Forestry firm ploughs back into nature

Abstract

Forestry & wetlands South Africa’s forestry industry has come in for plenty of criticism over the last few decades. This is mainly because plantations of pines and other invasive alien trees use a lot more water than the natural vegetation they replace, so they reduce the flow of rivers, with knock-on impacts for water supplies and aquatic ecosystems. But the industry has taken a proactive stance in addressing these concerns, laying the groundwork for other sectors to follow suit. “This valley used to be planted wall to wall,” says Peter Gardiner, sweeping his hand over the Gilboa Plantation, set in the Karkloof catchment near Howick in KwaZulu-Natal. “Since Mondi acquired it ten years ago, trees have been removed from the riparian zones and wetlands, and rehabilitation measures have been taken to address erosion.

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