The destruction of 150 trees by a programme that has made real impacts on South Africa’s environment is regrettable but not really serious, until the underlying cause is questioned.

Removing Invasive Alien Plants

Water is a precious resource in short supply in South Africa. One of the activities directed at the problem is the Work for Water Programme, that works to remove alien invasive species which use large quantities of water unproductively.

Invasive alien plants (IAPs) are those introduced into countries from elsewhere, that then out-compete the indigenous species. They pose a direct threat to biological diversity, water security, the ecological functioning of natural systems and the productive use of land. They intensify the impact of fires and floods and increase soil erosion. IAPs can divert enormous amounts of water from more productive uses.

The Working for Water Programme has a parallel goal of creating jobs for rural poor and unemployed people and offering opportunities to previously disadvantaged entrepreneurs.

“Since its inception in 1995, the programme has cleared more than one million hectares of invasive alien plants providing jobs and training to approximately 20,000 people per annum from among the most marginalized sectors of society per annum. Of these, 52% are women.

Working for Water currently runs over 300 projects in all nine of South Africa’s provinces.”

Removing the Wrong Plants

A Working for Water team destroyed some 150 yellowwood trees in March this year by chopping them down and poisoning them. The trees, in the Drakensberg near Winterton were 50 to 100 years old. This emerged in a report drafted by an environmentalist who witnessed workers cutting up yellowwood trees. On investigation he found that an entrepreneur, who had executed contracts for Working for Water over the past six years had destroyed the trees because she and her team apparently thought they were Black Wattles.

While the photographs heading this post show the significant differences between the Wattle & Yellowwood, the difference is even more evident up close. The wattle has characteristic branching leaves structure of the acacia with numerous very small leaves while the yellowwood long and often curved single leaves. So someone seems to not have been adequately trained to make this rather simple identification.

The contract with the erring subcontractor has been ended and Working for Water has undertaken to make a statement on the matter at some time in the future.

There would seem to be a major breakdown in implementation which could very well be due to a problem that has developed in South Africa as it strives to create opportunities for all. Emerging contractors are often directed into jobs for which they don’t have the necessary skills. They are then placed under enormous pressure to achieve speedy and cheap outcomes. This often leads to shoddy workmanship, conflict and a lowering of standards that is effecting South Africa negatively.

What Can Be Learnt From This?

It should be realised that even in a well established undertaking like the Working for Water Programme, which has done so much excellent work, can make errors which are a result of poor implementation. South Africans should recognise that to do things right and to do them to a high quality does not necessarily go hand in hand with low costs and short deadlines - real empowerment takes time and effort but the outputs are sustainable and effective.

Source: GO Media - Written by Dave Harcourt - Yellowwood by MariusHR on Wikipedia under a Creative Commons license - Black Wattle by Forest & Kim Starr on Wikipedia under a Creative Commons license.