National Arbor City Awards 2023

Event date: 
2023-05-11 00:15 to 2023-06-30 23:45

Background and purpose
 
Objectives
Summary of criteria
Competition entries
Competition adjudication process
Closing dates and enquiries
           

Background and purpose of the National Arbor City Awards

 

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) established the National Arbor City Awards (NACA) in 2002 in terms of chapter 4, section 32 of the National Forests Act, 1998 (Act No. 84 of 1998) and in terms of the National Greening Strategy, 2006. The NACA are a quest to promote environmental greening and development thereby securing sustainable and healthy living environment for settlement areas in South Africa.

The National Arbor City Awards (NACA) were formed as a partnership initiative between the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, TotalEnergies  and the Institute for Environment and Recreation Management (IERM) with a purpose to encourage municipalities to green their areas of jurisdiction.

 

City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality – winner of National Arbor City Awards (2017)

 

The NACA Competition provides incentives and rewards to municipalities who are doing their best in terms of greening, especially in townships and new settlement areas. There are South African municipalities who are making great strides to expand greening and other landscape developments from the past focus on towns and suburbs to also include townships and new settlements areas. This move has rewarded the latter areas with street trees and recreational parks, some of which have introduced health and fitness facilities.

 

The National Arbor City Awards and climate change

 

It is now a known fact that the world in general is starting to feel the effects of global warming due to climate change. This phenomenon is an environmental threat resulting from emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere. All of us will have to face this phenomenon head on by adopting mitigation strategies and adapt our actions towards it. The changes in climate may have significant effects on various sectors globally. Tree planting which forms the basis of NACA is one of the mitigating factors that are recommended towards the slowing down of this environmental threat. It is for this reason that DFFE is pursuing the NACA together with the National Arbor Month Campaign and the Ten Million Trees Programme. It is acknowledged that tree planting initiatives will have to rely on other supporting programmes such as environmental education and awareness to inform and educate society in general on the importance of trees within the environment, and their role in mitigating environmental threats.

The National Arbor City Awards are conducted in line with the DFFE National Greening Strategy (2006) which defines greening as an integrated approach to the planting, care and management of all vegetation in urban and rural areas, to secure multiple benefits for communities and the citizens in general. Greening is a task that requires multi-disciplinary approaches that include precise scientific knowledge and skills, socio - economic balancing and planning. In order to achieve the objective of greening a combination of technical expertise, socio-economic balance and capacity building skills are required.

 

The National Arbor City Awards and the Ten Million Trees Programme

The Presidency of the Republic of South Africa has given a directive for the planting ten million trees for the next five years. This is an initiative that aims to green our cities, towns, townships and reclaim the degraded areas. The department has developed a plan which among other issues reflects on the creation of sustainable settlements, addressing household food security, climate amelioration as well as a contribution towards the provision of recreation facilities for communities in urban and rural areas.

A greater component of the greening function is aligned to the work done by municipalities, the Department of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation and other greening organisations. This is a result of the notion that a building or without some greenery is not complete in terms of the quest to create sustainable and dignified settlements for our people.

      

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Objectives of the National Arbor City Awards

 

The main objective of the competition is to encourage municipalities to undertake greening initiatives to create green landscapes. The other objectives include the following:

  • To promote the Ten Million Trees Programme
  • ​To promote the development of provincial and local greening plans
  • To extend greening in municipalities to new settlement areas
  • To ensure compliance with relevant greening legislations both local and national
  • To raise general awareness about the importance and value of trees in residential settlements
  • To provide incentives for local authorities that go an extra mile to green their areas
  • To provide a platform for diagnosis of challenges facing municipalities regarding the greening function and discuss solutions

 

Summary of criteria for evaluation of the NACA Competition

 

The judging criteria focus on the following aspects:

  • Greening policy and strategy
  • The municipality concept/proposal on advancing the Ten Million Trees Programme
  • Space for future tree planting, planning and development of wide sidewalks
  • The development and conservation of greenbelts, natural assets in new and existing residential settlements
  • Greening in (townships), low-income cost housing
  • Public participation programme/ tree awareness and education
  • Future and current tree planting projects to advance the Ten Million Trees Programme
  • Management and maintenance operations
  • Tree administration
  • Programmes on eradication of undesirable alien invasive
  • Prevention of disastrous occurrences like wild-fires
  • Involvement in partnerships, national and provincial environmental campaigns
  • Use of trees to give the town/ city a definitive character
  • Resource allocation to greening and related functions

      

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NACA Competition Entries

 

Downloads

 

Entries for the competition will be handled as follows:

  • DFFE national and regional offices will send competition information and requirements to municipalities
  • The IERM will circulate competition entry requirements via their network of member municipalities
  • Competition information and requirements will be posted on the DFFE and IERM websites and social media platforms

 

Entry requirements for the metropolitan municipalities category are as follows:

  • Portfolio of evidence showing mainly: concept/ proposal on strategy for the municipality to advance the Ten Million Trees Programme
  • Current and future tree planting projects to advance the Ten Million Tree Programme
  • Greening policy or strategy, tree register, maintenance plans and budget
  • Portfolio of evidence in videos or pictures depicting projects, sites and, special trees
  • A narrative not exceeding two pages indicating why the municipality hopes to be the winner of the National Arbor City Award
  • Municipalities must submit entry forms and PoEs electronically using the email addresses in the advert and entry form. Hard copy entry forms and PoEs will not be accepted.

 

Entry requirements for the category B Local municipalities category are as follows:

  • Portfolio of evidence showing mainly: concept/ proposal on strategy for the municipality to advance the Ten Million Trees Programme.
  • Current and future tree planting projects to advance the Ten Million Trees Programme
  • Portfolio of evidence showing greening policy or strategy, tree register, maintenance plans and budget
  • Portfolio of videos or pictures depicting projects, sites, special trees
  • A narrative not exceeding two pages indicating why the municipality hopes to be the winner of the National Arbor City Awards
  • Municipalities must submit entry forms and PoEs electronically using the email addresses provided in the advert and entry form. Hard copy entry forms and PoEs will not be accepted.

 

Entry requirements for small rural local municipalities category (municipalities with potential) are as follows:

 

  • Concept/ proposal on strategy for the municipality to advance the Ten Million Trees Programme
  • Current and future tree planting projects to advance the Ten Million Trees Programme
  • Portfolio of evidence showing potential in greening
  • A written account of environmental and greening projects by the municipality
  • A narrative not exceeding two pages indicating why the Municipality hopes to be the winner of the National Arbor City Awards
  • Municipalities must submit entry forms and PoEs electronically using the email addresses provided in the advert and entry form. Hard copy entry forms and PoEs will not be accepted.

 

Entry requirements for Youth Participation in Greening Category are as follows:

  • Portfolio of evidence showing youth involvement in greening projects
  • A written account of environmental and greening projects that involve the youth by the municipality

 

 

      

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NACA Competition Adjudication Process

 

The evaluation is done based on portfolio of evidence received from the Municipalities and the first shortlisting is done. The shortlisted Municipalities are then further evaluated as follows:

  • The municipalities will send in the greening plans to advance the Ten Million Trees target of the country
  • The PoE (including the ten million trees proposal) as described in the judging criteria will be assessed
  • Panel members will visit projects of final shortlisted municipalities to verify PoE’s where municipalities are required to prepare a video clip, photographs or PowerPoint presentation showcasing greening projects contained in the PoE, this is followed by physical project visits.
  • Panel will complete scoring sheets
  • An average score will be calculated to determine the winner
  • The process is subject to ratification by DFFE Minister

 

The evaluation panel will be composed as follows:

 

NACA - award ceremony and prizes

The National Arbor City Awards ceremony will be combined with the National Arbor Month launch event (which is usually held on 1 September). The mayors of the winning municipalities are invited by DFFE to receive the prizes at the event. Six prizes are awarded: one for the metropolitan municipality, three for the category (B) local municipality (first, second and third prize), one for small rural local municipality, and one for youth participation in greening.

 

NACA Competition feedback

The municipalities that enter the NACA receive written feedback from DFFE after the adjudication process has been concluded. This is conducted to assist municipalities in their future greening projects, and to prepare them for subsequent entries into the competition.

 

Closing dates and enquiries 

 

Closing dates

  • The closing date for entry forms: 09 June 2023
  • The closing date for portfolios of evidence: 30 June 2023

 

Enquires 

Michael Modise
Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment
Tel: 012 309 5787
E-mail: mimodise@dffe.gov.za

Nosipho Ndzimbomvu
Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment
Tel: 012 309 5883
E-mail: nndzimbomvu@dffe.gov.za

 

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