WATCH: Joburg says property development should not exclude nature  

By Lebone Rodah Mosima

Joburg Parks and Zoo says it is increasingly being asked to remove mature trees to make way for solar panels and property development, as the city tries to replenish its ageing urban forest.

JCPZ managing director Thanduxolo Mendrew said mature trees should be incorporated into development plans rather than automatically regarded as obstacles.

“We increasingly receive requests to remove mature trees to make way for solar panels, new driveways and entrances, extensions, renovations, walls and other development,” Mendrew said during an Arbor Week event at Moletsane Park in Soweto.

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“Of course Johannesburg must develop. We need housing. We need renewable energy. We need transport and infrastructure.”

But he said developers should instead ask at the design stage: “What mature trees are already here, and how do we design around them?”

“A mature