Opportunity Issue 108

CONSERVATION
WWF-Mondi Water Stewardship has been in place for
more than three decades.
Nursing seedlings until they are ready for
the field. CREDIT: Mondi
Sappi’s Clairmont Mountain Nature Reserve is home to 10
red-data species.
Mondi South Africa and Endangered Wildlife Trust are working
together to map the company’s species and ecosystem
biodiversity footprint.
These reserves are part of South Africa’s Biodiversity Stewardship
Programme managed by the South African National Biodiversity
Institute (SANBI).
What about water?
Water use was another area where misconceptions seem to
have taken hold. Just more than half of consumers surveyed
(51%) believe that paper production uses an excessive amount
of water, but the forestry sector uses only 3% of South Africa’s
available water, with agriculture and domestic water consumption
accounting for 60% and 29% respectively.
“Plantations are not irrigated. Some companies plant seedlings
with hydrogel, but the rest is up to nature,” says Molony. “Yet our
sector is the only sector to pay a ‘rain tax’, as forestry is considered
a stream-flow-reduction activity.” Trees, like any living organism,
take in, use and transpire water as part of their growth needs.
“This is why the forestry industry is adopting a more stringent
approach to planting, ensuring buffer zones exist between
compartments and riverine areas,” notes Molony.
The WWF-Mondi Water Stewardship has been in place
for more than three decades, initially centred on wetland
management but later expanded to focus on catchmentbased
water stewardship which prioritises catchments with
possible water-related risks. Mondi has made investments
in rehabilitating wetlands on plantation landholdings in
Mpumalanga, the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. Currently
Mondi manages about 15 000 hectares of wetlands within its
own and leased land properties.
Sappi is also working closely with WWF to improve the
catchment and the ecological integrity of the uMkomaas River
which is strategic for Sappi in terms of water supply to operations.
Work includes clearing of invasive alien plants in the catchment
area by using members of the local community who are employed
in the project, which contributes to employment in the rural areas
of Impendle. “We have to continue to challenge the misconceptions
and contradictory opinions surrounding wood and paper-based
products and their impact on the environment,” concludes Molony.
“When people grasp that trees are farmed, just like we farm mealies
and wheat, their perception shifts. I’ve witnessed this personally
time and time again.”
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