International meeting of forestry students

*Avelile Cishe, Regional Representative of the International Forestry Students' Association.*

Two forestry students from South Africa recently attended the 51st International Forestry Students' Symposium in Germany. The students, Avelile Cishe from Nelson Mandela University and Siyanda Mbadamana from Fort Cox Agriculture and Forestry Training Institute, represented their respective universities, as well as other forestry institutes in South Africa including Stellenbosch University, University of Venda, University of Pretoria, and University of Mpumalanga.

The Symposium is the biggest annual meeting of the International Forestry Students' Association (IFSA). It is a platform for forestry students from all over the world to come together to learn about the latest trends in forestry, network with their peers and share ideas.

The theme of this year's event was ‘Transforming forestry – getting ahead of current and future challenges’. The students discussed a wide range of topics, including climate change, forest management, and sustainable forest products. They also had the opportunity to visit several forests and forestry research centers in Germany. This gave them a firsthand look at the different ways that forests are managed in Germany.

*Forestry students from around the world gathered in Germany.*

“The Symposium was a great opportunity and an amazing experience to network with other forestry students and learn about the latest trends in the field. We learned so much about forestry and we met some great people from all over the world,” said Avelile.

Their attendance at the symposium was made possible with funding support from Nelson Mandela University, Fort Cox Agriculture and Forestry Training Institute, and the Germany Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

Avelile and Siyanda said that they will be sharing their learnings and experiences with all the forestry universities in South Africa.

Report by Avelile Cishe, Regional Representative of the International Forestry Students' Association.

FOCUS ON FORESTRY 2023

Simon Shackleton (left) of John Deere provides insight into the impressive JD eight-wheeled harvester that was on show at the field day. Operating the harvester for the demo was CMO’s mechanised harvesting instructor Gilbert Khumalo.

New forestry equipment, strategies & insights

The big international forestry brands plus local equipment manufacturers and service providers as well as mulchers, chippers and grinders made their presence felt at the Focus on Forestry 2023 event held in the picturesque KZN midlands in early November. Against the backdrop of the magnificent Karkloof mountains and surrounded by Sappi’s well kept gum and pine plantations, forestry stakeholders gathered from far and wide to see the latest equipment up close and gain some keen insights from dozens of presentations that covered just about every aspect of the forestry business.

There was also a lot of networking, socialising and catching up with old friends on the fringes of the conference, as there has been a long gap since the last Focus event that was held before COVID hit.

The overall message from the conference was that forestry businesses have and will continue to encounter hard times in the form of international trade disruptions, weak economic cycles, logistics bottlenecks, rising input costs, fires and extreme weather events, but at the end of the day forestry is part of the solution for many of the world’s biggest challenges and is on an upwards trajectory.

In his keynote address, Dr Ole Sand, Managing Partner of Criterion Africa Partners (CAP), which has invested millions of dollars in forestry businesses in sub-Saharan Africa, says forestry assets have been and are still undervalued. But the positive impacts forestry makes on the global climate balance, the protection of biodiversity, employment and infrastructure are in the early stages of being recognised, valued and monetized.

*(Left to right) Mark Barnado, manager of Sappi’s KZN plantations, Dr Ole Sand of Criterion Africa Partners, who delivered the keynote address, and Michal Brink of CMO.*

He said plantations constitute just 3% of global forest area, but account for 47% of global industrial roundwood supply, while natural forestry is already beyond capacity. The demand for industrial roundwood is expected to increase by 600 – 900 million m³ per year by 2050.

Africa is a continent where forestry plays a massive role in providing people with goods and services, but there is a critical need for more efficient and more sustainable management practices.

Population growth in Africa is driving wood demand and unsustainable forest use. The continent accounts for 20% of total global wood consumption and 36% of global fuelwood consumption. However much of Africa’s fuelwood production is unsustainable, said Dr Sand.

He said subsistence agriculture is the biggest driver of global deforestation. In Africa natural forests are harvested beyond capacity, and as a result deforestation and degradation is continuing.

“Fuelwood consumption with charcoal the driver will continue, while new plantation development that is taking place is insignificant.”

In this regard, he says that the private sector is doing a better job managing plantations than the state.

Dr Sand said that the CAP team believes there are only two solutions: scale up smallholder plantation development, and improve efficiencies in charcoal production.

He says the scarce resource in African forestry is knowhow and management capacity – not capital.

“When given the market opportunity, smallholders will respond,” he concluded.

*Wayne le Roux of Hintech, proudly South African manufacturers of a range of grabs as well as the Urus cable yarding systems, loaders, loggers and shovel yarders.*

Wood replacing fossil fuels

“Everything made from fossil fuels today can be made from a tree tomorrow,” said Brazilian forest engineer Marcos Wichert of Stora Enso.

Intensification of forest management is happening, producing more from less is the objective, while making forests more resilient by:-

• Reducing use of agro-chemicals
• Improving soil health
• Reducing CO² emissions.

Forestry operations are developing fast with GPS devices on planting tubes and even spades to map each tree, AI thinning selectors on harvesters, remote machine operation and unmanned autonomous timber trucks.

And the new frontier, he suggests, is about gaining a better understanding of the role of beneficial microbes and fungi in the soil. At the end of the day growing anything - including trees – is all about soil health.

Empowering smallholders

Michal Brink of CMO endorsed Dr Sand’s opinion on the role of smallholder tree farmers.

“Future forestry expansion will be driven by smallholders, because the land belongs to communities,” said Michal.

The role of corporates is to serve as anchors to support and empower smallholders.

He says CMO is providing simple, affordable and scaleable solutions to enable smallholders to get their operations certified.

“Empowered smallholders are the vehicle to expansion of sustainable plantation forestry into the future,” he concluded.

*ProMac is another proudly SA made logger manufactured in Richards Bay.*

Resilient forestry

Independent forester Michael Henson talked about resilient forestry and the fact that reducing the risk of failure is much more than just about site and climate.

He said clones are “impressive when they work, and equally impressive when they fail”, and are a “roll of the dice” as they have a very restricted genetic base and carry a higher biosecurity risk than seeds which are genetically more diverse.

Nelly Ndlovu of Mondi Zimele spoke of the need to do more research into agro-forestry to help small-scale growers to improve their cashflow.

Bongiwe Mafuya of Emabhaceni Development and Nature Solutions described how clearing of alien vegetation in the Eastern Cape has created jobs and improved rangelands and agricultural fields. Further good news for the community is that since the alien plant removal, the local river is flowing freely again.

Philip Hall of Mbombela-based Forestry Plant & Equipment shows off the Summit grapple carriage for high productivity yarding. It even comes with a camera attached so the operator can follow the load safely to the landing.

FPA’s on the edge

Addressing the perennial topic of fires in forestry, Ian Henderson lamented the lack of support for FPAs from the Forestry Department and the fact that only 46% of state owned landholders are members of FPAs, while private sector membership is keeping many FPAs afloat. He suggested small FPAs should join forces to establish bigger, more viable FPAs.

Gideon van Lill of Amathole Forestry explained how they reduced fire damage in their Eastern Cape plantations from 5 894 ha burnt between 1999 to 2004 while it was under Safcol management– to 340 ha burnt between 2005 to 2023 while under Amathole Forests management. The key, he said, was meticulous, detailed risk assessment and a very focused and structured approach to risk reduction. Also improved, co-ordinated involvement of external role players.

*Andre Scheepers from Anco Manufacturing displays the new bakkie-sakkie made in SA and equipped with a Husqvarna pump for powerful fast-action firefighting.*

*Andre Scheepers of Anco Manufacturing talks up the advantages of their 4000 litre high tech firefighting unit which comes complete with all the bells and whistles.*

*Side-view of the Anco firefighting unit.*

PBS trucks

The sudden termination of the highly successful PBS truck pilot project by the Department of Transport in September 2023 - without giving any reasons - has put forestry logistics at the crossroads. The benefits of the PBS timber trucks to growers, to the economy, to the environment and to the safety of road users has been plain to see.

“With freight rail in South Africa failing us, the PBS trucks have saved our lives,” said Francois Oberholzer of Forestry South Africa.

He acknowledged that the ‘Pilot Project’ status of the PBS trucks had to end at some point, and is hopeful that the programme’s termination signalled that the PBS trucks would be absorbed into the legislation so that they can continue to improve the efficiency of road transport.

Francois said that 56% of conventional trucks currently operating on SA’s roads would not pass the PBS safety tests.

*Loggers and loaders from Zululand-based Bell Equipment.*

Rail

David Taylor of Tailor Rail company expressed his optimism that private sector participation in freight rail in South Africa is coming, but that the stakeholders need to move forward with extreme caution as there are multiple infrastructure and operational challenges.

By the way, 170 metres of cable theft takes place in SA every hour of every day. That is just one of the challenges that freight rail operators will face. Will we see the return of the green uniforms of the Railway Police?

One-pass harvesting

Andrew Cooper of Mondi explained their journey to single-pass harvesting. This has largely been achieved with extensive trial and error and working closely with the manufacturers of harvesting heads.

The aim is to reduce stem processing time, wear and tear on equipment, and stem damage. He reckons that two to four tons of fibre per hectare is lost from excessive stem damage during multiple-pass processing.

The trick is variable pressure control on the rollers which need to be finely tuned to the tree characteristics and conditions at the time of harvesting, coupled with fewer rollers and more knives.

The heads endorsed for one-pass harvesting are:-
• SP 661E
• Waratah H225E
• Log Max E6
• Ponsse H7 Euca

Andrew said that the system balance is critical, and edge trees are a problem for one-pass harvesting.

“The journey to one-pass harvesting is very complicated and difficult to manage, but very worth it in the end,” he said.

Major learning: one size DOES NOT fit all.

*Waratah head, mounted on a purpose-built John Deere harvester, is one of the iconic global brands.*

New Ponsse head capable of rotating through 360 degrees with members of the local and international Ponsse support team (extreme right) Janne Tarvainen of Ponsse Finland, and second right Chris Odendaal of MTS Parts, principle Ponsse dealer in South Africa, based in Mbombela, Mpumalanga.

*The Log Max 10000 XT head for extreme heavy duty logging, attached to a Tigercat tracked harvester, distributed and supported in South Africa by AfrEquip.*

Biomass processing

Willem van der Merwe of Africa Biomass Company is a pioneer of chipping, mulching, grinding, shredding and billeting everything from post-harvest forestry slash to prunings, bush clearing and alien vegetation reduction in forestry and agriculture.

He says three hectares of cleared alien vegetation gains enough water savings to irrigate one ha of farmland.

Furthermore, 1.7 tons of good quality woodchips has the same energy value as one ton of coal, and reduces the carbon footprint by 95%.

He says markets for processed biomass material need to be found close by, on farms, in factories and in local small towns where more and more opportunities are opening up.

*The big Bandit chipper, dubbed the ‘Beast’, reduced medium-sized pine logs to a neat pile of woodchips with effortless ease. It is operated by Africa Biomass Company.*

*This is the business end of the Bandit chipper …*

*SA manufactured Wuhlf 960-2 mulcher put through its paces at the field day by Grant Moodley.*

Community-focused carbon project

Candice Taylor of the New Forests Company provided insights into a community-focused carbon project in Uganda which will provide small-scale growers with additional income from carbon credits earned in their operations. One of the objectives of the project is to encourage the small growers not to harvest their trees too early before they reach maturity, which is what they tend to do in an effort to boost their cashflow.

She said the project has taken three years to monetize, and will take five years to break even.

“Carbon shouldn’t be your side business – it should be a part of your core business,” she said.

And finally a word of advice: beware of the ‘carbon cowboys’ … so-called expert consultants who charge a fortune when you can do it yourself with a bit of effort. It’s complex, but it’s not rocket science.

Fanie Viljoen (left) and Jacques van der Watt of George-based Novelquip Forestry with one of their pitting attachments.

*Jody Ivins of KZN midlands-based LP Engineering with one of their grabs … they also support Ponsse harvesting equipment in the Midlands.*

FSA plays key role in national crisis control

*Outgoing FSA Executive Committee chairperson Themba Vilane applauded the resilience of the forest sector despite another challenging year. (Photo: Samora Chapman)*

Forestry South Africa held its 21st AGM in the KZN midlands in May, attended by a record number of members and invited guests who were treated to two blockbuster keynote presentations that helped to put the crises facing South Africa into perspective …

What a year 2022 turned out to be for the South African forestry sector! After surviving the Covid pandemic in 2020 and the failed insurrection and looting spree that took place in KZN and Gauteng in 2021, forestry stakeholders were hoping for a more stable and prosperous 2022. But the crises just shifted … to energy (or the lack of it) with load shedding ramping ever upwards; and to logistics where a strike by Transnet workers brought freight rail – that was already in a state of decline – to a standstill in October, costing the battered SA economy R1 billion per day in lost opportunities.

Meanwhile the impacts of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine disrupted international markets, creating logistics bottlenecks and causing prices of commodities like fuel, coal, tyres and fertilizer to skyrocket.

In between all of that, the resilient forest sector survived – even thrived in many instances – aided and abetted by the Forestry South Africa team which muscled its way closer to the levers of power to help find solutions for a number of pressing national issues.

Here is a brief highlights package of FSA activities during the year 2022 that were covered by outgoing FSA chairperson Themba Vilane during his address at the recent FSA AGM, and were elaborated upon in his Foreword in the recently published FSA Annual Report.

*Happy to be back in the real world … members and guests turned out in their numbers to attend the FSA AGM at Fern Hill Conference Centre in Tweedie, KZN. (Photo: Samora Chapman)*

Ports and rail

The FSA team established regular meetings with the CEO of Transnet and her top management team, and task teams working on ports and rail met throughout the year, playing a hand in bringing the Transnet strike to an end. As a result of this involvement, Executive Director Michael Peter was asked to serve in a President-led task team working on the reforms needed to address the use and recapitalisation of rail and ports in South Africa.

FSA is also serving on a Presidency-led energy committee which is playing a key role in addressing the energy crisis.

“Having our association at the forefront of these national crises interventions is a great testimony to the regard in which our sector is held,” said Themba.

Research and innovation

Forestry’s growing partnerships with government also bore fruit with FSA securing Sector Innovation Funding of R35.2 million from the Department of Science and Innovation. This funding serves to increase forestry’s research capacity in crucial areas.

Furthermore, the signing of an MoU between FSA and the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) will bring an additional R9 million per year for forest protection.

Recommissioning of state plantations

Perhaps the biggest news of the year came just before Christmas when the DFFE called for expressions of interest from the private sector for the operation of 22 000 ha of state-owned forestry plantations in the Western Cape. These former pine plantations have been lying dormant for anything between five to 20 years, as they were handed over to the receiving agents after clear-felling at rotation end by the previous lease holder, MTO Forestry. They were originally part of government’s forestry exit strategy in the Western Cape, but following an outcry from industry stakeholders and further research, Cabinet decided in 2008 to recommission these plantations.

After years of lobbying by FSA and other stakeholders, the process of bringing them back into forestry has begun at last. This is good news indeed and will revitalise forestry and sawmilling in the Western Cape (see story on SAF Online - https://saforestryonline.co.za/articles/w-cape-state-plantation).

“We hope that this signals the start of the process for the rest of the Category B and C state plantations which have been overrun by timber thieves and criminal syndicates …” said Themba.

Incoming FSA Executive Committee chairperson Andrew Mason (medium growers group) and vice-chairperson Buhle Msweli (small-scale growers group). The Executive Committee chair and vice-chair rotate between the Large, Medium and Small Growers Groups every year. (Photo: Samora Chapman)

Land reform

On the land reform front, the FSA Land Committee has come up with concrete proposals to bolster support for communities who have come into forestry through land reform initiatives, in an effort to ensure that a sustainable fibre supply from these plantations is maintained. These include a feasibility study stage in the land restitution process to better inform settlement negotiations; a suite of appropriate settlement models; a crop ownership transfer model and the provision of appropriate post-settlement support for land reform beneficiaries.

Timber volumes up

Finally, Themba applauded the fact that timber sales recorded by FSA members during 2022 were the highest since 2018 at 13.970 million tons (6.2% higher than 2021 volumes). Gum sales were the best performer at 7 million tons (18.5% higher than 2021 volumes), wattle was second best at 1.4 million tons (up 15.5% on 2021 volumes) and pine at 5.5 million tons (down by 7.8% vs 2021 volumes).

These timber sales volumes would have been much higher had it not been for the devastating floods that occurred in KZN in April and the impacts of the rail and port strike in October, the consequences of which are still being felt across all sectors of the economy.

“Should the country succeed in addressing the two biggest challenges we are facing in logistics and energy, this bodes very well for the future of timber growers, especially with the major investments which have been made by our sector in pulp and paper, particle board, sawmilling and renewable energy,” said Themba.

*Celebrating women … women are playing an increasingly active role in the previously male-dominated forestry sector in South Africa. (Photo: Samora Chapman)*

Service acknowledgements

The FSA team paid tribute to two stalwarts of the Forestry Sector, Brian Aitken and Murray Mason, both of whom have put in multiple stints as FSA office bearers over the years, and who have contributed enormously to the success of the sector.

FSA Executive Committee for 2023/24

Ex Large Growers Group

Duane Roothman (SAPPI)
Themba Vilane (Mondi)
Sean Brown (Merensky)
Itumeleng Langeni (MTO)
Tsepo Monaheng (SAFCOL)
Ferdie Brauckmann (TWK)
Penwell Lunga (PG Bison)
Gerald Stoltz (York Timbers)
Mark Armour (co-opted)

Ex Medium Growers Group
Andrew Mason - KZN (MGG Chair) (FSA Chairperson)
Murray Mason - KZN / S Cape
Heiner Hinze - Mpumalanga / Limpopo
Graeme Freese - Past MGG Chairman
Danny Knoesen - NCT

Ex Small Growers Group
Buhle Msweli KZN Provincial Chairperson (FSA Vice-Chairperson)
Musa Mcwensa KZN Deputy Chairperson
Fhatuwani Netsianda Limpopo Provincial Chairperson

Joyce Shozi (chairperson King Cetshwayo District small-scale growers), Sanele Zuma (Siyaqhubeka Forests), and Nelly Ndlovu (CEO Mondi Zimele and chairperson of the Forest Sector Charter Council. (Photo: Samora Chapman)

*Linda Vilakazi (Siyaqhubeka Forests), Maurice Makhatini (Mondi) and Siya Kobese (Sappi). (Photo: Samora Chapman)*

Left to right: Mbali Luthuli, (Assistant Director, Planning, KZN DFFE), Wongeka Kutshwa (Deputy Director, Forestry Development, KZN DFFE), Pumeza Nodada (Deputy Director-General, Forestry Management, DFFE) and Noluthando Kobese (Chief Forester, Forestry Regulation, KZN DFFE). (Photo: Samora Chapman)

Focusing on forestry’s role in greening the economy

*Biomass collection system on show at the last Focus on Forestry field day in Mpumalanga.*

‘The value of forestry in a greening economy’ is the theme of the Focus on Forestry Conference & Expo taking place at the Karkloof Country Club in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands from 7-9 November 2023.

The conference is organised by CMO, Nelson Mandela University and Forestry South Africa. It covers the full forestry value chain and is designed to inform forest landowners, managers and contractors, although tremendous benefit will be obtained by academics, researchers, consultants, training providers, governmental organisations and others participating in the sector.

The keynote address will be delivered by Dr Ole Sand, the Managing Partner of Criterion African Partners. He is a Norwegian national, residing in the US. The theme will explore the issues and opportunities surrounding the greening economy and the role that forestry plays.

With over 35 years of private equity investment experience, Dr Sand leads an investment team exclusively focused on the forestry sector in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The team invests in companies that provide economic development/impact, and climate change solutions through forestry and related technologies.

The Focus on Forestry conference covers the entire forestry value chain including nurseries, fire management, silviculture, forest engineering, wood biomass, carbon, risk management and certification. It is relevant to small-scale growers, medium-scale commercial growers through to large-scale industrial plantations, as well as sustainably managed natural forests and related ecosystems.

Day one focuses on general forest management, nurseries, silviculture, fire and other risk management and certification. Day two focuses on forest engineering, carbon and biomass harvesting.

The panel of international presenters will provide practical and useful information for management decision making and operational improvements.

A comprehensive exhibit area will be located immediately outside the conference venue, allowing delegates to interact with forestry equipment and services suppliers in between conference sessions. Networking is also a critical component of the conference, and a braai (barbeque) will take place each evening after the conference for catching up with old friends, making new business contacts, or discussing business.

The Focus on Forestry Field Day will take place on a Sappi plantation close to the conference venue. It will include static exhibits and live demonstrations, covering the full value chain. Conference attendance gives free entrance to the field day. Attendees will have the freedom to wander the field site at their leisure.

For more info, email: focus@cmogroup.io

UPCOMING EVENTS

Sawmilling SA AGM
7th June 2023
Engineering 4.0 Auditorium, University of Pretoria
Keynote speaker: Michael Peter, FSA
Info: Jacques.dtva@gmail.com

WoodEx for Africa
27-29 June 2023
Gallagher Convention Centre, Johannesburg
The gateway to Africa’s timber trade
Info: www.woodexforafrica.com

Focus on Forestry Conference & Expo
7-9 November 2023
Karkloof Country Club, KZN midlands
SA’s premier forestry conference and expo
Info: andrew@cmogroup.co.za

Fire Management Symposium – Working on Fire
8-10 November 2023
Skukuza Conference Centre, Kruger National Park
Co-ordinating efforts for effective wildland fire management
Part of 20 Year Anniversary Celebration of the WoF programme.
Info: linton.rensburg@wofire.co.za
www.workingonfire.com

Focus on Forestry is back!

*This ‘big daddy’ wheeled harvester from Tigercat attracted a lot of attention at the 2019 Focus field day held at White River, Mpumalanga.*

The good news for forestry stakeholders is that the Focus on Forestry Conference and Expo is back after a four-year hiatus.

It will be held over three days from 7-9 November 2023 at the Karkloof Country Club in the KZN midlands. Save the date and dust off your boots, the organisers have promised an action-packed programme of presentations, an exhibition and a field day at a nearby Sappi plantation.

Focus on Forestry 2023 is organised by CMO, Nelson Mandela University and Forestry South Africa. It has been the premier get-together for forestry stakeholders in Southern Africa for a number of years. The last event was held at White River in Mpumalanga back in April 2019. Then COVID-19 came out of nowhere, shutting down public events, disrupting business and impacting almost every aspect of our lives.

Since then virtual events have become the norm, but they don’t quite hit the spot as the most valuable part of real live gatherings is the opportunity to exchange ideas face-to-face, network and socialise with forestry colleagues from near and far.

Focus is targeted at a broad range of stakeholders including forest landowners and growers (large and small), managers and contractors, while also offering valuable insights to academics, researchers, consultants, training providers, governmental organisations and services and equipment suppliers into the industry.

*Demonstrating a planting rig at the 2014 Focus event held near Piet Retief, Mpumalanga back in 2014.*

The breakdown of the event is as follows:-

07 to 08 November (Karkloof Country Club) – conference and exhibition.
09 November: Focus on Forestry Field Day and Demos – Sappi plantation close to the conference venue.

More detailed information will follow soon, including registration information for delegates, exhibitors and sponsors. Early bird registrations will be discounted, so watch this space!

Enquiries can be directed to andrew@cmogroup.io.

*This looks risky, but it’s not. Fogmaker about to demonstrate the power of its on-board fire suppression system at the 2019 Focus event at White River.*

*Foresters checking the log quality after a de-barking demo during the Focus field day at Hilton, KZN in 2017.*

*Michal Brink and Andrew McKuen of CMO, organisers of a number of Focus events over the past 10 years.*

Preparing for the next mega fire

‘Preparing for the next Mega Fire’ is the theme of the 13th Fire Management Symposium, scheduled to be held at the Nelson Mandela University’s (NMU) George Campus from 23 to 25 November.

Effective wildfire management is impeded by a lack of integration between research results, technological development, and efforts by fire managers. In the end all strive to prevent, suppress and protect the environment, human wellbeing, and assets against wildfire.

This event aims to integrate the efforts of natural resource managers, engineers, and scientists through an integrated approach.

The Symposium will bring together fire managers and authorities from different disciplines and land uses including nature conservation, agriculture, disaster management, forestry and local authorities, for a range of informative presentations and exciting networking opportunities.

The choice of George as a venue to host the Symposium is appropriate as it is situated in the scenic southern Cape which experienced one of the worst fires in the history of South Africa on 7 June 2017. Exactly one year later another mega fire swept through the Southern Cape, so this region knows all too well about wildfires.

The George campus is also the venue for the highly acclaimed Fire Management programme offered by NMU which equips aspirant foresters and land managers with a deeper understanding of fire dynamics and the practical application of fire risk reduction, fire management and suppression.

The Symposium brings together top rated international and South African-based fire management specialists who will share their expertise in a very practical and applied manner. Internationally renowned fire scientist Prof Pete Fule will deliver the first keynote address.

The 2nd day of the event is a field day that will provide opportunities for Symposium participants to visit the Southern Cape region to observe the unique vegetation and take note of fire related issues - hosted by the Southern Cape Fire Protection Association.

For more information contact tiaan.pool@mandela.ac.za or Hannes.vanZyl@mandela.ac.za or sonia.roets@mandela.ac.za.

Pursuing opportunities in a struggling economy – Notes from FSA’s 20th AGM

The ‘A’ team (L-R) Themba Vilane (Mondi, FSA Chairperson), Mike Peter (FSA Executive Director) and Andrew Mason (FSA Vice-Chair).

Forestry South Africa held its 20th Annual General Meeting in the KZN midlands recently, hosting a ‘live’ event attended by around 70 members and guests (numbers were limited due to COVID regulations) and many more who attended the virtual event.

Despite the fact that forestry in South Africa has been rocked by a string of disruptive events in the past few years, including the COVID pandemic and lockdown, riots and looting in KZN, freight rail and port disruptions, then floods in KZN again, the general mood at the AGM was positive and upbeat as stakeholders focused on tackling the challenges and finding solutions.

In his opening address FSA Executive Director Michael Peter said that the FSA team is working well with their Public Private Growth Initiative (PPGI) partners and making progress in addressing the major challenges confronting the forestry sector.

Likewise guest speakers Dr Azar Jammine of Econometrix and logistics consultant Ian Bird unpacked the problems we face across South Africa’s social, political and economic landscape, but pointed out the many opportunities that exist to turn it around, as well as some concrete steps being taken to do just that.

Themba Vilane, head of Mondi Forests in SA, is taking over from Busisiwe Mnguni as FSA Chairperson, while his deputy is well known KZN tree farmer Andrew Mason.

Mike Peter, Busi Mnguni of the Small Grower Group and outgoing FSA Chair, and incoming Chair Themba Vilane, head of Mondi Forests in SA.

In her address, outgoing chairperson Busi Mnguni of the KZN Small Grower Group, revealed that the failed insurrection and looting spree that spread across KZN and parts of Gauteng in mid-2021 cost the Forest Sector around R656 million in physical damages and lost production. Before this unfortunate event the forestry industry was on track to record its best year since 2018 in terms of timber sales, which says a lot for the resilience of the sector.

Despite these disruptions, the industry recorded total timber sales of 13 153 million tons in 2021 – some 13% up on the volumes achieved in 2019.

Other noteworthy achievements notched up by the hard-working FSA team include:-

• Positive changes to the diesel rebate system
• Increasing FSA membership to well over 95% of timber growers in SA
• Securing access to state funding to support black participants in forestry
• Securing high court judgements in industry’s favour on Genus-exchange and the protection of water use rights.

Incoming FSA chairperson Themba Vilane revealed that the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) has approved FSA’s third round application for Sector Innovation Funding, in the amount of R 35,2m over four years. This success is due in no small part to the efforts of FSA’s Research and Protection Director, Dr Ronald Heath, with the support of the Research Advisory Committee, as well as the efforts of FSA’s partners in the PPGI.

Coupled with the R24m secured from the DSI in the first round of SIF funding and R11m in the second round, this means that FSA has secured R 70m from DSI over the past seven years!

The funding will be utilised in line with FSA’s funding framework which focuses on forest protection and sustainability.

Keynote speaker Dr Azar Jammine of Econometrix laid bare the dire state of the South African economy, but also offered a glimpse of optimism … it can be turned around!

Dr Azar Jammine, Director and Chief Economist at Econometrix, spelled out the dire state of the South African economy, which has a projected growth rate for 2022 of 1.9% - one of the lowest in the world. 35%-46% unemployment, a growing chasm between the haves and the have nots and a deepening technological divide, has led to a huge reliance on social relief. Capital investment has dropped to 13% of GDP (from 19% in 2014), and the lack of infrastructure development has had a crippling effect on the economy, he said.

Notwithstanding the fact that we have a ‘challenging’ economy, Dr Jammine said a lot can still be achieved if government can make the right moves.

“Hopefully President Ramaphosa will get a second term in office and have more freedom to implement the necessary structural reforms to spark an economic recovery, which would take a few years to manifest,” he said.

Ian Bird, Logistics Executive of Smartvest Investment, outlined the poor levels of service on the country’s freight rail lines as well as the ports, which is of critical importance for the competitiveness of the forestry industry. Problems on the ‘Wood Owl’ line which hauls timber from Mpumalanga and northern KZN to Richards Bay, as well as the branch lines serving the forest sector, have resulted in rail usage declining steadily over the past few years, and road usage increasing.

Guest speaker Ian Bird (Logistics Executive for SMARTVEST Investments) had some exciting news regarding proposals for private sector participation on the coal line that hauls timber from central forestry regions to Richards Bay.

This has had the effect of increasing the costs of logistics while negatively impacting the road infrastructure.

Meanwhile he said that Transnet’s rail network is hugely under-utilised and ripe for private sector investment.

Transnet Freight Rail has eventually come around to this way of thinking, he says, and has offered two-year slots to the private sector to supply locomotives and wagons on the main Jhb to Durban container line. However he believes that these slots are too short-term to be viable in their present form.

He says that FSA is putting together a Rail Committee that will pursue opportunities for private sector participation in the coal line that is used by the Wood Owl train that hauls timber from the central forestry regions to the Richards Bay mills. Transnet has been receptive to the initiative for 3rd party access, and the operational head of Transnet’s rail line will be part of that committee. The initiative has been well received by stakeholders and he is optimistic that solutions will be forthcoming.

He says the forest sector has 4.5 million tons of timber a year available for train freight, which constitutes 7% to 8% of Transnet’s general freight cargo, which shows that we are not an insignificant stakeholder. Current timber volumes being transported on rail are 1.9 million tons a year.

The immediate plan is for the private sector to provide locomotives to pull Transnet wagons on the Wood Owl. This would overcome the problem of unavailability of locomotives which has been at the heart of the recent freight train service disruptions on the coal line.

The longer term solution would be for private operators to supply locomotives, drivers and wagons, while leasing the rail line from Transnet.

Private sector participation in freight rail and port handling will happen, there’s no turning back, said Ian.
“An exciting new era in structural reforms beckons.”