TREE SOCIETY OF ZIMBABWE

Aims and Objectives

Monthly Outings

Other Activities

History

Newsletters

How to Join

Contact Us

Home

An index of previous issues can be found here.......

December 2011

376

MASHONALAND CALENDAR

Sunday December 11 : Val d’Or, Harare

There is only one outing in December, and this is our Christmas Social. Our venue this year is once again, Bill Clarke’s property, Val d’Or.

Our thanks go to Bill for agreeing to host us again.

We will serve tea from 9.30am. After that, we will have a short botanical walk and the walk will be followed by a general knowledge quiz, which has again been compiled by Adele Hamilton-Ritchie.

Please bring some Christmas fare to share for tea, and bring your own lunch, a wine glass and a chair. The Society will provide some wine for those attending.

Directions: Take the Arcturus Road out of Harare. Beware of the vicious speed humps outside the cement factory. After about 26km, turn right into Gardiner Road and continue along this narrow tarred road for 4.7km. There is a sharp left turn in the road—at which point turn right onto a gravel road and continue for about one kilometer to the homestead.

»»»

EDITOR’S FAREWELL

With this enlarged Christmas edition of Tree Life, I say farewell to the editor’s job, and other hands will be taking over from January. I shall be devoting more time to other plant species in the future but have enjoyed trying to keep you both informed and entertained. But please be creative and provide materials to the new editor.

-Ed.
CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE ROLE OF JATROPHA

A new study has put the brakes on a rush by some countries and companies to establish plantations of jatropha, an oil-bearing shrub and cousin of the castor bean bush, as a source of biofuel. The study by ActionAid, an anti-poverty NGO, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, and Nature Kenya, a conservation society, looked at whether biofuel made from jatropha grown in the Dakatcha woodlands in Kenya's coastal district of Malindi, could indeed be a green fuel. Chris Coxon of ActionAid said the oil yield of the seed from plants grown on land earmarked for jatropha cultivation in Malindi would determine whether the shrub provided a viable alternative to fossil fuel.

Previous land use was another critical factor. The study found that throughout the production and consumption process in the Dakatcha woodlands, the jatropha would emit between 2.5 and six times more greenhouse gases than fossil fuels, largely because of clearing the forest, which stores massive amounts of carbon in its vegetation and soil, to make room for the plant. Other studies have also found that the yield from jatropha can vary considerably, because contrary to the popular perception that it can thrive in semi-arid conditions, the plants need water and nutrients to produce high yields.

So, if an investment in irrigation and fertilizer is required, why not grow food crops instead, the study argued. Much of the biofuel from the Dakatcha woodlands project, when it starts producing, is destined for Europe to meet regional targets for switching to renewable energy.

The study underlined what a joint UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) report on jatropha had found in 2010 - that the shrub was useful as a bio-energy crop for cultivation by small-scale farmers. ActionAid spokeswoman Natalie Curtis said jatropha could be grown between crops or as a hedge to divide fields, and the oil used as fuel for stoves, irrigation pumps and generators. But even then, growing jatropha could prove uneconomical if there was no investment in developing higher oil-yielding, non-toxic varieties.

The Kenyan government has suspended clearing the full 50,000 hectares of forest, which would have displaced 20,000 people for the proposed plantation in Dakatcha, pending an environmental impact assessment, the study said. "What concerns us is the growing move towards massive plantations of jatropha in developing countries," said Coxon.

Here is a closer look at jatropha and why it has caught the imagination of so many.

How much?

In 2008, jatropha was planted on an estimated 900,000 hectares globally; 760,000 hectares (85 percent of the total) were located in Asia, followed by Africa with 120,000 hectares and Latin America with 20,000 hectares. By 2015, jatropha would be planted on a projected 12.8 million hectares, according to an FAO report.

By comparison, maize, one of the world's major staple grain crops, is planted on more than 160 million hectares.

In another four years, Indonesia will be the largest jatropha producing country in Asia. In Africa, Ghana and Madagascar will be the biggest producers, while Brazil will be the main producer in Latin America.

Why jatropha?

Jatropha has a long history of being recognized as a substitute for fossil fuel. During the Second World War it was used as a replacement for diesel in Madagascar, Benin and Cape Verde, while its glycerine by-product was used to make nitro-glycerine, used in explosives and medicines for treating heart conditions. FAO said jatropha had gained some ground as a source of oil for producing biodiesel because of the common perception that it could be grown in semi-arid regions with low nutrient requirements and little care.

Jatropha's extensive roots allow it to reach water deeper in the soil and extract leached mineral nutrients unavailable to many other plants. The surface roots also help bind the soil and can reduce erosion. Compared to other biofuel crops such as sugarcane, it requires less water.

It is a non-edible crop, "So the biodiesel sector does not compete with food and feed use of this crop," said Simla Tokgoz, a researcher at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), a US-based think-tank. Other feedstocks used in biodiesel production are rapeseed, soybean, coconut, and palm. Jatropha is still in the early stages of development as a biofuel but is expected to be a less expensive source for biodiesel production, which could increase profitability, Tokgoz said.

Jatropha oil can be used directly in some diesel engines without being converted into biodiesel, but because it has a higher viscosity than mineral diesel, it works better in tropical environments, where temperatures are higher.

Is it a viable alternative?

Large-scale biodiesel production will need more water, and in water-stressed conditions this could lead to conflict. The FAO/IFAD report said jatropha biodiesel conformed to the required European and USA quality standards, but cautioned that "It is not a technology suited to resource-poor communities in developing countries."

Biodiesel production also requires expertise, equipment, and the ability to handle large quantities of dangerous chemicals such as toxic methanol and highly corrosive sodium hydroxide.

When comparisons are made of the return on labour input Jatropha performs poorly against other biofuel feedstocks, but much depends on the level of yields, which need to be improved, the FAO/IFAD report said. Jatropha has a marketable non-edible by-product, but it is less valuable than canola, for example, which can be consumed by animals, said Tokgoz.

Instead of competing for agricultural land, or removing forests or displacing communities, Tokgoz suggested planting government wasteland or contract farming using small- and medium-scale farmers. But again, this would mean investment in irrigation, inputs and efforts to improve yields.

Jatropha is regarded by many as an invasive plant and has been declared a noxious weed in parts of Australia, FAO pointed out. South Africa has banned its commercial production.

IRIN

»»»

PROPOSED TREE SOCIETY OUTING TO MOZAMBIQUE IN 2012

It is proposed that the Tree Society visit Catapú forestry concession of TCT Dalman in Sofala Province, central Mozambique next year April 7-13, 2012, including the Easter weekend. Provisionally accommodation for 12 people has been booked at M’phingwe (pronounced “Impingwe”) Camp. M’phingwe is the Sena name for the african blackwood, Dalbergia melanoxylon, also known as zebrawood, found within the camp. Accommodation is provided in comfortable log cabins and there is a restaurant with drinks and meals available. Camping and self catering are not permitted in accordance with Mozambique law. M’phingwe Camp can easily accommodate more than 12 people and I would love to share this magic place with as many people as can manage to make the trip.

This is just to let people know at this stage so that they can plan ahead if they would like join this outing. Full details of costs etc. will be included in the next newsletter. Catapú is 700 km from Harare and the road is tarred all the way. I have often done it comfortably in a day. It would be possible to break the journey at Casa Msika on Chicamba Dam if people wanted to. For visits to some of the places around the area, a sturdier vehicle than a sedan will be needed and I hope that some people will be coming in such vehicles and will be prepared to share transport.

Mpingwe Camp is situated 32km south of the Zambezi River on the main north/south highway (EN1) and is a great base to explore the trees, birds, butterflies and wild life of the area. There are short walks leading from the camp through the natural forest and people are encouraged to explore the extensive network of paths, roads and firebreaks, perfect for an amble or a more strenuous challenge. This is a tree lover’s paradise, with over 250 different trees identified. The trees on the paths have been numbered and a list of numbers with the names will be provided.

This has become a renowned birding site. Catapú concession features as one of Sasol’s 200 top birding sites in southern Africa and is location No. 197 on the Sasol Birding Map of southern Africa. Keen birders will be interested to know that at Catapu there is a chance of seeing Chestnut Fronted Helmet Shrikes, the African Pita and the Narina Trogon, as well as a variety of flycatchers, hornbills, the Green Malkoha and many other species, over 75 having been identified. As well as trees and birds, small mammals such as suni, red duiker and nyala are often seen in and around the camp as well as samango monkeys. In the evening bush-babies are often heard

From M’phingwe it is an easy drive to a number of places of interest including the Inhamatanga forest reserve and adjacent Coutadas (hunting concessions) –( starting 30 kms away), Mary Moffat’s grave (wife of David Livingstone) at Chupanga Mission (60kms), the new bridge over the Zambezi River (35kms), and the Sena Bridge, the longest single-span metal rail bridge in the southern hemisphere (100 kms). So there is plenty of interest for both the dedicated tree enthusiasts and those who are only mildly interested and it really is a lovely and fascinating spot to spend a few days.

Catapú is a mosaic of lowland dry sand forest, thicket and undifferentiated woodland. I first visited Catapú in November 2000 and have done so again three or four times a year since. Originally a list of the woody species had been made, the trees had been given numbers, their Sena names recorded and where known, their botanical names. I was asked to confirm the identification of those trees which were known and identify those which were not. The species which I was not able to identify in the field I collected and took to the National Herbaria in Harare (SRGH) and Pretoria (PRE). I also used Flora zambesiaca and Flora of tropical East Africa to help with identification. Originally there were about 180 species on the list. There are now over 250. I was very excited about the rich plant diversity of the woody species an approached Bothalia, a South African botanical journal, to publish a paper to which they agreed to do subject to it being accepted by referees and there being voucher specimens to support the list. I rushed back to Catapu and collected specimens, which had to be housed. And so a herbarium was born.

The herbarium more or less started formally in February 2005 when John Burrows visited Catapu and showed two Mozambican field workers and myself herbarium techniques; i.e. how to collect specimens, what information to record, how to dry and subsequently mount specimens and also donated a couple of presses, mounting boards etc. Ant White acquired a container, divided in two, one half was used as a workroom and the other half was fitted with shelving as a storage area for the specimens. The Cheringoma Herbarium had one walk-in cupboard. A thatched roof was put over the container, which was wide enough to provide a veranda for two open air workbenches.

Ant encouraged the Mozambicans and afforded them the opportunity and time to go out collecting specimens of trees and shrubs when in flower and or fruit. I have also visited and done plant identification at Levasflor and Nhambita and this has given me the opportunity to increase the scope of the collection to the Sofala Province within the Cheringoma-Gorongosa area. At present the collection consists of about 1400 specimens representing 100 families with 340 genera and 500 species. Recently funds have been donated for the construction of a brick building with an air-conditioner, otherwise the entire funding has been provided by TCT-Dalman the owners of the Catapú concession. The other exciting development is that the specimens from the Cheringoma Herbarium have been put onto a website at the following URL:

http://acdb.co.za/index.php/cheringoma-herbarium/introduction.html

And the Cheringoma Virtual herbarium is at: http://acdb.co.za/dna/cheringoma.php.

The trees at Catapú have been numbered and tagged, their exact position recorded both physically and with GPS and voucher specimens have been prepared. This has resulted in a living reference collection, cross-referenced to herbarium specimens, available on site, probably unique in southern Africa and an important contribution to any future botanical study or field work in the area.

Meg Coates Palgrave

»»»

FOREST TO FURNITURE:

FOREST UTILIZATION IN A SUSTAINABLE WAY IN MOZAMBIQUE

The high demand for hardwoods world-wide usually leads to exploitation of the natural timber, particularly in Africa. It is usually the practice to fell the timber, put the round log on a transporter and walk away with the profits, giving no further thought to the future of the forest. In many parts of Africa, including Mozambique, that is still happening today. In fact since the arrival of the Chinese it is even more prevalent.

Logging in a sustainable manner, although a long-term project, is not only possible but is being successfully practiced on a concession in central Mozambique and at a very low cost.

TCT-Dalmann Furniture, Lda. started logging in 1996 at Catapú and I have been going there regularly for the last 11 years and am often asked how I can bear to be associated with such a business. After all the core business of the company is to earn an income by utilizing the natural resources i.e. felling indigenous hardwoods with Panga-panga, Millettia stulhmannii, Chanfuta or pod-mahogany, Afzelia quanzensis and Mutondo or Wild mango, Cordyla africana being the primary species providing 2 400m³round log per year. My answer is that they are doing it in a sensitive and sustainable manner.

There are a sawmill and a kiln on site at Catapú and a furniture factory in Beira and two retail outlets. The felled timber is sawn into planks, as required by the factory, dried in the kiln and then transported to the factory in Beira to be made into high quality hardwood furniture, thereby adding value to the raw product.

In addition there is maximum utilisation of what is generally termed commercially unviable sawn product, which are all used in a viable local industry with the production of pre-fabricated houses, bee-hives and a range of turned products. Finally absolute off-cuts are available to the staff and all-comers for various uses, including fuelwood.

In 2005 the company was granted Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification throughout the operation as testimony to their promotion of sound working principles, commitment to responsible management of the forestry resources and confirmation that this operation is being conducted in a sustainable manner. The FSC certificate was surrendered in December 2010 as the cost of the annual audit was enormous and the financial benefit did not justify that expense. Nevertheless the standards required for certification have become normal practice and are being maintained.

The concession has been divided into 27 blocks, providing for one block more or less to be felled each year in such a manner that after 30 years it will be practical to return to a block and fell again. As a rule about 20 to 25 percent of the mature trees are left standing to provide both a timber resource for the second felling cycle and a seed bank for natural propagation.

There is a 3,600ha area within a firebreak in which the sawmill, living quarters and M’phingwe Lodge, a commercial hospitality unit, are situated. A Specially Protected Area around Zalula Pan of 1 000ha has also been created.

Planning

Careful planning takes place before felling operations commence. The block boundaries are planned to provide access roads with one road servicing two blocks. An inventory of trees is made by a specially trained team who are GPS-literate. This is all recorded on multi-scaled electronic maps, including the trees to be felled that have been carefully selected and marked, the drag lines, the field-loading ramps and the haulage roads. Any tree that would cause excessive damage when falling is marked to indicate it should be left standing.

Felling

To achieve maximum recovery when felling, the first cut is made at no more than two hand widths, about 150mm, above ground level. The cut is wedged-shaped to facilitate an accurate direction of fall. A hinge is made during the final cut to prevent kickback of the log when falling. The log is cut into appropriate lengths and the end of every log and stump is marked according to a prescribed system for identification and control purposes.

Extraction

Maximum recovery of all timber felled is essential. In order to discourage and prevent the felling of undersized trees the Mozambique forestry regulations only allow logs above a certain size to be removed from the forest.

So branchwood, categorized as having a bark-to-bark-diameter of less than 30cm with a minimum length of 0,8m, is usually left lying in the forest. However, at Catapú all commercially attractive branchwood is cut, dragged and ramped with a view to obtaining “special authority” to move it from the forest at some future date. All dead or severely damaged trees found during the felling operation are also removed. It has been calculated that by removing all products from the site, this “waste” material in fact increases the overall useable volume of timber by 20 to 25%.

Haulage

Machinery is kept to a minimum throughout and is confined to small agricultural tractors with short-coupled turntable trailers and short-bodied rigid-chassis trucks.

The drag lines, the links between the fell site and the in-field loading ramp, are established on site using the principle of the line of least resistance. Tractors with short-coupled drag chains are able to manoeuvre between the trees making it unnecessary to remove trees to provide access from the felled log to the loading ramp. This method, although appearing somewhat haphazard, has proved to be the most successful way of moving logs with the least possible damage to the forest. In-field loading ramps are located to service several drag lines and are confined to small clear areas, thus avoiding having to remove other trees.

This method of hand or tractor loading in tight spaces and only having limited quantities of log in the field have enabled the ramps to be kept to a minimum size. Tractors and trucks are also used for forest to mill transportation.

In order to avoid serious soil disturbance no hauling of log is undertaken during or immediately after heavy rains. At Catapú because of the sandy conditions a dry-out period of 24 hours is usually adequate.

Post-felling forest restoration

Post-felling restoration is treated as a very high priority. Furrows are created as a result of dragging the logs, but generally these are shallow and easily fixed. The edge is scuffled into the centre by hand with a hoe and then driven over with a multidisc harrow. Areas where the ground has been disturbed, such as abandoned ramps and haulage roads, are simply harrowed and levelled. Being in a deciduous forest within a short time the disturbed ground becomes covered with fallen leaves providing an ideal medium to support not only natural seed germination but also the germination of artificially distributed seeds.

Regeneration

1. Coppice and coppice management

Coppice is defined as the vegetation which re-sprouts after a trunk has been cut. This has proved to be a most successful and rapid means of forest regeneration at Catapú. In some species a low clean cut promotes a vigorous coppice growth as it stimulates maximum survival. This applies to Panga-panga in particular and the survival rate of coppice shoots achieved to date is about 75-80%, although the survival rate of pod-mahogany and wild mango is only about 40%.

The method used is to select two or three strong coppice shoots from the prolific number which develop from the base of the stump and remove the rest. With the reduced competition the selected shoots—fed from the established root system—flourish. The new shoot system eventually breaks away forming an independent new tree.

The extraction infrastructure of access roads and drag-lines makes it easy to locate fell sites and felled stumps. The felled stumps have been numbered and had the GPS position recorded before they were felled which facilitates monitoring the coppice growth. Each stump is visited and the coppice managed for three consecutive years, until eventually only one shoot remains. About 7 000 stumps are visited and dealt with every year. After three years the coppice growth is deemed to be mature enough not to be threatened by any new re-growth. Coppice shoots and saplings which have been pruned after branching low down have tended to grow upwards enhancing the chance of a commercially desirable tree. Currently Catapu has more than 20,000 coppiced units, the majority having reached the status of “surviving and thriving”.

2. Regeneration from seed

Seed collection is undertaken throughout the year. Post collection treatment, including selection, packaging and ensuring dry conditions for storage, is the major factor affecting seed viability.

Before sowing, Panga-panga and pod-mahogany seeds are treated by scoring and soaking them for 24 hours. Wild mango fruits have the flesh removed and are always planted fresh.

With the advent of the annual rains, in-field seeding is carried out along the harrowed drag lines or in other prepared areas. Seeds are randomly scattered onto the surface at a space of about one metre or individually planted by hand, a few millimetres under the soil in a haphazard manner, at a rate of one seed approximately every 1-1.5m.

Seedbeds and plastic bags are prepared during winter. Seed is sown in plastic bags starting on 15 September and then periodically until the end of December. The target is 10 000 bags per year providing the main stock for reforestation of disturbed areas. Although fairly labour intensive, this has proved to be the most successful method of regeneration from seed.

Seed is also sown in the ground in seedbeds and the seedlings are generally used in reforesting areas that have historically been destroyed or severely damaged by uncontrolled fires, abandoned ramps and haulage roads and other areas where there are gaps in the forest. The selected sites are cleared of all invasive species, in particular Acacia adenocalyx, a very aggressive invader which in some areas has totally taken over. All naturally regenerating and surviving trees are left in situ. Holes are excavated and filled with leaf litter. With the start of the rainy season seedbed saplings are planted out and a basin surrounding the young tree filled with leaf litter as a moisture retaining mulch. Recent statistics have shown that a survival rate of more than 60% can be expected providing there is protection from herbivores.

Each year a “reserve” of about 4 000 seedlings is kept back to replace field mortalities. These are planted out during the dry weather with water planting. The theory is that at about nine months old, these plants have established a firm root system, are hardened and will survive and take full advantage of the annual rains when they come.

3. Baton planting is done in the field when approximately one metre sections of branchwood are cut and planted around the fell site. This task is carried out from mid-October through to end of December to coincide with the rising sap phenomenon. This method of regeneration has not proved very successful.

Post planting and general management

Pest and insect control is carried out throughout the year. Animal damage is caused by bushpig, baboons, antelope, namely suni and red duiker, but most of all by porcupines, which are responsible for the greatest number of seedling and sapling mortalities, with unprotected saplings suffering a 90% mortality.

Seedlings and saplings are now protected by what has become known as the ‘Catapú gate’ which is a triangular, slatted timber guard made from sawmill off-cuts. So far this has been effective providing protection against porcupine from the bottom and browsing antelope from the top as well as providing partial shade and making the saplings easier to find in the undergrowth that flourishes during the wet season.

Once the saplings get away the growth is phenomenal. An expanding canopy provides natural control of grass and weeds and, after five to six years, the need for clearing and weeding falls away.

Fire is undoubtedly the biggest single threat to a forest and woodland environment, both to the flora and to the fauna and reptile populations. While fire may be considered a management tool in some woodlands or forests, that certainly does not apply at Catapú. In 1994, after the 1991/92 regional drought, a fire swept through that area and the damage is still visible, particularly where the forest has been invaded by what is known as Lincatu (Acacia adenocalyx). It is inevitable that unplanned fires will occasionally occur, but every effort is made to limit the damage these fires will be able to do. A firebreak has been established around the 3,600ha area of habitation. In addition the access roads and drag-lines through the forest act as fire-breaks, and in high risk areas formal fire breaks have been established.

The area is a mosaic and where there are areas of grass and open woodland controlled burning is undertaken during the winter. Known as cool or cold burns, these are only done in ideal conditions, preferably on a windless morning after a dew fall. This produces a low intensity inefficient fire which inflicts minimal damage to established trees, burning mainly the overburden of grass in a mosaic pattern, leaving islands of grass and bush untouched. With the normal occurrence of the summer rains this produces a good flush of green grass which further reduces the risk of a hot fire later in the season. Different areas are burnt each year and burning is only undertaken in ideal conditions.

Community

A good relationship with the local communities on the concession is of major importance and regular contact is maintained with meetings and voluntary community development projects.

Reforestation is being encouraged and facilitated. Seedlings are supplied by Catapú and planted by members of the community. The trees are monitored each year and the participants paid US$.50 a year for each tree still alive for four consecutive years. To date there are more than 16,000 trees surviving and growing mainly in old agricultural lands.

Fire is a major threat to surviving trees in any reforestation programme. Members of the community receive training in fire protection including the establishment of fire-breaks and early burning practices. In addition, a “paid environmental services” initiative has been introduced so that the community receives payment for successful fire prevention.

The sale of thatching grass has recently been established by the community providing an income and resulting in a decrease in uncontrolled fires. Grass is cut and combed and sold as thatching grass along roadsides. It is hoped to encourage home-builders to adopt this method of roofing when constructing their own houses.

A commercial venture of making, firing and selling bricks has also been started. Whilst providing an income at this stage, it is hoped that the population will soon adopt the building of brick houses thus avoiding the necessity of cutting poles for a new house every three years.

Training in bee-keeping and the provision of 550 Kenyan Top Bar beehives, in conjunction with WWF, is intended to help reduce poverty as honey has become a valuable commodity. By the creation of a bee-keeping micro industry, it is hoped to move the people away from the highly destructive traditional methods of ring-barking large trees to provide bark hives and chopping down mature trees to gather wild honey, and eventually to eradicate these destructive practises. Improved bee-keeping methods also contribute towards enhancing the permanence of the swarms.

Discussion

Whilst felling logs correctly and transporting them to the sawmill with as little damage as possible are all part of the core business on a timber concession producing timber for sale, the forest restoration and protection are not and therefore come at a price. The employment of people on environmental work is simply an expense that does not contribute to income in any way at all.

The environmental team constitutes about 9% of the total work force, while the cost of employing them is only about 3-5% of operational expenses.

Thus it is possible to manage a timber concession in a sustainable manner as is being done by TCT-Dalmann Furniture, Lda. at Catapú without it being a financial burden

The benefit to the environment is beyond measure.

Meg Coates Palgrave

»»»

AND IN CONTRAST:

DUTCH PENSION FUND ADMITS FOREST PROBLEMS,

A front page article in The Volkskrant (Amsterdam) on Saturday 3 December has led the Dutch civil service pension fund ABP to admit that "forestry projects in Mozambique did not meet the requirements of our responsible investment policy," and to claim credit for the replacement of the entire management of the Global Solidarity Forest Fund earlier this year. (See News Reports and Clippings 187, 23 Nov, and Mozambique Political Process Bulletin, 22 Feb) Volkskrant is the third largest Dutch newspaper; ABP is one of the biggest pension funds in the world.

The Volkskrant reports that in September Uniao Provincial de Camponeses de Niassa made an urgent appeal to western investors to stop this sort of project because land was being stolen and small farmers exploited: "We do not understand why church institutions and other investment funds are putting money in projects which are exploiting the poorest of the poor".

In a lengthy article running over two inside pages, The Volkskrant also reports that the project failed to get Forest Stewardship Council certification because the FSC team in May "found a lot of problems".

ABP owns 54.5% of Global Solidarity Forest Fund (GSFF) and has invested $60 million; other owners are Swedish and Norwegian churches and Diversified International Timber Holdings (a US fund believed to be owned by Harvard College). GSFF controls Chikweti Forests of Niassa (28,970ha), Tectona Forest of Zambezia (19,540ha), Companhia Florestal de Messangulo, and Ntacua Florestas da Zambezia (9005ha). Chikweti ran into huge conflicts with the government and local communities – pushing peasants off land, knocking down native forests, and planting on land it had not been given. Peasants responded by burning trees.

Niassa Bishop Mark van Koevering had been chair of the local board, but resigned in protest. ABP in a statement Saturday said the Bishop wrote a letter last month saying he is now "very satisfied" with the recent changes.

MOZAMBIQUE 190, News reports & clippings, 5 Dec 2011

+The Volkskrant only posts part of the report on the web, in Dutch, and the ABP statement is also in Dutch. There is an English report on DutchNews: http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2011/12/civil_service_pension_fund_adm.php

[Translation into English by Google Translate of The Volkskrant article and ABP statement. Despite my editing, there are obvious errors, so no claims are made about the quality of the translation. Ed.]

Article from de Volkskrant, 3 December 2011. Jonathan Witteman - ABP pension fund's investments in Mozambique in recent years have contributed to the grabbing of farmland and threatening the food security of local populations (http://www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2668/Buitenland/article/detail/3062074/2011/12/03/Projectpensioenfonds-ABP-in-Mozambique-mondt-uit-in-landroof.dhtml)

The eucalyptus and pine tree plantations of ABP and its European co-investors' feed a corrupt system and worsen the already precarious living conditions of rural communities. Farmers were harassed, farms burned, crops destroyed. This is evident from reports of farmers' organizations, NGOs and the Mozambican government.

ABP's investment of $60 million (€47 million) in recent years has achieved the opposite of the ethical ambitions which were announced in 2007, opponents believe.

Research

The Prime Minister of Mozambique, Aires Ali, ordered an investigation last year after a visit to one of the plantations of the Global Solidarity Forest Fund (GSFF), the Scandinavian investment vehicle whose main shareholder is ABP. The investigation revealed that in the largest GSFF-estate, Chikweti Forests of Niassa, 32 000 hectares of land had been illegally occupied, in addition to the 30 000 hectares for which consent was obtained from the Mozambican government. Promises to mitigate the damage to the affected population were not met.

GSFF also took the fertile land from plantations of local farm families, while APG, the asset manager of ABP, had written in 2008 that there would only be investments in "depleted farmland”.

"ABP takes these allegations very seriously," write the officials and teachers in response fund. ABP said the GSFF have called for change in the management of the plantations, which last year led to the appointment of a new CEO and chairman. "We are confident of this new management and expect that the project will get back on track and tackle the problems, so that the investment meets the requirements of ABP states, including in the field of responsible investment."

The lesson from the pension fund affair that claims to have been learned is "that in the future only with managers in the sea which will have extensive experience in the forest area available.”

In a petition made to the local farmers' organization União (the Niassa Provincial Camponeses) at the end of September, an 'urgent appeal' was made for Western investors to stop financing of plantations in Mozambique. "We do not understand why religious institutions and other investment funds invest the money of their members in projects that exploit the poorest of the poor.”

Statement from ABP

ABP takes seriously allegations about Mozambican forestry

The Volkskrant (03-12-2011) is a critical article about the Global Solidarity Forest Fund (GSFF), a Mozambican forestry focused fund managed by Global Solidarity Fund International (GSFI), an international asset manager owned by the Diocese of Västerås (Sweden), the Lutheran Church of Sweden and the Norwegian 'Lutheran Church endowment’. The allegations in the GSFF article ABP takes very seriously.

ABP has invested in GSFF since 2007. We have made this investment because of the potential for attractive investment returns and the attractive environment and socio-economic (employment in Mozambique) profile. To ensure that these investments would also meet our requirements in terms of responsible investing, GSFF contractually agreed that a process be initiated for forestry projects to obtain FSC certification. All forestry investments of ABP outside North America must comply with the FSC standard. They also have to work according to the principles of the UN Global Compact (directives on environmental, human rights, labor standards and anti-corruption).

Gradually, however, it became clear that forestry projects in Mozambique did not meet the requirements of our responsible investment policy. This became apparent after including an independent assessment under FSC certification. We have therefore previously expressed our serious concerns about the direction of GSFF management of projects and called for new management. The CEO was replaced in 2011, as was the Chairman of the Board and CEO of the four subsidiaries of GSFF in Mozambique. We are confident of this new management and expect that the project will get back on track and tackle the problems, so that this investment meets the requirements of ABP states, including in the field of Responsible Investing. Also GSFF itself is well aware that change is needed in relation to forest projects in Mozambique (its website www.gsff.se devotes much attention to it). Our belief is that we as shareholders have more influence on this process than if we were to withdraw from this investment.

ABP would have preferred the change to have taken place more rapidly, but the ownership structure in question has no formal say in the ABP fund. Nevertheless, we can work together with other shareholders and make every effort to achieve the required change. We see the replacement of management as a first step in this process. We will encourage developments in Mozambique to continue to monitor progress on a frequent basis and to discuss the new management. That the first signs are favorable is also seen by the Bishop of Niassa (Mark Koeveringe), who was previously very critical about GSFF. Koeveringe stated in a letter to GSFF in late November 2011 that he was very satisfied with the progress made by GSFF since he retired from the local administration of the fund. This concerns the way in which the soil and the plants are handled and how the local population is involved in forestry.

Furthermore, he indicated that the relations between GSFF and government, local businesses and church are highly improved.

http://www.abp.nl/abp/abp/service/nieuws/bosbouw-mozambique.asp

»»»

THE NATIONAL TRUST OF ZIMBABWE

NTZ membership (at $15 a year) entitles one not only to free admission to all the properties managed by NTZ in this country (La Rochelle Estate and Fort Gomo, Penhalonga; Murahwa’s Hill, Mutare; World’s View, Nyanga; Rhodes Nyanga Historical exhibition, Nyanga; Mabukuwene, Bulawayo; and Sebakwe Poort, Kwekwe) but also to a 10% discount on accommodation at La Rochelle. La Rochelle’s 20ha of gardens boast hundreds of species of trees and numerous palm and cycad species. Both the Orchid Society and the Tree Society are involved in helping to rehabilitate the gardens and specialist collections.

Membership in NTZ also entitles one to free entry to all the properties managed by comparable organizations in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, the Netherlands, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Malta, and the Channel Islands.

For more information, contact the Membership Officer, Helen Hyslop, on (04) 860202 or hyslop@mango.zw. NTZ membership runs from 1 April to 31 March each year.

»»»

NO TREES IN 50 YEARS:

TIME TO TAKE ACTION

A cocktail of power cuts, ad hoc deforestation and veld fires has seen the loss of 330 000 hectares of trees annually, while Forestry Commission sapling nurseries wither through lack of investment from the cash-strapped parastatal.

Philip Mataranyika, from Friends of the Environment, told The Zimbabwean this week that the current rate of deforestation could see the complete destruction of trees in just 52 years. The Friends plan to raise awareness of the importance of trees by walking from Harare to the Eastern Highlands on November 27 - December 2. `Our situation is desperate. Factor in the debilitating power cuts and you have a cocktail for disaster,' said Mataranyika.

Since the land reform programme began, Zimbabwe has been losing trees at an accelerated pace as new farmers, particularly the 62,000 small-scale tobacco producers, use firewood as a source of energy. It takes 11kg of firewood to cure 1kg of tobacco and small-scale farmers are producing an average of 1,5 tonnes a year. Others cut wood for resale in light of frequent power cuts.

`A quick drive on our national highways will give you an indication of how far we have gone in using wood as an energy source. Creating nurseries in rural communities is vital if people in the rural areas are to replenish their energy sources, preserve the environment and restore our rural beauty,' added Mataranyika.

Alarmed at the trend of deforestation, some tobacco companies have started re-forestation nurseries. Farmers contracted to them are required to replace all the trees they use by planting saplings every year. However, only 12,000 tobacco farmers have signed up to the initiative.

Friends of the Environment intend to plant millions trees in the next 20 years to replenish the dwindling forests. `I am happy to report that we received a resounding yes from Zimbabweans across the economic, cultural and social divide and now we are now at the implementation stage. It is a collective responsibility to get Zimbabwe green again,' he said.

With the Forestry Commission struggling to maintain existing forests and plant new ones, Mataranyika said the corporate world should adopt trees. `Our plan is to get Corporate Zimbabwe to adopt all the nurseries, and I can tell you the buy in has been tremendous. We plan to create another 52 nurseries by 2015 to bring the total to a hundred. This will build capacity to 500 000 seedlings per year and ultimately 500 million trees should be planted by 2025,' he said.

Fungai Kwaramba http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/

»»»

TWO VERSIONS OF A TREE’S HISTORY

COUNCIL FELLS TREE WHERE MBUYA NEHANDA WAS HANGED

THE tree where legendary spirit medium and First Chimurenga heroine Mbuya Nehanda was reportedly hanged by white settlers was yesterday hacked down by City of Harare workers. Myths and legend surrounded the tree where another spirit medium and hero Sekuru Kaguvi is believed to have been hanged on the same day with Mbuya Nehanda on April 27, 1898.

The city employees were repairing the tarmac at the corner of Josiah Tongogara Avenue and Sam Nujoma Street when they brought down the Msasa tree that stood in the middle of the road.

Harare City Council spokesperson Mr Leslie Gwindi said he passed through the place after the tree was destroyed, but was waiting for a report on what transpired. "I will only be in a position to tell what happened after I receive full details," he said.

Witnesses said the front loader tipper the council workers were using accidentally brought down the tree as it was being reversed. "We are shocked . . . the workers were repairing the road and suddenly we heard a sound which later turned out to be from the tree," said Timothy Muchina, a street vendor. "One of the workers tried to cut the tree and we told him the story behind it. That was when he stopped and decided to run away. Drivers of the other two council vehicles fled the scene with their vehicles as people started to gather."

Another vendor, Luckmore Katsende said: "They ran away probably after knowing the myth associated with this tree. For the five years that I have been selling my wares at this place, I have witnessed a lot. I have witnessed two occasions when cars crushed onto the tree with the vehicles getting damaged, but the tree being left intact as if nothing happened."

Mbuya Nehanda and Sekuru Kaguvi were tried by the white authorities at the Old French South Africa Company Building that was demolished to make way for the new 26-storey headquarters of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.

After the trial, some historians say the two were taken to the tree where they were hanged. This was after the then British High Commissioner to South Africa, Mr Alfred Milner had authorised the execution of the two liberation fighters. Mbuya Nehanda, it is believed, was executed for the alleged murder of a brutal white native commissioner of the BSAC, Mr Henry Hawkins Pollard. The presiding judge during the trial was Judge Watermeyer, while Mr Herbert Hayton Castens Esq was the acting prosecutor.

When she was about to be executed, a Roman Catholic Priest Father Richartz was sent to convert her into Christianity but she refused to talk to him and asked that she be allowed to go back to her people in Mazowe.

Mbuya Nehanda was hanged from the tree.

The Herald, 08 December 2011

ZIMBABWE'S "HANGING TREE" FALLS, REVIVES LEGENDS

The felling of Zimbabwe's famed colonial-era "Hanging Tree" is reviving legends and superstitions and has many believing it signals a new era for this troubled southern African nation, whose hardline 87-year-old president is in the winter of his long rule.

Witnesses said the 200-year-old Msasa tree, declared a historic site and national monument, fell Wednesday after it was hit by a workers' truck and collapsed onto one of its strong branches in the middle of the street. Some of those workers then fled, believing it a sacred omen of "bad things to come."

Icons of the first uprising against white settlers, including the ancestral grandmother of the nation Mbuya Nehanda, were said to have been hanged from the tree in 1898.

A n'anga…performed rites over the split trunk and gnarled branches on Thursday demanding homage be paid and forgiveness sought at Nehanda's grave site north of Harare for the destruction of the tree. Crowds gathered at the felled tree to take pieces of its billowing green leaves, splinters and bark.

The fall of the tree came on the same day that President Robert Mugabe … marked the country's national tree planting and reforestation campaign by planting a tree in the second city of Bulawayo.

"It's got to be a sign something big is going to happen," street vendor Mathias Vinyu told The Associated Press of the tree fall.

The Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers Association on Thursday said the tree represented "powerful forces" in the nation's social and political life. Its toppling over is believed to signal the dawn of a new era of truth on past injustices, including Nehanda's execution, the group said.

The indigenous African tree, or Brachystegia speciformis, was commemorated on a Zimbabwe postage stamp in 1996 and political rallies have often been held there.

Historians, however, have cast doubt it was ever used for hangings.

Nehanda was a tribal spirit medium believed to have had immense powers. She is upheld by highly superstitious Zimbabweans as the country's greatest symbol of black resistance to colonial rule.

Since independence from British rule in 1980, Nehanda has been revered with statues erected in the parliament house and main government buildings, and streets have been named after her in all of Zimbabwe's cities and towns.

Colonial records show she was executed for the 1897 killing of administrator Henry Pollard, known for his brutality toward blacks.

Zimbabwe historian Rob Burrett told The Associated Press Thursday that records indicated she was actually hanged on gallows at a prison where the main Harare Central Police Station stands today. But a myth built up before independence and persisted that the colonial court presided over by "Hanging Judge" John Watermeyer sent Nehanda and those he condemned to death to the distinctive tree, Burrett said.

At that time the tree was on the outskirts of the small colonial settlement known as Salisbury in the British territory of Rhodesia that later became Harare, Zimbabwe's sprawling capital of two million inhabitants.

"It is a great urban myth that has grown over time. The Zimbabwean nationalist version has been superimposed on earlier white stories," he said.

Successive city authorities resisted calls for the tree - seen as a traffic hazard - to be removed from a central island in the boulevard leading past the colonial style Harare Sports Club and the State House used as offices by Mugabe.

The tree came down as workers were repaving the boulevard and a vehicle bumped into the base on Wednesday.

Burrett said the tree was scarred at the base by traffic accidents and became diseased and rotten.

"But it is really sad it has now gone," he said.

Angus Shaw, Associated Press

»»»

ALSO FROM MEG

The Editor

Tree Life

I recently had a call from Anne Bean who is now in Cape Town. Going back several decades, she used to do an environmental/natural history programme on the radio. She recently visited Ruchomeche Camp at Mana Pools and was horrified to see a parasite on the wild mango, Cordyla africana. It was obviously fairly well-established. Her visit was at a leafless time of the year, and both the tree and the parasite were bare so there were no clues as to the identity of the parasite. Can anyone help? Does anyone know of parasites growing on a wild mango in the Mana Pools area? Alternatively, would anyone like to take me there so that I can see for myself? That would definitely be the first prize.

All clues much appreciated.

Meg Coates Palgrave

»»»

COMMITTEE MEMBERS’

CONTACT TELEPHONE NUMBERS