Forestry in Focus Archives - SA Forestry Online

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03rd April 2025

The TIPWG website is a vital resource for all things pesticide

The days of applying pesticides to kill organisms destroying a newly planted crop, and inadvertently impacting the health of people, animals, soils and waterways are gone. In its place is a bewildering cliff of legislation, standards, guidelines, and rules, and the TIPWG website assists foresters in abseiling the pitfalls.

27th March 2025

Restoring Kenya's vital mangrove forests

Despite their extraordinary ecological value, Kenya's mangroves face extensive degradation due to urban expansion, deforestation and overharvesting, threatening biodiversity and

27th March 2025

Artificial intelligence will soon drive Precision Forestry

By Joy Crane The 2025 Precision Forestry Symposium focused on the application of innovative technologies, open-source and specialised software, and

24th March 2025

The Ponsse Cobra takes steep slope harvesting in SA to the next level

Winch-assisted steep slope harvesting has come to South Africa for the first time, with two Ponsse Cobra wheeled harvesters doing

17th March 2025

14th Annual Wood Conference inspired local built environment professionals

The Kuratle Group's 14th annual Wood Conference, held on 25 February 2025 at the CTICC in Cape Town, convened a

19th February 2025

Timber gains traction in sub-Saharan Africa as CLT demand rises

By Joy Crane The African construction sector is witnessing a significant shift toward sustainable building materials, with cross-laminated timber (CLT)

18th February 2025

Young Eucxylo researcher wins local Blue Sky Award

Christopher Erasmus, completing a master’s in electrical and electronic engineering, has developed an award-winning solar-powered wireless dendrometer and environmental sensing

18th February 2025

FSC makes several appointments in Africa

Annah Agasha: Deputy Director Africa Annah Agasha brings 20 years of experience in forestry, natural resource management, and local development

28th December 2024

Hefty fines for shipbuilders using "blood" teak from Myanmar

Oceanco violated the European Timber Regulation (EUTR) and reached a €150,000 settlement with the Netherlands Public Prosecution Service. Meanwhile, Sunseeker

03rd December 2024

Forest Pavilion at COP29 unites science and business for climate action

he UN Climate Change COP (Conference of the Parties) 29 gathering in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November featured its first-ever Forest

22nd November 2024

Thinking “buite die blikkie”

Clinton Fielies was born in the Garcia forestry village 39 years ago. He grew up in one of the classic wooden bosbou (forestry) houses around the corner from where he lives today with his wife and children. After working for MTO as a chainsaw operator in the Western Cape for many years, he says he decided to think “buite die blikkie” (outside the box).

20th November 2024

Back to basics focus for KZN wattle growers

NCT Forestry organised an informative field day in October for its members and farmers in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Midlands region. Terry Wolhuter of Elands Spruit Farm in New Hanover hosted the event.

18th November 2024

Wattle: Champion trees, when properly managed

In the right hands, wattle trees are true champion trees, giving commercial and small-scale growers multiple product options. Unmanaged, these prolific seeders can spread far and wide across the hills and valleys, negatively impacting biodiversity and using up scarce water resources.

11th November 2024

The SA forestry and forest products sector marks 15 years of transformation

The Forest Sector Charter Council (FSCC) marks a decade and a half of overseeing and reporting the forestry and forest products sector's progress in achieving its Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) codes of good practice targets.

23rd October 2024

Weston Agricultural College wins the Forest Rehabilitation Challenge

Husqvarna recently teamed up with a conservation NGO and two prominent KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) schools to host a Forest Rehabilitation Challenge in the Ferncliffe natural forest on the edge of Pietermaritzburg.

22nd October 2024

Profit pointers for wattle growers

A recent wattle field day organised by NCT Forestry provided an ideal opportunity for local tree farmers to pick up some pointers from the wattle “experts” who have been working with wattle for decades.

21st October 2024

Eastern Cape tree farmers cash in on wattle bark sales

NCT members in the Eastern Cape have seized the opportunity created by the current demand for wattle bark to utilise their timber resources more effectively.

15th October 2024

Nwabisa Mpompo bags another silviculture contract

MTO Forestry has awarded Nwabisa Mpompo, owner and director of Bamanye Construction Services, the silviculture contract for its Southern Cape Knysna plantation.

09th October 2024

Vergelegen plants trees for tomorrow

Vergelegen Wine Estate, a Western Cape heritage site in Somerset West, is renowned for multiple sustainability initiatives, and during Arbor Week, staff from all divisions, from pastry chefs to vineyard workers, gathered to plant 200 trees.

13th February 2024