CAPE TIMES ARTICLE APRIL 2006

PAGE 3 Vice-chairman of a TMNP steering committee Greg Mosely said the consultation process was expected to cost about R250 000 and take a year.

There will be no moratorium on the tree cutting either

TO strike a balance between the public's recreational needs and the protection of biodiversity, and to avoid any uncertainty about felling of pine trees in the Cecilia and Tokai plantations, the Table Mountain National Parks (TMNP) is to invite public input on the matter. The announcement by the TMNP yesterday came after a number of people showed concern in recent months about felling of the trees and the future of the plantations. TMNP manager Brett Myrdal said while it was prepared to be criticized about decisions regarding the future of the plantations, it would be preferable if any criticism was based on facts. "As the management authority, TMNP will be required to seek a balance between opposing views (biodiversity needs and cultural or heritage needs) on the future management of Tokai and Cecilia plantations and we have to point out a few of the facts and clarify certain perceptions. "We have a principal mandate to conserve our cultural and our natural heritage and we have to do that in the interest of the public good. We're a public authority and this means finding a balance, especially for the people of Cape Town," he said. Myrdal said when TMNP was established the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) was the landowner of the Cecilia and Tokai plantations, which were commercial pine plantations harvested by a company called Mountain to Ocean (MTO). DWAF assigned the 20-year lease with MTO to SanParks/TMNP last year. He said MTO's lease and its right to harvest timber was nonnegotiable and that while certain alien plant species would be removed, there were other species, imported centuries ago, that would stay and others would be replanted. Picnic sites, Myrdal said, would be upgraded and expanded and sites which were previously closed or under managed would be better maintained. "The recreational needs of the Tokai and Cecilia plantations users will be recognized and respected. Bikers, walkers, picnickers, all have their needs in terms of relaxing in the wonder of nature and we'll set aside space for that. All of this will have to be understood in the public engagement process." Vice-chairman of a TMNP steering committee Greg Mosely said the consultation process was expected to cost about R250 000 and take a year.