cape, while Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal have each recorded more than one million trees. More than half a million trees have also been planted in the Northern Cape, South Africa’s driest province.
President Ramaphosa said the campaign goes beyond providing shade and recreation, or helping communities respond to climate change and biodiversity loss.
He said the initiative is also intended to address the spatial inequality created by apartheid-era urban planning, which resulted in historically white suburbs having more trees and green spaces while townships generally had sparse vegetation.
“Addressing and overcoming the geography of inequality we inherited necessitates that greening programmes must also substantively contribute to advancing food security, rural development and the economic empowerment of women,” the President said.
The campaign is therefore placing emphasis on trees that can provide direct benefits to households and communities, including fruit trees such as citrus, avocado and grapes.
According to the President, these trees can strengthen household food security, support community and school food gardens and potentially generate income from surplus produce.
The longer-term goal is for subsistence farmers to reinvest income generated from fruit trees into additional trees and agricultural inputs, allowing them to gradually develop income-generating enterprises.
To support this objective, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Human Settlements to help ensure that a fruit tree is planted with every new subsidised house.
Creating opportunities for women and young people
The campaign is also being used to support women’s livelihoods.
The President highlighted the She Evolves project in Tswelopele Local Municipality in the Free State, where women have been leading tree-planting activities to generate income.
He also pointed to the Innesfree Park urban garden in Sandton, Gauteng, where a mother and daughter team, with support from a local hospitality chain, are growing fruit, vegetables and herbs to support local feeding schemes and create employment for women.
“Greening programmes are a pathway for skills development that leads to job creation as well as supporting self-employment.”
EPWP and skills transfer
Workers employed through the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) are playing a role in the campaign through land preparation, transporting trees to planting sites, planting and horticultural maintenance.
The environmental sector is among the contributors to the EPWP, providing work opportunities and skills in areas, including conservation, water, waste and fire management.
The skills acquired through these programmes can also help young people pursue employment at nurseries and farms or establish businesses in landscaping, tree maintenance, plant production and sales.
“The seemingly simple act of planting a tree has the potential to generate many opportunities into the future, especially for young people who have considered a future in farming but did not know where or how to start,” the President explained.
Focus on indigenous trees
Another key element of the campaign is the focus on indigenous trees.
President Ramaphosa said large parts of urban and rural South Africa are covered by dense canopies of non-indigenous trees introduced during the colonial period, among other reasons, to meet demand for timber.
Some of these species, including Pretoria’s jacarandas, are classified as invasive.
Invasive alien trees can place additional pressure on scarce surface water, threaten indigenous vegetation and increase the risk and severity of wildfires.
The removal of invasive species also presents economic opportunities, with companies already converting alien invasive plants and trees into biomass for industrial applications, including green fuel.
The DFFE and South African National Parks also run the Eco-Furniture Programme, which trains EPWP workers to produce school desks, benches and other wood products from cleared invasive alien trees.
At the same time, indigenous tree planting and cultivation can create opportunities for young people to develop skills in seed collection and indigenous horticulture.
From conservation to economic development
President Ramaphosa said the campaign demonstrates that conservation and socio-economic development can be pursued together.
“Ultimately, the Presidential One Billion Trees Campaign is aligned with our commitment to the sustainable use of our natural resources and to sustainable development.
“Conservation and socio-economic development are not mutually exclusive. This initiative has the potential to catalyse both small- and large-scale economic activity and job creation,” he said.
The campaign has brought together private citizens, businesses, schools and community organisations, with the President describing the momentum behind the initiative as a demonstration of the power of collective action.
He called on South Africans who have not yet participated to plant or donate a tree as the country works towards its target of one billion trees over the next five years. – SAnews.gov.za
