Five baobabs removed from Limpopo are awaiting rescue after authorities stopped their planned export to Georgia. Months after being intercepted, the protected trees remain uprooted at a Durban warehouse, with concerns growing over their survival.
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The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment says it is working with the South African National Biodiversity Institute to relocate the trees. However, SAPeople’s latest report says no confirmed moving or replanting date could be established from publicly available reports as of 4 November.
Export stopped over missing permits
According to the department, officials intercepted the baobabs on 17 July after the exporter failed to produce the required licence. The trees had been removed from the Lephalale municipal area in Limpopo’s Waterberg district and transported to Durban.
A subsequent licence application was refused, and an appeal against that decision was dismissed on 27 October.
The exporter’s lawyers told Daily Maverick that the trees came from private gardens and were obtained with their owners’ consent. The criminal allegations remain unresolved and have not been determined by a court.
Getting the trees back into the ground
Former Durban Botanic Gardens curator Christopher Dalzell has offered his expertise free of charge to help with the rescue. He told Daily Maverick that the baobabs urgently need to reach a botanical garden or specialist nursery to improve their chances of surviving.
Indigenous plant specialist Geoff Nichols also raised concerns about their storage. After viewing photographs, he warned that spending months lying horizontally on a hot paved surface in full sun could threaten their survival.
For now, the proposed rescue offers hope, but the trees’ recovery remains uncertain. Stopping their export was one step. Getting all five safely replanted is the next.
Source (SA People News)
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