GEORGE NEWS - "The Witfontein Forest, in its current degraded state, is
posing a fire hazard and is a disaster waiting to happen."
So said Patch Bonkemeyer, CEO of Cape Pine, on Friday during an
interview with the George Herald. He added, "The Department of
Environmental Affairs (DEA) was quite right in warning the Department of
Agriculture, Fo-restry and Fisheries (DAFF) to get their house in
order, and to immediately start maintaining fire breaks and prune their
pine plantations."
Runaway fires
Industry players and the Eden Disaster Management recently issued
similar warnings about the fire hazard situation. What makes the
situation so precarious is that this state owned forest is situated
right on the borders of George, and the annual warm August 'berg winds'
can fuel runaway fires.
In 2005 Eden Disaster Management's fire crew had to fight a desperate
battle to keep the flames from engulfing the northern and eastern
suburbs of George.
Bonkemeyer was reacting to a report in last week's issue of the George
Herald in which the repercussions of ignoring the degraded state of
Witfontein was printed. The report highlighted a directive issued to the
DAFF by Ishaam Abader, the environmental management inspector of the
DEA, on 26 June stating that the failure to halt alien infestation at
Witfontein has further aggravated the fuel loading.
"It would appear that the DAFF is in non-compliance with the provision
of the National Environmental Management Act (Nema) in that there is a
failure to prune or thin the plantation thus presenting a significant
fire risk, especially considering the amount of dead undergrowth."
Abader warned that the necessary 'enforcement actions' would be taken if
the directive is not adhered to.
Mismanagement
But the state of dereliction at Witfontein, as spelt out by Abader, (the
fuel loading and inaccessibility 'presents a clear hazard to the safety
of the inhabitants of George and surroundings') is not the only crisis.
Bonkemeyer sketched a grave situation about the economic effect of the
absence of managing the local state forest. "The 360ha Witfontein Forest
is on the brink of becoming totally unviable as a commercial forest."
When the Western Cape Regional Manager Susan Steyn and her head, Cyril
Ndou, the DAFF director of forest management in Pretoria, were contacted
by the George Herald for a response they stated that the directive had
not reached them. The deputy director, Dr Nthabiseng Motete, was not
available for a comment a week ago. Bonkemeyer said he wants to
emphasise that Steyn and Ndou are both of good will, but they just don't
have the resources to properly manage the forests.
Sound
In closing, Bonkemeyer said, "Make no mistake. I came here to put Cape
Pine on a sound financial footing and it certainly is. We have contracts
with Tsitsikamma to keep the sawmill going and have tendered for more
contracts upcountry." Bonkemeyer and his wife are returning to
Washington to be with their children. A successor has not been named
yet.
22 000 ha lie fallow
In a George Herald report last April the DAFF announced it was
determining a strategy to re-commission forestry in a competitive and
sustainable manner in the Boland and George areas. It would now seem
that the 22 000ha in those two areas have continued to lie fallow.
Cape Pine, which is majority owned by a US based investment firm Global
Environment Fund (GEF) (formerly Safcol and MTO), has been managing the
Southern and Eastern Cape plantations (excluding the Witfontein areas,
in accordance) with a lease agreement with the DAFF. The Outeniqua
plantation stretches from Garcia plantation near Riversdale to
Kruisfontein in Knysna where Pinus radiata and Pinus elliotti pine trees
species are grown on rotation. The George Sawmill is the primary mill
serving this area where wood destined for the building trade and
furniture industry is processed.
ARTICLE: PAULINE LOURENS, GEORGE HERALD JOURNALIST
