KZN conservation body bans visitors from bringing own firewood

Visitors have been banned from bringing firewood into  KwaZulu-Natal nature reserves as it might contain a tiny tree-killing beetle that poses a serious threat to indigenous forests.

The polyphagous shot hole borer (PSHB), which is about the size of a sesame seed and is native to Southeast Asia, was discovered in Pietermaritzburg about six years ago and has since spread to much of SA.

Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife said the beetles create branching, breeding and feeding galleries in trees lined with a layer of spores of the co-introduced alien species of fungus they carry. This fungus, which they feed on, is left inside the tree’s circulatory system, blocking nutrients and water from reaching parts of the tree and ultimately leading to branch dieback and the death of the tree.

Ezemvelo acting CEO Sihle Mkhize said the beetles spread mainly through the movement of wood from infested trees, most often in the form of firewood.

Mkhize noted the PSHB has spread to many locations across the country and no chemical products are registered to combat the beetles in SA, which makes this a serious threat to biodiversity and food security.

“After much consideration of the high risk this alien beetle and the fungus it carries pose to biodiversity in our reserves, and the main means of their spread being through firewood, Ezemvelo has decided to implement a ban on visitors bringing firewood into any of our reserves.

“Visitors can purchase firewood from our curio shops that have been safely sourced from PSHB-free areas. We urge visitors to use charcoal, which can be brought into our reserves, and to refrain from bringing firewood. Buy firewood from resort curio shops if necessary,” said Mkhize.

He stressed Ezemvelo would continue to work with nearby communities to ensure the wood they sell is PSHB-free.

TimesLIVE