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TUESDAY 1 December 2020 | Tel: 021 910 6500 | Email: post@peoplespost.co.za | Website:
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People’s Post
NEWLANDS
Stripping local forests NETTALIE VILJOEN NETTALIE.VILJOEN@MEDIA24.COM
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recent post on the Friends of Table Mountain Facebook page drew attention to the scourge of bark stripping and the effect it is having on Cape Town’s trees. On Thursday 5 November, Willem Boshoff posted images, showing the extent of the damage done to trees located in Newlands Ravine. This popular route up Table Mountain is under the management of Sanparks and forms part of the Table Mountain National Park. “Went to inspect the site of the latest reported bark stripping site in Newlands Ravine (probably happened on Sunday/Monday night) – the damage was worse than I feared. Found at least 13 trees stripped in a 30m radius; most of them completely girdled and beyond saving,” Boshoff wrote. Zahid Badroodien, Mayco member for community services and health, confirms various incidents of bark stripping have been reported to the City across different areas in recent years, of which a number occurred in the southern suburbs. According to Badroodien, generally, a rise in incidents reported occurs just before the festive period. “Currently, the numbers are limited and have a marginal impact on the city’s tree canopy cover. However, if seasonal trends spike or the practice becomes a norm, many trees could be destroyed and over time make a significant impact on the city,” Badroodien says. Francois Krige, owner of The Tree Liberation Front (a reforestation and ecological rehabilitation business focused on the area in and around Platbos forest), paints a far bleaker picture. “In Newlands Forest on the slopes of the mountain, bark stripping has been happening for at least the past 25 years, but recently the problem has become much worse. Literally, hundreds if not thousands of trees have been harvested, many of them killed. The unsustainable nature of this activity is obvious when you look at the progression from initially just a few patches of bark from older trees, here and there, to whole areas of young trees completely stripped of bark, dead and dying. The pressure on the resource is simply too much,” Krige says. According to the City, reports indicate that
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The problem of bark stripping in Newlands Forest has become much worse in the past few years, says arborist Francois Krige. PHOTO: NIEL WILLIAMSON
bark and roots are collected, dried and pulverised for various medicinal or cultural reasons. Krige, who is also a qualified arborist, adds that the people doing this damage are not traditional healers but independent harvesters who sell to traditional healers. This makes it exceedingly difficult to stop, he says. “I choose the word ‘stop’ deliberately; it needs to stop, not be regulated. If it stopped tomorrow, then it would take the forest 500 years to fully recover,” he says. Badroodien explains that when the bark is stripped from the entire circumference of a tree, also referred to as “ring-barking”, trees die a slow death due to the interruption of their nutritional transport systems. “If only partially stripped, it damages the tree to such an extent that it inhibits the growth pattern and weakens the tree making it more susceptible to stressors such as drought and disease. When narrow vertical strips are cut; the tree may recover and sur-
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vive,” Badroodien says. According to the City, the trees affected are sporadic, however, mainly camphor trees (Cinnamomum camphora) and fever trees (Vachellia xanthophloea) are targeted. “Fever trees, in particular, can be attractive due to their smooth, slightly flaking and greenish-yellow bark which is also coated in a yellow, powdery substance. Norfolk Pines have also been targeted,” Badroodien adds. According to Krige, almost every tree targeted by “muthi” collectors has a thin bark. “The juicy sap under the bark, the outer edge of the vascular system, is what they are after. This entails severe damage or death to the tree,” he says. “The only treatments I know for this damage require application almost immediately after damage occurs and are not very effective. This is a case where prevention is better than cure.” Krige points out that Newlands Forest is cared for by Table Mountain National Park. “And they have proved ineffective in stop-
ping the destruction of the forest,” he says. People’s Post approached Sanparks for comment, but by the time of going to press, no feedback had been received. When it comes to safeguarding urban trees, Krige says they are the responsibility of the City’s park and recreation department. “They too have done too little too late to protect their trees, first painting only the wounds with a sealant, which did little to assist the trees in dealing with their wounds. Recently they started painting the whole lower part of the trunks of vulnerable species with white paint, spoiling the product for the harvesters,” Krige says. Badroodien confirms that during this time of year, the City paints vulnerable trees with a PVA paint mixture which is not toxic to humans and doesn’t pose any risk to the tree. “The paint tends to render the bark unattractive for harvesting and decreases the risk of bark stripping,” he says. V Continued on page 3