A new addition to the popular Sappi Tree Spotting series that is designed to enhance this fast-growing eco-hobby in southern Africa. The tree spotter can record memorable meetings with trees--be they the first for each of the 1300 species listed, thereby creating the Lifer-List of the title--or be they by habitat, ecozone or biome--or even by province or holiday/recreation destination. It has long been a habit of birders to gloat of 180 species in Kruger ticked off over one long weekend in summer--now tree spotters can compete on equal terms!
Over the past decade there has been a movement in southern Africa to 'rationalise' the common names of both birds and trees. In 1999 Sappi Limited and Jeep South Africa sponsored the Sappi Jeep English Names Workshop initiative. This initiative has culminated into the "Sappi Tree Spotting: Lifer List", a comprehensive list that for the first time has been agreed upon by all eight authors, a group of highly qualified individuals with diverse backgrounds, representing the five organisations that have endorsed the list.
The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), the University of Witwatersrand Animal Plant and Environmental Sciences (APES), the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA), the Mpumalanga Parks Board (MPB) and the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI) endorse the list.