Deputy Minister Bernice Swarts: Second African Forum on Urban Forests

Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition in South Africa, Mr Zuko Godlimpi,
Deputy Minister of Local Government in Somalia Mr Ahmed Omer H Abdillahi,
MEC for Environment, Ms Shyla Peters,
Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Councillor Dada Morero,
Chair of the National Working Group on Environmental Planning and Resilience: SALGA, Councillor Kenalemang Phukuntsi,
General Secretary of Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa HRH Zolani Makiva,
President of the Wangari Maathai Foundation, Ms Njeri Kabeberi,
Executive Mayors and Mayors,
Councillors,
Deputy Director: Forestry Division: FAO, Ms Tina Vahanen,
Dr Babagana Ahmadu, FAO Representative in South Africa,
Chief Executive Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo and Centre on African Public Spaces, Mr Thanduxolo Mendrew,
UN-Habitat Regional Office for Africa, Ms Nozipho Khanyile,
Valued Urban Forestry Stakeholders.
Distinguished guests and dignitaries,

Ladies and gentlemen,

A very warm welcome to you all to our beautiful country, South Africa.

It is indeed an honour for the Republic of South Africa to host this important gathering, which brings together nations from across the world. I extend my sincere appreciation to the City of Johannesburg and Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) for co-hosting this important event on the African calendar. 

This event takes place at a critical time when the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) has finalised the Climate Change Act that has been promulgated and it provides for a platform for the country to contribute towards ensuring that the harmful impacts of climate change, which manifests as global warming are mitigated and  reduced. The country has recently attended the COP29 which also provided the opportunity to reaffirm South Africa’s commitment to transparency in climate action through the Enhanced Transparency Framework. Today, ours is looking forward to the successful hosting of the G20 meeting which is a first on African soil.

As a country, we have a number of priorities that were committed by the Government of National Unity, such as:

• Inclusive growth and job creation (Apex priority)
• Reducing poverty and tackling the high cost of living, and
• Building a capable, ethical and developmental state. 

Implementation of the Climate Change Act, and the cleaning and greening programme is one of the key priorities that South Africa through the DFFE will be embarking upon for the next 5 years which demonstrates the importance that is given to this initiative. 

It is a known fact that the world in general is starting to feel the effects of global warming and in particular climate change. This phenomenon is an environmental threat resulting from emissions of Green House Gases into the atmosphere. It is now crucial to face this phenomenon head on by adopting mitigation strategies and adapt our actions towards it. These changes in climate may have significant effects on various sectors globally. 

Tree planting and urban forestry which form the basis for the National Greening Programme in South Africa is one of the mitigating factors that are recommended towards the slowing down of this environmental threat. It is for this reason that other countries on the continent and elsewhere have set a good example by excelling through their greening and tree planting programmes. I mention this Programme Director since there are good lessons to be learnt from these initiatives and the African Forum on Urban Forests is a good platform for learning and sharing in this regard. 

Ladies and Gentlemen

The mandate of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment in South Africa is to provide leadership on sound environmental management and has over a period of time developed a comprehensive environmental management legislative/regulatory framework. One of them is the National Forest Act, 1998 which empowers the department to provide leadership as the sector leader on forestry matters. 

Tree planting, led by DFFE has been taking place for quite some time now. As we prepare to celebrate the International Day of Forests on 21 March 2025, I am pleased to announce that South Africa has designated 24 September 2025 as a national tree-planting day. On this day we aim to mobilise all government entities across all three spheres of government, Community Based Organisations, Non-Government Organisations, the corporate sector and citizens to plant one million trees in a single day. This ambitious initiative will contribute to creating sustainable settlements and mitigate the impact of climate change. 

Additionally, under the Revamped National Greening Programme, initiated by His Excellency, the President of the Republic of South Africa, we have set a target to plant ten (10) million trees over a period of five years.

The planting of the one million trees on 24 September 2025 was inspired among others by the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize through her Green Belt Movement, which has planted over 51 million trees across Kenya, Ms Wangari Mathaai. The focus was not just about reforestation, but about empowerment, about giving people - especially women - the tools to change their environment and their lives. In this regard we would like to salute women empowerment and the efforts of women to bring development in rural areas. 

In addition, work done by our neighbours and other countries on the Continent and elsewhere on the globe was also an inspiration to enhance the National Greening Programme. For this reason, we support the Second African Forum on Urban Forestry as a platform to engage and discuss on latest trends in the field and to share lessons learnt across the Continent in this regard.

Programme Director, the forum is convened under the theme “Resilient cities, Healthy cities and Equitable cities” and focus on Shaping the Future Resilience of African Cities through Urban Forests. In line with the theme, in the previous financial year the Department, working with other stakeholders implemented the Cleaning and Greening Programme working with Municipalities. The aim was to eradicate waste especially in illegal dumping sites and replace these with tree planting activity, especially in urban areas. This programme has benefited 14 Municipalities which include capital cities of the nine provinces in the country.

Programme Director as I conclude, I would like to point out that forestry is a key economic sector in our country. Forestry products contribute at least 4.5% to total manufacturing and in less than 10 years, export earnings have almost trebled with the sector providing a positive trade balance of close to R10 billion.

The sector contributes almost 25% to Agricultural Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Much of the forestry operations are rural based, making it a significant contributor to rural economies and social well-being. It is estimated that the sector supports some 700 000 livelihoods. The process of land reform and other programmes such as new afforestation has the potential to be a game changer and could result in as much as 50% black and community ownership of land available for plantations. 

For this reason, the Department is leading the process of implementing the forestry sector Masterplan. The Masterplan is essentially the growth, transformation and investment plan for the sector. It is a social compact between government, labour unions and industry in the sector.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment would like to thank its partners and role players who ensured that the event today becomes a success. I wish all participants and delegates fruitful discussions throughout the next three (3) days, and I hope the session will lead to resolutions of challenges faced in urban forestry on the Continent. You are therefore encouraged to debate and discuss solutions that will take urban forestry forward on the Continent.

Thank you.

For media enquiries please contact: 
Peter Mbelengwa
Cell: 082 611 8197 
E-mail: pmbelengwa@dffe.gov.za