AESTHETICALLY pleasing some might think, or perhaps an unusual Christmas gift or unique tree from which to drape your festive season tinsel.
As appealing as the ‘upside down trees’ from the Dukuduku Forest may be, the reality is that they represent what is probably the last remaining coastal lowland forest in our province.
For decades the informal settlements in the Dukuduku State Forest, a once protected entity, have been contested, reported on and investigated, but the settlers have ultimately been given the right to stay. Over the past 20 years, increased occupation of the forest has caused severe degradation which has had a massive impact on the forest’s wildlife and its entire ecosystem.
A 1990s study undertaken by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry deemed the forest to be of ‘unestimable value’ as some of its flora and fauna feature on endangered species lists.
According to another study, the Dukuduku Forest constitutes more than 40% of KwaZulu-Natal’s coastal forests. Arguments surrounding the inhabitants’ sustainable use of the forest’s materials have been put forward, but ultimately only a lucrative charcoal industry has been reported.
This, however, involves the felling and burning of the forest’s trees and continued exploitation results only in deforestation. The Mtubatuba Municipality is currently undertaking a resettlement project to increase the sustainability of the Dukuduku Forest’s inhabitants and their way of life, which involves encouraging sustainable agriculture in designated areas of the forest.
In recent years, another lucrative trade has emerged from the Dukuduku Forest and its inhabitants – selling ‘upside down’ trees to passing tourists.
This practice involves felling, burning and uprooting the forest’s trees and selling the upturned root system as an ornament.
When considering the environmental impact of the felling of this forest, tourists are reminded that the production and selling of these trees is illegal and the purchasing thereof contributes to the erosion of this once majestic, environmentally important coastal lowland forest.
Save a tree this Christmas by decorating a durable plastic one and enjoy our coastal forests in their natural environment.
