WEBINAR – Forestry Skills Audit Feedback Session On 22 August 2024, the Forestry Value Chain Forum, in collaboration with the FP&M Seta, will be hosting a feedback session on the Forestry Skills Audit of 2023. The audit was commissioned in 2023 by Forestry South Africa (FSA) and the FP&M Seta as part of the Forestry […]
Challenges and opportunities for small-scale wattle farmers Forestry South Africa (FSA) reports that there are over 25,000 small-scale timber growers, with the majority being subsistence farmers supported by forestry cooperatives and social development initiatives of large corporations. The commercial tree species include eucalyptus, wattle, and pine and are selected based on market demand and timber […]
Talking Timber webinar – 8 August – Exterior Applications for Timber Great news! Our next Talking Timber webinar is set to take place on 8 August 2024 at 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM. The topic will centre around Exterior Applications for Timber. Proper exterior treatments protect timber from environmental elements such as UV radiation, moisture, and temperature […]
Zimbabwe has introduced its National Forestry Policy after engaging with stakeholders of indigenous forests, university students, rural communities, tourism industry operators, and commercial timber producers. Before this, Zimbabwe’s forest resources management and utilisation were governed by the Forestry Act and the Communal Land Forest Produce Act. The Environment, Climate And Wildlife Minister, Dr Sithembiso Nyoni, says […]
Thermal energy plays a pivotal role in both the preparation of raw materials – and the pressing and drying of the fibre layers – which ultimately forms the 3.8-million tonnes of paper products produced in South Africa each year. According to Dennis Williams, Commercial Director at Associated Energy Services (AES), one of South Africa’s leading […]
There is an increasing number of girls, especially in rural communities, who are dropping out of school before reaching matric because they see childcare grants at their only way out of their circumstances,” says Makhosazana Mavimbela, executive director of the FSCC. This issue is exacerbated by period poverty where girls are not able to afford […]
While life without plastic might be hard to imagine, there is a renewable, recyclable and sustainable alternative to single-use plastics and many other fossil fuel derivatives: wood from responsibly managed plantations and forests. This is the message from Forestry South Africa (FSA) ahead of the 54th annual Earth Day (22 April 2024). “Since inception in 1970, Earth […]
Baboons vs forestry is a highly controversial topic that can be likened to a hornet’s nest. It’s best left alone, because when it is disturbed it tends to explode and cause an almighty furore. At the moment things have been fairly quiet on the home front, but the problem has not gone away. In fact […]
A cash loan from a friend enabled Cedusizi Dlamini to start his own forestry harvesting business, which he has built up gradually through hard work and by acquiring the right equipment with the right backup to boost his productivity. “The day I left school in 2007 I joined my brother, Thulani Khumalo, who worked as […]
Small African Community Based Organisations struggle with creating a sustainable financial base. Here is how Tafika Youth Organisation of Malawi developed an innovative, synergistic, forestry approach to solving this problem while at the same time meeting their community’s needs. Tafika were new to forestry and took advice from the Malawi Department of Forests, Chinteche based, […]
