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I did a bit of maths on the offered 120 hectares of planting and guess what.

This will shock you.

The expanded arboretum accounts for 70 of the 120 hectares mentioned in the report, but horseriders, mountain bikers, picnickers and people walking with dogs are presently prohibited from this area.

A further 30 of the toal 120 hectares comprises small parcels of land around Tokai which is not Park land, and there is no guarantee that it will be approved for planting.

So in reality the public are being offered 20 hectares out of the total 1000 hectares of plantation currently available for their use!

I am sure they are going to be delighted with this.

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To provide an updated summary of the revised Management Framework proposals for the Tokai and Cecilia plantations, Table Mountain National Park.

SANParks was assigned the management of Tokai and Cecilia plantations as part of the TMNP on 11 February 2005 by the Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry. The challenge for SANParks, given Tokai and Cecilia’s biodiversity significance, heritage resources, recreational use and eco-tourism opportunities, is how to manage the cleared plantation areas into the future in a way that accommodates these different, often conflicting interests in the context of an urban National Park.

The Tokai and Cecilia plantation areas fall within the Cape Peninsula Protected Natural Environment (CPPNE), a designated nature area within which SANParks has been mandated by Government to establish the Table Mountain National Park. The plantation areas are State Forests previously managed as commercial plantations by SAFCOL and its subsidiary MTO Forestry. Tokai and Cecilia are 1000ha in extent of which about 600 hectares are plantations, the remaining area comprising offices, infrastructure, picnic/braai site, the Arboretum and rehabilitated conservation land.

In line with both the original Government decision to establish the National Park and the Government decision to phase out certain plantations in the Western Cape, DWAF sold by public tender the plantation trees of Tokai and Cecilia to a consortium that purchased MTO Forestry. DWAF entered into a 20 year lease with MTO Forestry which provides for the company to incrementally harvest the standing plantation timber in ‘same age’ compartments over a 20 year period to 2024. This lease and the management of the plantations have been assigned to SANParks and are managed in terms of the National Forest Act.

The pine and gum plantations of Tokai and Cecilia have existed from over 100 years and are viewed by some as an important landscape feature of the Peninsula which also provide popular shaded recreational areas for walking, hiking, mountain biking etc. However, for biodiversity conservation, the plantation areas are highly significant as they comprise the acid soils which underlie the ‘critically threatened‘ Cape Flats Sand Fynbos in Tokai and the granite soils which support the ‘threatened’ South Peninsula Granite Fynbos in Tokai and Cecilia.

The challenge faced by SANParks in assuming management responsibility for these clear felled plantation areas is to seek a balance between the biodiversity, heritage, recreational and eco-tourism uses and potential for the area.

To this end, TMNP appointed a team of consultants and initiated a public process to prepare a Management Framework to guide the future rehabilitation and use of the area. The framework is intended to provide a long term, 20 year vision for Tokai and Cecilia; is subject to 5 yearly reviews as part of the Park’s adaptive planning cycle and will result in a series of lower level, more detailed implementation plans – landscape, rehabilitation, precinct plans etc.

The Management Framework process involved firstly, the preparation of a Base Information Report; secondly, identifying the issues through public consultation and thirdly, preparing a draft Management Framework for public comment. The attached diagram depicts the process up to the release of the draft Management Framework Comments and Responses Report as indicated in the shaded blocks (phases 1 to 3). The diagram also indicates the extended process (in the unshaded blocks - phases 4 and 5) to revise the Management Framework based on further stakeholder input as explained below.

The draft Management Framework proposals attempted to present a balance between biodiversity, heritage, recreation and eco-tourism. The proposal includes restoring substainable areas of the critically threatened Cape Flats Sand Fynbos and threatened South Peninsula Granite Fynbos; establishing viable terrestrial and riverine corridors; rehabilitating Afromontane forests; maintaining existing recreational activities in a partially transformed landscape; re-aligning the existing braai site, upgrading the Tokai Manor precinct with the TMNP headquarters based in the Manor House; maintaining the Arboretum and other heritage plantings and establishing a SANParks research centre at the old Bosdorp facility.

The draft Management Framework was released in October 2006 for public comment and the Comments and Responses Report released in March 2007. Following on the wide range of public comments received and extensive media coverage, various stakeholders approached the Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry and the Mayor of Cape Town to express their concerns. The Mayor initiated a ‘roundtable’ discussion process and DWAF, on behalf of their Minister, facilitated discussions between SANParks and one of the stakeholder groups, the Urban Forest Protection Group. This group was particularly concerned at the decision by Government to phase out the plantations of Tokai and Cecilia and has threatened legal action to overturn the decision.

The Minister’s and Mayor’s constructive initiatives have led to a facilitated process to revise the draft Management Framework for Tokai and Cecilia so as to achieve agreement around a more balanced approach towards the future management of the plantations.

Phase 4, as depicted in the attached diagram, made provision for stakeholder groupings (biodiversity, heritage, recreation) to review and make further input on the draft Management Framework proposals. On request of the Mayor of Cape Town and with the support of TMNP, Prof Richard Fuggle agreed to facilitate the process. Biodiversity, heritage and recreational stakeholder groups were identified and through a series of separate and joint meetings a revised set of proposals for the Management Framework were prepared.

Proposed phase 5 makes provision for the presentation by SANParks and the stakeholders groupings to the boarder public to view the Revised Management Framework. This is proposed to take the form of a public ‘Open Day’ presentation and explanation of the Revised Management Framework. The objective is not to launch a further round of public comments and responses but rather to provide opportunity for the presentation and explanation of the Revised Management Framework.

The revised Management Framework proposals, prepared in consultation with the various stakeholder groupings as listed in Section 5 below include proposals which attempt to accommodate the stated needs of recreational users for shaded areas and to accommodate heritage landscape concerns whilst not undermining the key biodiversity objectives. To achieve this, TMNP has had to work with the stakeholder groupings and develop innovative new approaches to achieve a balance between the contending objectives.

Significantly, the revised Management Framework maintains the original proposal for consolidated areas to be cleared of plantation trees over the next 20 year to allow for the rehabilitation of threatened fynbos vegetation types, Afromontane forests and riverine and terrestrial corridors.

A key new proposal is for certain designated ‘transition’ areas to be replanted with non-invasive exotic trees in limited areas along the periphery and to consolidate existing planted areas. This is a long term strategy which accommodates both shaded recreational needs and heritage concerns for maintaining planted landscapes along the Urban Edge whilst not undermining the core biodiversity objective or the rehabilitation potential of these ‘transition’ areas.

In the designated ‘transition’ areas, pine harvesting will be followed by an initial controlled burn of affected compartments and then an 8 year period of fynbos growth for seed to be dispersed into the soil. Thereafter pine trees are re-planted to provide shaded recreation areas and for urban interface landscape purposes. After 30 years these pines are again harvested for fynbos to return to the area.

In addition, the transition areas can be linked by both shaded routes and footpaths through the rehabilitating fynbos areas. The shaded routes will comprise new planted, continuous shade routes, ‘broken’ shade routes along riverine corridors and existing planted heritage avenues.

Transition areas are proposed for lower Tokai along the urban edge periphery; as part of the expanded Arboretum consolidation and along the lower slopes of Cecilia plantation area. The major shaded routes are proposed around the periphery of lower Tokai and from Constantia Nek to Kirstenbosch at Cecilia.

In considering what appears to be a radical proposal to plant exotic trees (pines) in an area managed as part of a National Park (but not yet proclaimed as such), there are a range of factors that need to be considered :

Urban Context: TMNP is an urban National Park within a metropolitan setting with a unique set of pressures and demands placed on it by both residents and visitors. There is an ongoing tension between traditional recreational users and their activities and the requirements of managing a National Park. The walking of dogs, a longstanding traditional recreational activity, but prohibitive in all other National Parks, is accommodated in TMNP under strict conditions. Likewise the need for shaded recreation areas is a longstanding amenity traditionally available in areas managed as part of TMNP and should be accommodated.

Retain existing trees: To provide shaded landscapes it has been argued that it is preferable to retain existing exotic trees rather than plant new ones. Whilst this is possible in certain other areas within the Park (Newlands, Deer Park etc) it is not possible in the plantation areas of Tokai and Cecilia. The plantation timber has been sold and the lease provides for its harvesting in compartments over the next 20 years. To continue to provide shade beyond harvesting will require planting in flatter areas where trees do not naturally grown but where there is a need for shade for recreation.

Plant indigenous trees: The alternative is obviously to plant indigenous trees to provide shade. Whilst this is appropriate in areas where the Afromontane forest grows naturally (kloofs, wetter southern slopes), it has been shown that these trees will struggle to grow, if at all, in the sandy plains of Tokai and the exposed granite midslopes of the Tokai and Cecilia. In addition, planting indigenous trees will permanently alter the landscape which is not the intention.

Preserve the fynbos seedbank: The objective in the proposed ‘transition’ and shade route areas is to eventually rehabilitate back to the original natural vegetation. It is paradoxical that pine trees have been shown not to damage the fynbos seedbank and rehabilitation in areas previously under pine, such as Newlands, Silvermine, Orangekloof and Tokai has been very successful.

Stakeholders views: The current set of revised proposals is intended to accommodate the various stakeholder groups:

Legal challenge: DWAF is keen to avoid a legal challenge to its decision to phase out the plantations and has supported the revised Management Framework process to achieve an agreed outcome between the stakeholders.

Costs: Planting, harvesting and maintenance of transition areas and routes can be outsourced to commercial forestry companies with future timber harvesting in exchange. There is also potential for income from harvesting of the shade trees.

National Park status: Re-planting of pines in the ‘transitional’ and shaded route areas are in proclaimed State Forest areas and need not be proclaimed National Park until such time as permanent rehabilitation takes place.

Area: The area identified for ‘transition’ and shade route planting is only about 120 hectares which comprise only 10% of the 1000 hectares that make up Tokai and Cecilia.

Type of tree: The bulk of plantation trees comprise pinus pinaster, the pine which is moderately invasive. A viable alternative exists in the non-invasive pinus elliotii.

Precedent: It could be argued that by agreeing to planting exotic trees in an area managed as a National Park will set an inappropriate precedent for this to occur elsewhere. In response it can be stated that such planting should only occur under set conditions – namely that it does not take place in areas declared as a National Park, that such plantings are reversible; where there is a specific proven need and that they do not undermine the core biodiversity objectives of these areas.

The process to prepare the initial draft Management Framework, involved consulting the authorities and specialists to prepare the Baseline Information Report (August 2006); consulting the public to identify the issues which resulted in the Issues and Responses Report (September 2006) and then releasing the draft Management Framework (October 2006) for public comment which was captured in the Comments and Responses Report (March 2007). Consultation took the form of placing notices in the media; press releases; public Open Days; authorities, specialist and public workshops and requesting written comments and responding to these.

The process to revise the Management Framework has taken the form of a series of workshops facilitated by Professor Richard Fuggle involving the following stakeholders:

Biodiversity stakeholders: SANBI, Botanical Society of South Africa, WWF-SA, Table Mountain Fund,; Percy Fitzpatrick Institute for African Ornithology

Heritage stakeholders: Cape Town Heritage Trust, ICOMOS, University of Cape Town, Rastafarians

Recreation stakeholders: Friends of the Dog Walkers, TMNP mountain biker group, TMNP horse rider group

General stakeholders: Park Forum, City of Cape Town; Urban Forest Protection Group, Parkscapes, Friends of Constantia Valley Green Belts, Friends of Tokai, Friends of Silvermine

In addition the revised proposals have been presented to both DWAF and DEAT officials who have not indicated any significant objections.

The intended outcome of this process is a revised Management Framework for which broad agreement between the stakeholders has been achieved. As depicted in the attached diagram (see phase 5) the intention is for SANParks and the stakeholders groupings to present the Revised Management Framework proposals to the boarder public in the form of a public ‘Open Day’. The objective is not to launch a further round of public comments and responses but rather to provide opportunity for the presentation and explanation of the Revised Management Framework.

The product of this phase would be the preparation of a broadly agreed final Tokai and Cecilia Management Framework, acceptable to DWAF, DEAT and the Mayor of Cape Town for adoption by SANParks.

The Management Framework will also identify a range of lower levels, more detailed plans which need to be prepared to implement the Framework such as rehabilitation plans, Tokai Manor precinct plan, picnic area landscape plan, Arboretum expansion plan etc.