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Forest Policy Discussion Paper
July 1995
FOREWORD AND INTRODUCTION
Forestry, by its nature and location is rurally based and
conservative. The industries which it has spawned have become successful and powerful and
dominate the Forest Industry, which in its traditional clothes can be said to have reached
maturity. It supplies our country's needs of wood products, it is a major exporter and
earner of foreign exchange, and is an employer on whom more than a million people depend
both directly and indirectly.
The era of an industry, conservative, self-sufficient and
perhaps somewhat complacent has come to an end, however. It is to become part of the new
South Africa, to recognise that there are other aspects of our national life, hitherto
largely neglected, on which forestry impinges and on which forestry must in future have a
positive effect.
Future forest policy must thus continue not only to foster
and encourage the industry which plays such a vital role in our economy, but also to
ensure that forestry, hitherto almost reclusive, is brought to all of our people in ways
which can enhance their quality of life in the spirit of the Reconstruction and
Development Programme, which is the over-arching guide to all our endeavours. Forestry
concerns our indigenous forest and savanna woodlands, our commercial plantations and the
industries which they support. It should also promote the planting and use of trees on
farms, in villages and towns and cities for beauty, recreation, for shade and for fuel and
for many other functions in the everyday life of our people.
A forest policy is about our common vision of how to
achieve these things for the national benefit. It is about the place of law, of
government, of organisations, companies and individuals in forestry, and how all of these
should interact. It is about measures to bring harmony in the relationships among the
different elements that lay claim to our land and scarce water resources, and to bring
equity into their allocation. It is about the preservation of our flora and fauna and the
natural environment. It is about people and the forest environment, their working
conditions and their livelihood.
It would be too much to expect that we will soon achieve
all of these objectives and that a forest utopia is at hand. That is sadly not possible
for any of South Africa's problems after all of the years of neglect. We are, however, in
the process of making a determined start and it is against this background that the
process of formalising a new forest policy was begun when I called together the recent
Forestry Conference, representative of all sectors of the forest community. I was
delighted with the response and with the eagerness of all the participants from so many
differing backgrounds, including the international community, to discuss views and
problems which they had never before had to face, and to present suggested paths for their
solution.
The Conference and the invaluable input of all its
participants was preparatory to the preparation of this Discussion Document, which in its
turn will lead to a draft White Paper, the penultimate step to a formal forest policy
endorsed by Parliament. That final policy should ideally not be my policy alone or the
policy of my Department, but a policy reached by the consensus of all of us who will in
some way be touched by it.
I appeal to you therefore to study this Discussion Document
very carefully and to comment on it, to modify it, to improve on it. Please be clear in
your minds that it in no way indicates any official bias or tendency. It indicates rather
all of the majority policy directions that were aired at the Conference, and asks for
comment on these. Some of the views are provocative and some are extreme. All are worthy
of your consideration.
May I therefore emphasise that the draft policy that arises
from this Document and from your comments will be a combined effort. Final forest policy
will be truly OUR forest policy and in the interests of all of our people. I am determined
that this Policy will not, as in the past, be made behind closed doors, but will be open
and participative as is the general policy of your new Government.
In conclusion, I must express my warmest thanks to Dr Fred
Kruger and his Editorial Committee, and to Ms Tisha Greyling and her secretariat. I know
that I gave them an almost impossible schedule that was dictated by the Parliamentary
programme. They excelled themselves in meeting it.
Prof Kader Asmal, MP
Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry
Republic of South Africa
July 1995
1. INTRODUCTION
2. ISSUES, POLICY OPTIONS AND STRATEGIES
3. CONCLUSION
4. APPENDIX I - THE STATE OF FORESTRY IN
SOUTH AFRICA TODAY
List of Tables
List of Boxes
The editorial committee which compiled
this document is:
Fred Kruger, Division of Forest Science and Technology, CSIR (Convenor)
Christa Barnard, Department of Water Affairs and Forestry
Lael Bethlehem, National Labour, Economic and Development Institute
Hennie Coetzee, Department of Water Affairs and Forestry
David Cooper, Land and Agriculture Policy Centre
Mike Edwards, Forest Industries Association
David Gevisser, Special Adviser to the Minister
Tisha Greyling, Greyling Liaison cc
Appreciation is expressed to the editorial
committee and to Forestek of the CSIR for their support and assistance with this document.
Final editing was done in the office of the Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry.
The discussion paper was developed with
financial and technical support from DANCED. Henrik Oleson contributed to the editing of
the document, and Anders Billeschou, technical consultant to DANCED, contributed
significantly to its contents.
1. INTRODUCTION
There are two kinds of forests in South Africa: natural
forests and woodlands, and plantation forests.
The different kinds of forest and woodland vegetation are
listed in Table 1.1, together with estimates of their extent. Woodlands include both the
woodland and wooded grassland categories in Table 1.1.
The South African forest policy has been uniquely formed by
the struggle for land and natural resources in the country (see Box 2.1 for a case study
on the Dwesa Forest).
The struggle for land influenced forestry from the
beginning (e.g. Box 2.1). The Natal Ordinance No. 2 of 1855 "... to prevent
unlicensed squatting and to regulate the occupation of land by Natives" and the
Squatters' Rent Law of 1884 are among the early land-related statutes invoked to support
the control of occupation and use of undemarcated forest land. The Natives Land Act of
1913 and the Natives Trust and Land Act of 1936 later also played a role.
Table 1.1 Extent of the different forest
and woodland types in South Africa
Forest type Structural description Extent (ha)
and brief definition
(ha)
Plantations Single species (usually either pine 1,390,000
or eucalyptus), regular spacing,
even-aged stands.
Forests Closed canopy with three or more 327,600
tree layers; many species and age
classes; typically 5 to 20 m tall.
Fires penetrate only rarely.
Woodlands 40-99% canopy cover, usually a tree 1,240,000
layer, shrub layer and grass layer,
typically 6m or more tall; regular
fires.
Wooded As above, but 5-40% canopy cover; 26,600,000
grasslands typically less than 6m tall
Total 29,557,600
Environmental concerns about forestry emerged from about
the mid-eighteenth century, focusing on the ecological and hydrological effects of fire,
and the need to conserve forests for the greater good.
Controversy about the effects of afforestation on water
supplies began in the 1920s, and continues today. This led to the controls on
afforestation that have been applied for the last 23 years. Only about 1% of the country
is afforested, but this has led to intense controversy about broader environmental
impacts, not just impacts on water.
A new forest policy must address the needs of South Africa
for the benefits coming from forestry, tangible and intangible, while also helping to
resolve these conflicts, and meeting the needs of communities, workers and businesses
involved in forestry.
| Box 2.1 Progress through negotiation: the Dwesa
community on the Eastern Cape coast - from conflict to community participation
The 4,100 ha Dwesa Nature Reserve contains an astonishing diversity
of land forms: rocky shores, sandy beaches, highly productive grasslands, wetlands,
estuaries and open woodlands. The people have co-existed with these diverse ecosystems for
at least 300 years. The present community is poorly educated, and most households have an
income of below R500 per month. There is no piped water, sewerage, electricity or
telephones, and the roads are poor. Schools are primitive and hospitals are remote and
poorly equipped.
Dwesa was demarcated a State Forest in 1890. Local people
were allowed to harvest forest produce and shellfish under supervision of foresters. They
had unrestricted access to their ancestral graves, sea water for rituals and beach sand
for building, but had to pay a nominal fee to harvest forest plants. Their cattle grazed
within the boundaries of the unfenced State Forest.
In 1976 Dwesa was proclaimed a nature reserve under the
Transkei Nature Conservation Act, Act 6 of 1971, and managed by the former Transkei
Department of Nature Conservation. Members of the local community continued to have access
to resources as before. But, when in 1981 rhinoceros and other wildlife were introduced to
the reserve, it was fenced and the community excluded.
People soon became impoverished through lack of access to
the reserve's resources. Large numbers of cattle died during drought, while inside the
reserve the grasslands became rank and unproductive. Laws were rigidly enforced.
Communication between the local community and conservation staff virtually ceased.
After the April 1994 elections, the community held several
meetings with the nature conservation authorities in Umtata, expressing their need for
access to and controlled use of the protected area. After months of no response, people
began protest action which culminated in organized destruction of the marine shell-fish
resources. During the spring tides between September and November 1994, hundreds of women
and children descended on the rocky shores of Dwesa and removed every piece of shellfish
using spades, crowbars and picks. They also felled forest saplings. Law enforcement
failed. A political and conservation crisis ensued which was exacerbated by pressure from
the media, the public and green NGOs.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment in the Eastern
Cape then commissioned a scientific investigation to recommend appropriate steps for a
solution. Meanwhile, the reserve was invaded a second time. The report recommended several
steps:
- a representative local "Conservation Forum" for
negotiations (at that stage such a forum had already been initiated by the community);
- community-based law enforcement;
- improved communication and environmental education which
addressed local needs;
- controlled harvesting of resources, based on scientific
studies and community needs;
- initiation of development projects which would not destroy
the character of the area.
These recommendations and subsequent meetings caused the
spirit to change from confrontation to cooperation. Community leaders undertook to abide
by restrictions, as long as these were based on sound information, and undertook to
enforce regulations themselves. The Conservation Forum has since grown from strength to
strength, and most local people abide by the new regulations.
Early in 1995, a multi-disciplinary group of specialists
designed a bioregional development plan for the Dwesa area, which was explained to and
discussed with the Conservation Forum and other members of the community. This proposal
now carries their full support. The development plan will be completed in February 1996.
Meanwhile, several development projects are being initiated.
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Back to Contents
Policy is a statement of intents or objectives that
government sets out as part of its overall vision. It provides a framework that guides and
determines the action of government and the firms and people interested in and affected by
the policy. The Government of National Unity is committed to a process which involves as
wide a spectrum of society in policy making. This Discussion Document is part of such a
process.
[ Top ]
Our highly successful forestry industry, the natural
forests and woodlands which are conserved in State Forests, National Parks, nature
reserves, and private farms, are all set beside deep rural poverty and significant
environmental degradation, the outcomes of the apartheid policies recently ended in South
Africa.
The National Forestry Policy Conference on 2 and 3 March
1995 drew together a broad representation of parties interested in a new policy for South
Africa's forests and forestry. Delegates expressed marked differences in view, for
example, between the interests of labour and the interests of business, and on questions
relating to the environment. Many deep concerns were expressed.
Nevertheless, the delegates clearly saw the prospect of a
future for people involved with forests and forestry, based on the common ground they
found and the respect they showed for the different points of view of others. Some
elements to describe this prospect would include the following:
- a prosperous forest sector, with the benefits shared between
companies, their employees and shareholders, and communities;
- a life of dignity for rural people marked by having their
needs for water, other basic requirements and a quality environment met adequately and
securely;
- a sense of ownership in our forest, woodland and plantation
resources among landowners,local communities and the public at large, matched by
responsibilities in the way they use the resources as well as a recognition of both the
traditional and the new values attached to these resources;
- the present divide between the white commercial sector and
the black subsistence sector would disappear;
- a satisfaction among environmental concerns and those who
practice forestry that what is precious in the South African environment would be
protected and wisely used, while economic development would proceed freely wherever
beneficial and sustainable;
- a vigorous and competitive private sector, where companies
and new entrepreneurs would conduct business freely and profitably, within the parameters
determining social and environmental responsibility.
These views expressed here provide a starting point for the
process of finding a common vision.
This document is a discussion document only. Its objective
is to stimulate debate and discussion. The document does not attempt to set out a
preferred policy standpoint. No statement in this document should be construed as official
Government policy.
An attempt has been made to use simple language and to
avoid technical jargon except where it is unavoidable.
The document has two main sections. Chapter 2 sets out the
main policy issues and problems facing the forestry sector in South Africa at this time.
There are widely differing opinions on many of the issues and an attempt has been made to
present the different opinions as fairly as possible. The Appendix provides a great deal
of background information on forestry and the forestry industry in the country. This
provides the context for the present policy debate.
[ Top ]
2. ISSUES, POLICY OPTIONS AND STRATEGIES
Although there is a forest policy for the country, it has
not been well documented in the past 20 years. Some prominent aspects of current forest
policy are:
- the devolved management of wilderness areas and other
extensive conservation areas on State forests under the responsibility of the Provinces;
- responsibility for management, or oversight of management,
of natural forests in State forests retained by the Department of Water Affairs and
Forestry;
- an annual national inventory of commercial plantation forest
resources and wood-processing industries;
- national self-sufficiency in wood for commercial purposes;
- a free market and free trade in wood and products from wood;
- the establishment of Safcol as a State-owned asset;
- the absence of incentives for afforestation;
- the control of afforestation in favour of water resources,
with provision for other environmental impacts through environmental impact assessment
where necessary;
- a social forestry responsibility for government, pursued
through a nursery and a woodlot programme in Department of Water Affairs and Forestry and
the Biomass Initiative of the Department of Mineral and Energy Affairs, now being
implemented by the Independent Development Trust;
- recognition of self-regulation by companies and farmers with
respect to environmental management and sustainability.
These elements do not currently reflect a clear vision for
government and its stakeholders, nor the views of society as a whole in South Africa.
[ Top ]
All elements of the policy should be tested against a set
of principles, that would allow us to determine when the policy is right or wrong.
Important principles which emerged at the Conference are as follows:
- a national policy: the policy should recognise that
we are all of one nation, and should not allow separate interests to jeopardise the common
good;
- an integrated forest policy: the forest policy should
be integrated with the overall policies for the country, especially the Reconstruction and
Development Programme, and should lead the way to a sustainable forest sector;
- a people-driven and consultative policy: effective
and transparent governance in the implementation of policy, with progressive clarification
of the respective roles of central, provincial and local government, of the Forest Forum
of the private sector, and of empowered community-based organisations; special attention
is needed in the creation of capacity at grass-roots level to engage in forest-related
plans and projects; special attention should be given to mechanisms for ongoing
participation in monitoring and evaluating the implementation of policy;
- a policy that will provide long-term work security:
and that will lead to an environment in which people are proud to work and are able to
contribute to nation-building;
- a policy that will lead to new opportunities, based
on past achievements, to which everyone should have equal opportunity of access;
- a policy that will lead to democratisation of all the
institutions involved in the sector in such a way that all stakeholders have sufficient
opportunity to participate in policy making and decision taking, and so that the right to
determine our own future, especially at local levels, is properly protected;
- a policy that will recognise the role of women in
forestry: a major matter of principle relates to the role of women in forestry; in
many respects, African women hold the key to successful rural development, not simply
because they are so often the effective heads of households, but also because of their
greater aptitude for many kinds of work than men, their facilitation skills and
demonstrated enterprise; on the other hand, an unsustainable burden falls upon most rural
women; measures are required to ensure that women have the power and authority to
influence policies, plans and projects.
- the policy should ensure that forest resources are
sustainably managed: to meet the social economic, cultural and spiritual human needs
of future as well as present generations, the policy should recognise the interdependence
between environment and development and provide the framework and methods to ensure that
our forest, woodland, and plantation resources are used and managed in an environmentally
sustainable way
Several factors determine the need for a new Forest Act.
These include (a) the need for democratically based law, (b) existence of certain
incongruencies in the present Act, and (c) the need to incorporate relevant provisions
arising from international law and custom.
2.3.1 The scope and content of forest
law and policy
Present forest law and policy reflects an integrated
approach to protection, management, and use of forest resources, of any kind. This
approach has the advantage that forest resources are clearly identified on the national
agenda, with clear responsibilities defined; it accords with international custom and
"soft" law. Furthermore, it reflects the responsibility, recognised in national
and international norms and law, that each farmer, forester, or enterprise has to ensure
that the forest estate is sustainably managed, which is the core of the concept of
environmentally sustainable development.
The alternative is to separate the portfolio of resource
conservation from the portfolio of resource exploitation; the conservation provisions of
the Forest Act, for example, would be removed and placed with the Environment Conservation
Act. Through this, the industry as such would operate within the framework of independent
enabling legislation, while simultaneously being controlled by environmental legislation,
and the conflict of interest would be removed. Government forest functions would then have
a strong affinity with agriculture: a change in present government organisation could
follow.
How the current Forest Act is revised will depend on the
choice between these two approaches.
Revising the Forest Act
The process of revision would need to address several
issues, as outlined below.
Conservation of the forest resource as a whole
- conservation of forests: should all present forest land
(including woodlands) be protected irrespective of ownership? There would need to be
provision for different ownerships and uses (central and local government, local
communities, big private companies, small-holders), bearing in mind provisions for joint
or participatory forest management;
- the allowable uses of resources in protected forest;
- privatisation of State forests;
- nature reserves, wilderness areas and national parks in
terms of the Forest Act and other statutes would need to be properly recognised, and the
role of a new forest act with regards to these lands must be clarified;
- recognition of the rights of local communities.
[ Top ]
Sustainable forest management
- conservation within protected forests: matters such as
protection of water resources and soils, conservation of biodiversity, cultural heritage
and scenic beauty;
- forest management within protected forests would need to be
described in terms of the multiple functions and sustainable use of forest lands;
- public access to forests for recreation, grazing, collection
of wood and other forest products will have to be treated together with provisions for
joint or participatory forest management; certification of sustainable forest management
must be considered.
Control of afforestation
- provision for guidelines and regulations directed at
protecting water resources and nature, and revision of the afforestation permit system.
Forest protection
- provisions for protection against fire, pests and diseases,
consistent with the provisions of plant protection legislation.
Environmental impacts of afforestation
- afforestation for catchment rehabilitation and control, sand
dune fixation and other conservation measures including forests' role as carbon sinks.
Government's role and supporting institutions
- forest authorities and law administration; Forest Forum;
- recognition of and delegation to local government,
community-based organisations, and others;
- forest research and training may be included in the act, or
they may be dealt with better in other legislation;
- forest inventories, forest statistics and other monitoring
of forest resources;
- incentives such as tax exemptions, grants and soft loans to
support afforestation for conservation and recreation, to support public access and
recreation facilities, restoration of degraded lands, and related matters;
- financing of administration, grants, loan interests,
research and training may be included via tariffs and charges.
Social forestry
- provision where necessary for community forestry and
agroforestry.
Items to be omitted from the new act
- the new forest act should not deal with the National
Botanical Institute and National Botanic gardens;
- the new forest act should not deal with the National Hiking
Way System (but with public access and recreation in a general manner);
- the new forest act should not deal with timber quality or
timber prices; they are best left with the market forces, and timber trade should follow
general trade rules;
- control of airborne pollution and other external hazards
must be dealt with in other legislation;
- land use planning will affect forest lands and
afforestation, but it is dealt with in other law(s).
[ Top ]
With the new constitution and the significant changes
resulting from the devolving of the State commercial forestry activities to Safcol,
government must now define and establish a new role with respect to forestry and its many
aspects.
Broadly speaking, government as a whole (central,
provincial, and local) could play its part in three different ways. First, it could do
this by command and control, regulating and policing many if not all matters in detail,
and doing much of the work itself. This approach has been discredited all over the world
as being inefficient and unsustainable. There are however elements of this approach still
being practised. State Forests and private forests are managed by excluding most people
and tight control of all activities in the forest areas.
A second way of governing would be strategic, where
government would gather information about forests and forestry, assess the state of
resources and their management, and use certain mechanisms such as consultative forums,
incentives, and persuasion to influence developments to meet agreed-upon goals. This would
include supporting the other stakeholders in the sector, for example, by providing legal
certification for sustainably-managed forests.
A third way would be by playing a minimum role, and
allowing the constitution and the common law as well as a minimum of statutes, market
forces, and the common interest to determine what individtals, firms and various
interested groups do or don't do. When we discuss the
policy issues below, we will try to show the options in the
light of these different ways of governing.
[ Top ]
2.5.1 The future of the forests of the former homelands
Government's function in commercial forestry has changed
with the establishment of Safcol. However, the forests of the former homelands are
currently the responsibility of central government.
There is strong opinion against the Department of Water
Affairs and Forestry playing the role as manager of these forests as a commercial
operation, because it now lacks the capacity to do this, because of the prospect of an
undue influence of government in business, as in the past, and because of the greater net
benefits to the taxpayer that would accrue from commercialisation of the forests. However,
the situation is not simple: many staff are involved, more, proportionately, than would be
supported by a commercial operation, the land may be needed in the land reform programme,
and the ultimate form of commercialisation chosen (corporate, or small-farmer and small
business) is still an open question, the asset base may not be attractive for a commercial
operation; these issues need careful evaluation before they can be resolved.
The options available are:
- to transfer the assets and liabilities to Safcol, to be
managed as part of Safcol's commercial operation, or to be managed with a subsidy to
compensate for the costs of making the operations commercially viable;
- to sell the assets, with the land being made available on a
long-term lease, to interested parties from the private sector, including farmers;
affirmative action guidelines could be applied to ensure the entry of black-owned
businesses and black farmers into this sector;
- to use all or part of the land and assets in the land reform
programme, to settle new farmers on the land as forest farmers or otherwise, on the basis
of local consultation and negotiation;
- to excise land important for catchment protection and
habitat and biodiversity conservation, and dispose of the balance through one of the
options outlined here.
A combination of all of these options would also be
possible.
2.5.2 Restructuring the role of
government in the commercial forestry sector
The creation of Safcol fell short of full privatisation of
a government function. There are several options for the future which must all be examined
and consulted widely. Some options include the following:
- privatisation of the company through sale of shares:
government could retain a majority or a minority shareholding or none at all; limitations
could be placed on shareholding to ensure black empowerment, participation by individuals,
and to prevent dominance by large companies as shareholders
- government retains its sole ownership, and employs Safcol
for strategic aims, such as supply to new processing plants for increasing value-addition
within the country.
These and any other options need to be carefully evaluated
and tested through wide consultation.
2.5.3 Process for choosing among
options
The choices available could be addressed in the following
steps:
- consultation with the private sector, workers, community,
and other interested and affected parties to determine detailed concerns and issues
related to the future of the resources;
- inventory, assessment and valuation of the former homeland
forests, and an audit of the staffing and competency levels and financial state of the
entities currently managing them;
- examination of the experience in other countries in
disposing of State forest assets, such as in New Zealand, Uganda and Kenya;
- assessment of the financial viability of alternative models
of ownership and management of the forest resources;
- evaluation of strategies for enhancing value-addition to
wood within South Africa;
- implementation under the direction of a task force
representing appropriate government departments, the private sector, labour and civil
society.
Properly directed, this process could run its course within
three to five years.
[ Top ]
2.6.1 Frameworks for planning forestry programmes and
resource-use decisions
In many districts, further afforestation of any scale is
constrained by concerns about water resources, loss of habitat and biodiversity, or
unwanted social impacts, or any combination of these. In others, these constraints are
less important and there is significant potential for afforestation.
Present policies and strategies recognize this diversity in
part, by differentiating between the state of water resources in each of the major
catchments in the country for example. Nevertheless, every project involving afforestation
of any kind currently requires the detailed procedure of the afforestation permit system,
and a full environmental impact analysis if public representation requires this. This
requirement will severely inhibit afforestation, and is especially burdensome for small
farmers and communities wanting to afforest.
An alternative approach could involve a district-level
planning framework, linked with water-resource management strategies at catchment level, a
link which can readily be achieved through information technologies such as geographical
information systems. Properly facilitated participation by interest groups in each
district would ensure that people's aspirations are incorporated. Such a framework would:
[ Top ]
- identify districts in which further afforestation must be
controlled or limited, and where detailed permit procedures would be needed, while
indicating others where afforestation could proceed for the present with less constraint;
- relate afforestation potential to socio-economic factors and
the state of soils and climate, to guide implementation of incentive schemes in the social
forestry area;
- streamline and standardise decision instruments such as
permit application procedures and environmental impact assessment to reduce their cost and
associated delays, while improving the quality of the decisions;
- find the optimum set of limitations, incentives, and
disincentives to apply in each district of the country.
This would require a coordinated process among relevant
ministries, to ensure that the natural resources legislation (such as the Conservation of
Agricultural Resources Act and the Environmental Conservation Act) and policy is developed
to provide such a framework. Examples exist elsewhere, such as the Resource Management Act
of 1991 in New Zealand. Such a framework would allow the development of a hierarchy of
policies and plans, from central to local level, and satisfy many of the expectations
expressed by people involved in the forest policy debate.
2.6.2 Support to small growers and
processors
Government is intent on developing its role as a supporter
of forestry, especially through social forestry and the small-farmer sector. Clear
policies, strategies, and framework plans, based on information and broad participation,
are needed at the outset.
Support through extension services is an obvious need. The
most effective way of doing so and empowering beneficiaries to gain the best advice and
choose effectively among real options needs to be developed. It is vital that farmers and
small businesses have ready access to objective information and advice so that they can
exercise good judgement in their own decisions. Financial services and development of
management skills are also important. Incentives, such as the currently proposed subsidies
need to be strategically applied. Government and the private sector need to clarify
complementary and mutually reinforcing roles, since both already promote forestry among
farmers and communities.
Policy choices are important here. Rather than choose to
provide the services itself, a policy which may prove to be unsustainable in the face of
financial limitations, the government may choose to support beneficiaries through advice,
facilitation (such as for the formation of local cooperatives), and credit. Communities,
small farmers and businesses would then call on consultants and NGOs to obtain services
according to their needs, and be empowered to make sound decisions when contracting with
large companies. Such a policy can be designed to put the power of choice into the hands
of intended beneficiaries.
The lessons from around the world show that bureaucracy
must be ruthlessly minimised if rapid progress is desired. The simpler and more direct the
procedures for delivering support to beneficiaries and in reaching policy and planning
decisions, the more rapidly development follows.
The current support and extension programme may therefore
need to be re-evaluated and, if necessary, redesigned:
- to ensure its fitness for a strategic approach to forestry
development, as suggested in 2.6.1 above;
- to ensure that the programmes are aligned with current rural
development strategies, by pilot implementation together with the current small-farmer
support and land reform pilot projects in the RDP;
- to evaluate the delivery system and ensure that it leads to
empowerment of the intended beneficiaries and viable, self-sustaining forestry projects,
and avoid ones which are dependent on government.
2.6.3 Management of natural forests and woodlands
Another set of issues relates to the conservation of
forests and woodlands, and the responsibilities for executing conservation programmes and
managing the resource. The need for participatory management favours the delegation of
this function. Also important is the question of the monitoring and evaluation of the
state of forestry, and of forests and woodlands, to determine whether national and
international norms are attained, and to intervene if they are not. This would be
especially important if the function were to be delegated.
A people-driven approach to the development and
implementation of policy presents special challenges. Issues arising in regard to
participation by communities and individuals include the following:
- the need for investment to ensure that communities and
interest groups are capable and able to participate;
- legal and institutional protection of their rights to
participate, even in the face of recalcitrant government and commercial institutions;
- institutions and procedures that would facilitate and
accelerate negotiation and joint planning and management, involving communities,
private-sector interests, and government agencies.
Many lessons have been learnt around the world about the
successes and failures of participatory forest management. These lessons need to be
evaluated and applied in pilot projects for South Africa.
[ Top ]
Integrated rural development means that the people in every
district should implement the best set of development options available to them, measured
by the following criteria:
- social: where rural development leads to overall benefits by
the provision of social amenities such as education, democratic decision making,
recreational facilities, and adequate health care;
- economic: where economic activity is encouraged sufficiently
in rural areas to provide job security and a sustainable improvement in living standards
and involves simultaneous, harmonious development of several sectors such as agriculture,
forestry, tourism, and small enterprises;
- environmental: economic activity can only take place by
using natural resources; managing the natural resource base in a sustainable way is
critical to both rural and urban economies, the more so for rural people who are directly
dependent on natural resources to secure a livelihood; it is therefore critical that
environmental planning is done in conjunction with overall development planning in rural
areas.
In meeting these aspects policy should consider the
following:
- the close cooperation that is required between the forestry
industry, government, other economic sectors, local forums and labour unions in developing
a common vision for rural development;
- the contribution that commercial forestry can make in job
and entrepreneurship creation in rural areas, especially by small-grower schemes, noting
that government support is still required to enable small growers to be independent from
the large companies, and the need for a responsible contracting sector to arise;
- the fuelwood requirements of rural communities that can be
obtained from indigenous woodlands, as residual material from commercial plantations, and
through social forestry programmes;
- the role of trees, woodlands and forests in the cultural
life of rural people; provision should be made for sacred ancestral sites, access to
medicinal plants and building materials;
- the role of emergent small farmers practising forestry or
agroforestry on their farms in collectively contributing in the forestry industry and the
feasibility of their making a significant contribution to domestic wood supply;
- that wood from existing and new forests can contribute to
vigorous integrated rural development because of low entry barriers to small wood-based
industries and the real growth and profitability of these businesses, arising from the
linkage with housing and household needs (e.g. furniture);
- innovation in the processing sector can contribute to growth
in district economies, especially through greater beneficiation of raw materials and
waste; linkage with the SMME and local service centres initiative of the Department of
Trade and Industry should be used to accelerate technological innovation;
- opportunities exist in the need for investment in more
processing capacity in pulp and paper manufacture and many other processing industries, as
well as the drive to increase value addition in South Africa, to guide and support such
investment and exploit the job multiplier effect of these projects
- further ways of encouraging large companies through their
social responsibility programmes to contribute to living standards and human resource
development among communities involved in forestry;
- opportunities for increasing the benefits from commercial
estates through multiple-use forest management, through non-wood forest products,
ecotourism and other developments, which could be improved through motivation and
incentives;
- the potential for forestry (especially because of rising
wood prices) to contribute to development in districts experiencing economic decline, such
as in the Stilfontein and adjoining districts where mine closures are causing
unemployment.
Other relevant options arise in the discussion on the role
of government and on social forestry.
[ Top ]
The rapidity with which land issues are resolved
effectively will have strong bearing on the rate of rural development in South Africa.
Unresolved land disputes will paralyse the emergence of new farmers and enterprises, will
cause continuing social unrest and violence, and will turn investment away.
2.9.1 Restitution
State land has been earmarked for the pool for restitution
of land claims in the new dispensation. Both the State land administered by Safcol and the
land of the former homelands forests are therefore involved in some degree.
Restitution does not necessarily imply reoccupation; one
alternative is an equitable basis for sharing the benefits derived from the land. The land
restitution process could be facilitated by Safcol and the Department's participation in
the land reform pilot projects in the Western Cape.
2.9.2 Land conflict in forestry
areas: land redistribution
Current land reform initiatives are likely to impact on
negotiations on land in forestry. The Department will need to ensure that its strategies
and those of the current pilot projects of the Department of Land Affairs are compatible.
Government policy should build on the initiative,
pragmatism and contributions embodied in the examples of successful negotiation outlined
in Chapter 4. The problem of land disputes and competing claims need not be seen as one in
which the government must be the backstop in all situations and "rescue" current
owners and claimants from any costs or responsibility for solving their problems.
The costs should be shared between the various parties
involved and the State. Thus, the State could encourage locally negotiated settlements by
providing support in the form of housing subsidies or contributions to the cost of
additional land where the scale of the problem requires a land base beyond that which the
current landowner can provide. Other forms of support could include the provision of
services and agricultural support services to the new owners. Durable solutions could be
reinforced further by providing the rural housing policies now being developed for
companies to access subsidies, on the condition that they give security of residential
tenure. The same could apply for rural schools.
Similarly, the land claimants should contribute to the
viability of the settlements, through imposing clear internal rules and controls, building
boundary fences, assisting with fire control and, in some instances, having to move their
homesteads to new locations. Where the land claim is not based on strong historical claims
to the land in question, claimants could also be expected to contribute towards the costs
of the land. The rural tradition of communities contributing to the costs of establishing
services such as water supply, roads and schools should be built upon.
A key measure would be the introduction of legislation to
recognise and protect the rights of long-term occupants of forestry land; the Restitution
Act has precedents for these kinds of rights. The protective aspect of such legislation
would restrict the circumstances under which landowners could legally evict rights
holders. At the same time such legislation would be an incentive to those landowners who
have already begun the process of give and take through negotiated settlements. It would
ensure an equal legal and economic environment so that the more progressive companies do
not find their competitiveness compromised. Furthermore, it averts the danger of the more
responsible landowners being influenced by tensions caused by evictions in their vicinity.
A key incentive would be that agreements reached through
local negotiations would be reviewed for fairness and then recorded as valid and permanent
settlements of outstanding or pending land rights claims in respect of that land, thus
continuing the underlying goal of negotiations, which is to achieve stability in land
rights. There are currently initiatives being undertaken by the Ministry of Land Affairs
to develop such legislation.
2.9.3 New afforestation
New afforestation projects, of any scale, will have the
potential for conflict on the question of land rights and the access to resources, the
more so since a large portion of the suitable land occurs in the former homelands. The
lessons from land conflict in current forestry areas provide a guide for procedures to
apply in new afforestation proposals.
[ Top ]
The new policy should identify all roleplayers in social
forestry. With sound macro-economic policy, the country would see market forces operating
more effectively, in due time throughout the country. We have already seen that black
farmers with access to land respond to markets for wood; farmers near Richards Bay began
to plant trees long before the small-grower schemes were initiated. Furthermore, the
mutual interest shared between forestry companies and farmers has already led to companies
providing support to small growers. Thus, farmers would respond to good markets for wood
by planting more trees.
A strategic role for government is suggested by the
following factors:
- the opportunity to contribute to the goals of the RDP
through social forestry;
- forestry can make contributions in remote rural situations;
- new enterprises that can be built upon forest resources;
- the need to strengthen the capability of disadvantaged
communities and farmers to participate in social forestry;
- the need for investment to rehabilitate degraded rural and
urban environments;
- the anticipated lag in providing for the energy needs of
remote rural communities, and thus the continued potential for deforestation;
- the opportunity to accelerate rural development through a
partnership between government, the private sector, and disadvantaged communities.
Careful evaluation of appropriate social forestry models is
needed. Social forestry programmes elsewhere have often failed, not least because they
were not conceived and designed to become financially self-sustaining and socially
sustainable. Policies where government (or international development agencies) undertook
the programmes usually failed. Policies which created the conditions where farmers and
others choose to enter forestry for the financial benefits they could obtain tended to
succeed.
The policy for social forestry would need to address
several issues:
- the need for a framework to choose the best social forestry
strategies in each district, based on understood determinants of social forestry and
agroforestry potential, which takes account of biophysical potentials in different parts
of the country, technical factors determining the choice of systems, economic factors at
different scales including the household economy (including such things as household time
budgets), social and institutional arrangements, and the energy strategy for the country;
- the need for participatory planning and project development
at local and district levels;
- interventions that may be effective to stimulate sustainable
ways of supplying seedlings of appropriate trees;
- the need for an appropriate and sustainable extension and
research service;
- the need for accelerated training at all levels in modern
approaches to social forestry.
Significant questions need addressing regarding the
organisation and role of government at central, provincial and local levels, and the
relationships between them, as well as the role of community-based organisations and NGOs.
[ Top ]
Achieving maximum economic, social and environmental
benefit from our water resources is vital for South Africa.
New policy would need to address several things:
- for the goal of most-beneficial use of water to be achieved,
any policy must be even-handed in its treatment of the sectors competing for water;
- it would need to be efficient, providing the greatest
benefit at least cost, and equitable, ensuring just access to the benefits yielded;
- it must resolve issues at the local level, while
simultaneously accommodating the interests of the region and the country as a whole, and
of the international community;
- the afforestation permit system, as the instrument through
which government controls afforestation, needs to be developed;
- the new framework should clearly identify the districts
where forestry (and other land uses) can proceed with minimum administrative requirements,
and the districts where certain constraints would apply, recognising differing needs of
the different catchments and districts of the country;
- it must help to address local concerns, including those of
black communities afraid to lose local water supplies through small-scale afforestation; a
framework of this kind is outlined in section 2.6.1;
- environmental concerns need to be addressed by proper
implementation of the participatory evaluation of permit applications announced by the
Minister, but the costs to the applicant must not be unreasonable; legitimate entrants to
forestry, especially small farmers and communities must not be excluded; streamlined
assessment procedures are needed.
The concept of Integrated Catchment Management (ICM) offers
an alternative way of managing and using natural resources, particularly water, land and
the natural environment. In such an approach, competing users, including forestry, would
attempt to find the best use of water by negotiation and consensus on the basis of the
relative benefits and disadvantages of various mixes of resource use. The approach would
require efficient methods to assess and compare the environmental, social, economic, legal
and political effects of proposed land-use change, including afforestation. Also essential
would be mechanisms to assist in resolving conflicts among groups, and effective
institutional frameworks to facilitate the involvement of the people living and working in
the catchment in resource-use decisions.
[ Top ]
Much, if not most, of the predicted increased demand for
wood must be met from domestic resources. Because of the long-term nature of forestry,
plans are needed now to address such a shortfall.
We have two broad sets of options available to us. The
first is to rely on the forces of the national and international markets and encourage
trade in wood and wood products. Price would determine how much wood is grown locally, or
how much is imported and used to gain greater value. Our domestic market would be
competitively supplied. Wood could be imported from countries where the social and
environmental costs are lower. Should domestic production of pulpwood be inadequate, for
example, it may become necessary to import chips or pulp, but this would be beneficial if
manufactured products of higher value were to be exported.
This approach would result in increased afforestation to
some degree inside the country, as determined by the economic returns expected by
land-owners (relative to other land uses) and regulatory constraints. It has the risk of
exposing the country to future foreign-exchange losses and to loss of potential
investments in job-creating wood processing capacity (though the investment funds could go
into other, more profitable projects).
Alternatively, a strategy based on the estimated capacity
for our natural resources to supply our needs could be devised, which would include
several elements:
- promote investment in research for improved, sustainable
yields from the current afforested areas, including:
- greater efficiency of harvesting;
- improved forest management;
- increased growth rates of trees through implementing the
results of tree-breeding and silvicultural research;
- improved management of pests, diseases and fire;
- sustaining appropriate research and technology transfer;
- competitive prices for timber, by ensuring that the industry
is exposed to international and domestic market forces, and by ensuring that policies do
not discriminate in favour of or against the forestry sector;
- influence macro-economic policy to ensure that the forestry
sector is not disadvantaged (e.g. through tariff policies that increase the costs of
transport) and that domestic costs and prices are internationally competitive;
- promote greater efficiency in the processing industry,
through continual improvements in management, ongoing technological innovation, and a well
educated, efficient, and flexible work force, also to be achieved in part through
fostering a competitive environment and avoiding the protection of inefficient firms;
- promote greater recycling of processed materials and the
minimisation and effective utilisation of waste;
- increased afforestation, possibly by many thousands of
hectares over the next 15 - 20 years, to be achieved principally by creating a policy
environment which allows the forestry sector to develop in an environmentally sustainable
manner in equal competition with other sectors, and which facilitates the entry of new
growers into forestry by using surplus land on farms or communal areas, by introducing
agroforestry, and perhaps by large-scale afforestation;
- continue to allow the free import of wood and wood products,
while protecting the domestic industry against dumping, and work with other countries in
southern Africa to create an efficient and productive forestry sector in the region as a
whole.
As part of either alternative, South Africa would work with
other Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries to expand plantation
forestry in the region. This could lead to a joint regional strategy for timber supply to
satisfy the needs in South Africa and the region, as well as focusing on the export
advantages enjoyed by Southern Hemisphere countries. This could make a significant
contribution to regional economic development, but would need to address major barriers to
investment, such as lack of security of tenure, the complexities of land tenure, social
impacts of forestry projects, and weak infrastructure.
[ Top ]
Forestry plays a significant role in our economy, partly
through the exports it earns. Satisfying the domestic market could result in major
investments in the near future, unless the products are to be imported. The continued
strong growth in global markets for forest products and attractive export opportunities
for South Africa in the Pacific and Indian Ocean rims can be addressed to the advantage of
our economy. South Africa, like Southern Hemisphere countries, is gaining an advantage in
the global trade in forest products. Given the costs of forestry (use of water and land
impact on biodiversity), there is a strong case to be made that it is in the public
interest to discourage the export of raw materials and to encourage beneficiation. Thus,
forestry could help further economic growth in South Africa. Obviously, the strategy for
meeting our domestic needs should be linked with the policy for forestry's contribution to
economic growth.
In addition to the factors mentioned in Section 2.12, the
new policy should:
- seek to contribute to an environment where business
decisions can be made on the basis of best financial returns, while the full costs and
benefits, economic, social, and environmental, are brought into the reckoning by the
overall policy;
- especially in forestry, ensure that products of the industry
are recognised and certified internationally as coming from environmentally sustainable
operations;
- promote the growth of industries which add value to the
primary, secondary and tertiary products from wood and discourage the export of raw
material.
[ Top ]
The challenge for policy is to promote the adding of value
to raw materials at the same time as allowing for the benefits from export of raw
materials and legitimate trade in general. In practical terms this would mean encouraging
a situation in which the bulk of wood is retained for adding value and a smaller portion
is exported.
The process of adding value requires investment in new
plants or increasing present plant throughput.
The government could play a strategic role with regard to
financing of new capacity through joint ventures with the private sector. Such joint
ventures have been facilitated by the Industrial Development Corporation for many years. A
new pulp mill, while being the most capital-intensive option, would have the added benefit
of increasing competition among pulp producers, thereby relieving the current
concentration of pulp production.
There would be a number of other options through which
government could influence value-addition, some of which would require greater state
compulsion than others.
- through a tax on the export of raw materials such as wood;
this would affect the profitability of such exports and result in more domestic
processing;
- convene a co-operative committee to examine options for
adding value to the material - this could be done on a partnership basis and could involve
the voluntary participation of government (including Safcol), various private sector
bodies, and labour; the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC) may be
able to facilitate such a process;
- government and industry partners could examine ways of
supporting clusters or loose cooperatives of small firms in their export drives (refer to
the discussion in 2.6.2 on how government can support innovation in small firms);
- the government could leave the issue in the hands of the
private sector and merely appeal to them to beneficiate the wood before export.
Sustainable development assumes that economic growth is
essential to environmental solutions. International codes and the International Tropical
Timber Agreement all aim at establishing that all timber that is traded should be produced
from sustainably managed forests by the year 2000.
The new forest policy would need to recognise the need for
demonstrable sustainability, in terms of three main categories into which elements that
must be sustained can be placed:
[ Top ]
- economic sustainability, i.e. that the yields of forest
products, and the industries and people that rely economically on the forest and its
products can be maintained in future;
- social sustainability, which emphasises that the
requirements of people are met now and in future, especially through policies and projects
that are developed and implemented with the participation of all stakeholders and
therefore are politically sound;
- environmental sustainability, where forestry is practised so
that natural physical and biological processes are maintained.
The current best-practice guidelines applied by
participating companies in South Africa are drawn from international criteria. However,
achieving sustainability requires continuous improvement. For example, the entry of large
numbers of new growers will provide special challenges, both government and the private
sector in their tasks of providing technical and financial support to the growers will
need to ensure that these new operations are sustainable. Furthermore, research indicates
that issues are to hand that will require special attention.
Afforestation causes ecological changes which result in a
plantation ecosystem which is then the system which is assessed for sustainability. In
this regard there are five main issues which have a major influence on the long-term
sustainability of the commercial forestry industry. These are water, site fertility,
conservation of biodiversity, economic issues and social issues.
The policy should address several options:
- government, industry, and other stakeholders should
establish the need for a law for the certification of forests and forestry operations as
being sustainably managed and hence as meeting international criteria for sustainability;
the choice is also needed between the current self-assessment approach, which may be
sufficient in terms of international law and custom, and in which a statutory mechanism is
invoked instead;
- effects of afforestation on soil-water resources and soil
fertility and the prospects for sustaining current levels of plantation productivity
through mitigatory management such as fertilisation and mixed plantings need assessment in
the light of commercial and national interest;
- the effects of atmospheric pollution, especially in the
Eastern Transvaal, need to be managed and understood; the relative roles of government and
the private sector in this needs debate and resolution; for example, the private sector
feels that it is government's role to see to the necessary research;
- biodiversity: afforestation diminishes biodiversity locally,
but the practice of forestry contributes significantly to the conservation of biodiversity
and habitats in the country; here again, a choice is needed as to whether government
should work with the private sector in establishing a strategy for the conservation of
habitats and biodiversity in the regions within which afforestation has and will occur, or
whether self-regulation is sufficient;
- economic sustainability: the policy issues addressed in 2.12
and 2.13;
- social sustainability issues: the need for a sense of
ownership in forestry among rural South Africans, beginning with resolution of land
issues, and proceeding to greater participation in the forest and forest products industry
and economic stability through diversification of the grower base, of processing
enterprises and of markets; the present style of development and operation is in stark
contrast to the community orientation traditionally associated with the formal and
non-formal farming sector; a change in style from a "forestry industry"
perspective to a "farming perspective" will bring with it the sense of self
regulation associated with ownership and participation and will promote community
development.
Certain detailed concerns need to be addressed also. These
are:
- the limits to expansion of forestry in South Africa need to
be scientifically re-evaluated to ensure that the potential extent of sustainable forestry
is clearly understood;
- commercial forestry needs to be evaluated, relative to
agriculture and alternatives, in terms of the extent and consequences of the use of
chemicals (fertilisers, herbicides, and pesticides) and to the degree to which these may
be replaced with alternative remedies which are economically viable and which would render
forestry more sustainable in ecological terms;
- similarly, the products derived from wood need to be
evaluated over their full cycles from raw material through manufacturing and distribution
to ultimate disposal to assess options for rendering their life-cycles cleaner in terms of
environmental impacts.
[ Top ]
All forestry workers are now covered by the Labour
Relations Act (to be replaced by the new Labour Relations Bill) and are also subject to
the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.
The Draft Labour Relations Act is an enabling framework. It
creates the parameters for sound industrial relations but it does not relieve the parties
(employers and employees) of the responsibility of creating proper institutions and
procedures to facilitate a constructive relationship.
An important question is whether or not a national forestry
policy should deal with employment and working conditions. One choice would be to leave
job creation, conditions of employment, and wages to the realm of labour market policy and
refer these issues to the Department of Labour. The new Labour Relations Bill would then
be relied upon to deal with the labour issues that have arisen in the industry.
Alternatively, labour questions could be seen as an important aspect of the commercial
forestry industry; the needs and grievances of forestry workers would therefore be
addressed as part of the process of reforming forestry policy.
There are three broad options for regulating wages and
conditions of employment:
- the status quo, in which negotiations are decentralised or
where conditions are set unilaterally, which provides flexibility but does not address
equity concerns nor does it sufficiently protect workers and employers;
- central negotiation which creates a basic minimum wage for
various categories of work, and which sets basic minimum standards of employment, which
provides for equity but may disregard the need for flexibility unless carefully
structured;
- wage board regulation in which the government is the final
arbiter of wages and conditions, which may become an important option if the parties are
unable to reach agreement on the system to be followed.
A middle road could be found, by setting up a national
negotiating forum which would aim towards creating a set of basic minimum wage rates for
various jobs in the industry, including for those people working for small growers and for
contractors. The forum could create a series of schedules allowing for differences in pay
in different regions and among different employers. At the same time, such a forum could
set down basic minimum standards for health and safety provisions, for access to certain
benefits such as pension and provident funds, housing, maternity provisions and medical
benefits.
This model could take account of employers' need for
flexibility and recognise the very real differences between different employers, but at
the same time provide some protection for employees who might otherwise be exploited.
The issue of contractors: a policy for wage
bargaining would go some way towards relieving the conditions of employees who work for
small growers and contractors. However, in relation to contractors (and particularly those
involved in core forestry activities such as planting and harvesting) additional measures
may be necessary. The aim would be to ensure that contractors meet minimum standards with
regard to health and safety provisions, wages and working conditions. One way to do this
would be to establish a national Code of Conduct to which registered contractors must
subscribe. Such a Code could lay down basic provisions which all signatories would be
obliged to meet. Another option would be to charge the large companies who employ the
contractors with the responsibility to ensure that their contractors meet basic conditions
before employing them.
An alternative to a bargaining structure and its provisions
would be to recognize the drive in the industry as a whole toward certain minimum quality
standards, and the contracting policies in certain large companies for managing
contractors. These policies could be promoted among smaller companies and growers, until
most contracts are determined by industry-wide standards.
[ Top ]
Conditions of employment and working conditions and the
ongoing development of overall competence among our employees are central determinants not
only of industry productivity but also of the capacity in firms, large and small, in
government and other institutions, to adapt to change and to remain nationally and
internationally competitive. Providing individual workers with the needed competence,
training and career development allows each to gain access to greater opportunity.
High-class scientists, professionals and technicians are needed to ensure that the whole
sector is soundly directed and managed, and that rapid innovation keep it that way.
The fundamental educational base established through our
school and tertiary educational system determines the basic competencies available for
employment in forestry. However, education in South Africa has not developed the talents
of our nation. Until this situation is redressed, affirmative action within forestry firms
and institutions will be needed to accelerate the realisation of available talent.
The new policy would need to:
- identify and pursue options for a common approach between
government, the private sector workers and the tertiary education sector to address future
needs for qualified people and for the retraining and advancement of present employees,
especially from the former homelands institutions;
- employ consensus 'incentives' or regulation for the
recognition of skills acquired by workers in industry training programmes, to improve
upward mobility and flexibility;
- establish transparency regarding affirmative action
programmes to facilitate rapid progress toward full realisation of available talent in
forestry, through recognition, moral suasion, and incentives.
[ Top ]
Most of the natural forests of South Africa are on State
land, largely conserved through the Forest Act or through national and provincial
conservation legislation.
Two issues are important here. The first is the delegation
of conservation responsibilities for these forests, where this responsibility is currently
shared among the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, the National Parks Board and
the provincial authorities, and Safcol. The second is the need to shift toward
participatory management of natural forests.
The policy should seek to retain all forests demarcated as
State Forests or proclaimed in other conservation laws. Recent inventories of the forests
need to be evaluated to establish the need, if any, for further setting aside of the
forests. The provisions in the Forest Act for the protection of trees and forests outside
demarcated State Forest should be relinquished in favour of equivalent provisions in other
conservation law. Clarity is needed regarding the delegation of management
responsibilities to Safcol and the Provinces, as well as standards of management and their
assessment by central government. The best option appears to be for central government to
limit its direct involvement to the formulation and oversight of policy, and the
monitoring and evaluation of the state of the forests.
Participatory management of natural forests would involve
local-level plans appropriate to the needs and aspirations of the communities who
neighbour upon the forests. This management would be similar in principle to that for
woodlands, except that most of the forests are in the hands of the State, and this would
influence the nature of the partnership with communities.
The woodlands, being extensive, need to be conserved not
only for their biodiversity but also for their utility. Adequate policy and strategy for
their conservation would need to begin with a proper assessment of their status, starting
with the inventory recently completed through the Biomass Initiative.
Clearly, the woodlands in National Parks and other
statutory reserves should remain; here too the need is for greater participation in their
management by stakeholding communities. Resource management areas described in Chapter 4
(Appendix 1), would need legal recognition where this is not already the case. Sustainable
management with conserved areas, whether managed by parks or forestry authorities,
requires approaches based on participative management. A continuum is available, from a
situation where the authority is the senior partner in the participative scheme, to the
extreme where the community manages the resources as common property, with authorities
merely providing services, such as in the current resource management areas. The option of
authorities managing on their own, appears seldom to be realistic.
Outside the parks, natural woodland is frequently degraded.
These degraded areas, once assessed, would need plans for rehabilitation, often best
achieved through the natural regenerative capacity of the woodland. Once rehabilitated,
management could proceed as outlined below.
The extensive woodlands in good condition must necessarily
be managed by the communities or farmers who occupy and use them currently. Government
lacks the capacity to manage all forests and woodlands. Experience elsewhere hasshown that
woodland management by communities and households, influenced by local leadership, can
have profound beneficial effects on the status of the resource. Detailed policy issues
include the following:
- land (and resource) tenure issues need to be addressed
clearly by forest policy and law, particularly in regard to the links between tenure and
participative planning and management; land tenure policies should include long-term,
inheritable tenure in communal land, as well as redistributed land;
- recognise the value of participative management in enhancing
the prospects for woodland conservation and management through the inclusion of detailed
reference to and meeting of local needs, and maintaining or restoring the sense of
ownership among communities;
- strengthening local institutions by, for example:
- providing the framework (including the legislative
framework) for customary, community-based and State institutions to operate and derive
benefits from the management of resources;
- development of management and planning capacity within such
institutions, especially when the old arrangements have collapsed under pressure of
demography and political force
- build around existing natural resource management
institutions; strategies for extension services should be explicitly focused on building
on existing practices;
- particular attention needs to be paid to making the benefits
of areas protected for the preservation of biological diversity apparent and real to
neighbouring communities;
- setting, applying and monitoring of sustainable harvesting
of forest and woodland products such as timber, fuelwood and non-timber forest products
such as fruit, game and medicinal products;
- a major contributor to over-exploitation of forests and
woodlands is the undervaluing and underpricing of forest products; forest policy should at
least ensure the evaluation ofproduct pricing, especially the products for use or
consumption beyond the community or land owner;
- the need for educating and informing farmers and other land
users and managers and communities about policies, options, and procedures for managing
natural forests and woodlands;
- the potential for forestry to contribute to environmental
improvement through replanting of irreversibly degraded land and rehabilitated mine land,
as well as for the mitigation of acid-mine drainage through increasing evaporation.
[ Top ]
Technology and information are now widely recognised by
governments and firms as one of the primary factors in development, together with capital
and labour. In a competitive environment such as that in which South African forestry now
finds itself, ongoing technological innovation is a prerequisite to sustain a competitive
sector. Innovation will also provide ways of reducing the environmental and social costs
of forestry.
The present policy involves direct government support to
the science councils through the parliamentarian grant, for capacity creation in research,
and for tertiary institutions through subsidies and grants for expertise creation. Fiscal
incentives are available to companies which invest in research. Government and the private
sector contract with suppliers, nationally and internationally, to supply their needs, or,
in the case of companies, levy themselves to create a pool of funds to support
institutions such as the ICFR. This policy could be sustained.
However, various factors indicate the need for change.
These include:
- the decline in overall investment in research and technology
development and transfer, especially in government;
- the lack of a sound base of knowledge and expertise for
policy analysis;
- the need for access to research and development services by
small growers and businesses;
- probable changes in the science and technology policy for
the country as a whole;
- the weak relationship between government, the private
sector, civil society and the research institutions;
- the breakdown of many elements of the extension services,
and the options offered by alternatives.
Options available are for a closer and mutually supportive
relationship between government, private sector, and institutions, for government to
establish a clear view on the funding of research for the public good, and for incentives,
credits or subsidies to support communities, small growers and businesses to acquire
research services and expert advice.
[ Top ]
Communities concerned with forestry need to have the
information and understanding required to handle their own affairs when participating in
forestry-related decisions. Some relevant issues are:
- government needs to ensure that appropriate material is
available to supplement curriculum material in all schools in forestry districts;
- forestry households often constitute communities remote from
towns and settlements: there is a need for holistic approach to human resource development
in forestry areas;
- wide dissemination of information on forestry events,
issues, and trends to allow educated and informed participation by the wider public as
well as affected communities is required.
Social acceptance of forestry, and of the ongoing change,
will be needed to allow necessary expansion of the sector as well as to ensure its
sustainability. This needs a deep understanding of the policy options and issues among
members of affected communities and constituencies, whether urban or rural. Education,
broadly, of all interested members of communities will be needed to empower them to
participate in the process of change, and to win the hearts and minds in the drive to
ensure sustainable natural resource management in South Africa.
Incentives for adult education to support affirmative
action as well as the capacity among families of employees to improve their quality of
life need assessment, and, where necessary, improvement.
[ Top ]
Most of the land suitable for afforestation in the eleven
countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) falls outside South Africa.
Only 0.29% of the total SADC area of 700 million hectares is covered by plantations. Of
the 2 million hectares of plantations in the SADC, 65% currently occurs in South Africa.
It is thus an option to meet future additional timber
requirements for South Africa by increasing afforestation in other SADC countries. A
strategy for the region would need to be developed if this option was to be viable and
sustainable. This would include a strategy for trade in wood and forest products.
Issues that would need to be addressed in a regional
strategy are:
- investment barriers like weak infrastructure in terms of
communications and transport;
- lack of capacity in forestry management and research;
- criteria for sustainable development;
- improving harvesting and processing capacity and quality;
- ensuring that the poorer countries obtain sufficient volumes
of timber at affordable prices and do not lose out to the wealthier countries;
- standardised grading rules to ensure quality timber is
produced and product standards are kept;
- reciprocal arrangements to ensure open access to the markets
of the region;
- joint strategies for exports to the Pacific and Indian Ocean
Rim countries.
Current SADC institutions need to be developed to address
these issues. In addition, proposals for new institutions, such as a Southern African
Timber Association for overseeing product standards, need to be evaluated and supported
where appropriate.
[ Top ]
Membership of the National Forestry Forum is to be widely
representative of all parties interested in forestry, the forest environment and forest
products.
"Forestry" is to embrace indigenous forest,
commercial forest plantations, woodlots and woodland. The Forum is to be advisory to the
Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry as well as a forum for general discussion.
Organisations are to be invited at the discretion of the Minister and are to be
represented by individuals. There will be no laid down percentage representation for any
sector and the Forum will aim at consensus rather than a vote. The Chairperson, who will
be a Ministerial appointment, will convey to the Minister, in writing, whatever range of
advice and opinion becomes evident at meetings of the Forum.
The agenda for meetings will embrace matters referred to
the Council by the Minister, by members, or by any interested party, at the Chairman's
discretion; the range of topics will be very broad.
It should be noted that it is not the intention that the
Forum should be a statutory body, and that membership will be voluntary. The Minister has
undertaken to regard any unanimous recommendation from the Forum as binding.
At its final meeting, the now defunct Forestry Council
suggested to the Minister that the forum might be made up of representatives of the
following spheres of interest:
- commercial forestry;
- research and education;
- government departments;
- rural development forestry;
- organisations concerned with environmental issues;
- the Southern African Development Community;
- organised labour;
- Provincial Parks Boards;
- Provincial governments;
- agricultural organisations.
The Forestry Forum would need to give content to its role
through convening and proceeding with its business.
[ Top ]
The issues and options faced in formulating forestry policy
clearly indicate a need for a framework for action. A model for such a framework exists in
the series of National Forestry Action Plans recognised by international bodies and
developed by most countries in the world. National Forestry Action Plans were developed to
respond more effectively to the accelerating loss of forests. They are an action programme
to identify the priority problems and corresponding proposals for action.
This plan would not be a blueprint, but rather:
- a set of directions given to the institutions of the new
forest policy, based upon adequate analysis of the issues and concerns relevant to the
policy;
- reflect the common vision developed through the
participation of government with the various affected parties;
- show how the objectives of the forest policy are intended to
be met;
- give guidance to the companies, farmers, and communities
engaged in forestry;
- clarify government arrangements to give effect to policy.
An alternative model is a process in which issues are
identified by stakeholders and forwarded to a Forestry Forum. The Forestry Forum would
investigate the issues by contracting research and propose options for handling the issues
to the Minister whose ministry would then develop the action plans.
[ Top ]
The purpose of this document is to solicit public opinion.
Policy changes can affect hundreds, if not thousands of people. In the spirit of the
Reconstruction and Development Programme, all those interested and affected by forest
policy need to contribute to the formulation of the new policy.
Comments on the issues, policy options, and strategies
highlighted in this document are invited from all interested parties. This comment should,
among other things, emphasise what policy options government should choose to pursue, and
how policy should be implemented.
Comment is not needed on the background information, unless
it will add new information to support a case for new policy options, or support arguments
for or against options identified in this document.
The Department will receive and digest comment on policy
for the period of eight weeks to the end of August 1995. After this, the drafting of a
White Paper will begin, with the aim of tabling it in Parliament by the middle of October.
This White Paper will be a statement of government policy
at the time. It will state government's vision and aims for the forest sector, and will
indicate how these are to be attained.
The White Paper will determine and guide what government
bodies and others will do to turn policy into reality. Certainly, there will be further
debate as the implications of the policy become clear, and as experience, evaluation of
the consequences of the policy, and research teach us about better options. The views
which arise will then influence the improvement of the forest policy in future.
Please send all comments to:
Comment may also be e-mailed to: submit@polity.org.za
Closing date: 31 August 1995
This document is a discussion document only. Its objective
is to stimulate debate and discussion. The document does not attempt to set out a
preferred policy standpoint. No statement in this document should be construed as official
Government policy.
4. Appendix - the State of Forestry in
South Africa Today
This section provides background information to the
policy debate and a useful resource on forestry and the forestry industry in South Africa.
[ Top ]
4.1.1 Introduction: who are the stakeholders?
All South Africans have a stake in forestry in South
Africa. We all benefit, or should benefit, from products such as construction timber,
paper, mining timber, fuelwood and other products that satisfy our material needs. We all
benefit from the environmental values of our forests and woodlands. Shareholders of the
400 or more companies which have invested in forestry are also important stakeholders. But
the people mostinvolved in forestry are rural people and the workers in the forest
industry.
4.1.2 The need for rural development
Rural people constitute 40% (about 16 million) of the total
population of South Africans, and they are predominantly women and children. Average
income earned by rural households is much less than that earned by urban households. In
1988/9, 51% of African households earned an average monthly income of less than R400.
Rural unemployment in the Eastern Cape is 56.3% and in the
Northern Transvaal is 50.7% - compared with 16.4% in Gauteng and 4.64% in the Western
Cape. More than 80% of rural people in the Eastern Cape, 61.7% in the Northern Transvaal
and 69.4% in KwaZulu/Natal have no tap water in or near their homes. A lack of electricity
affects 92.9% of rural residents in the Eastern Cape, 90.7% in the Northwest, 86.7% in
Northern Transvaal and 77.1% in the Free State. There are disproportionately high levels
of unemployment for women, particularly in rural areas.
Women are especially important among our rural people.
Women between the ages of 16 and 65 outnumber men by 40%. They are often the effective
heads of households in the countryside, and bear the major burden for maintaining the
wellbeing of those households.
Rural areas have a history of restricted resources, forced
settlement, lack of democratic control of development, poor education and in white farming
areas and forestry plantations, inadequate protection of labour rights. These are the
issues to be addressed through rural development in the RDP. Forestry has an important
contribution to make to integrated rural development.
4.1.3 Rural energy
One-third of households in South Africa are estimated to
rely on fuelwood. Women in these households often walk great distances to fetch firewood.
Average time spent this way is estimated conservatively at five hours per household per
week. Use of this kind is estimated at about 11 million tons of wood per year, of which
about 6.6 million tons is estimated to be harvested from natural woodlands. The amount of
wood consumed for household needs equates nearly to that used in the formal forestry
industry, which provides sales of R8 billion per year.
The motivation for social forestry begins with the
perceived need to supply energy for the great majority of rural households who rely on
wood or other biomass for this purpose. But wood is just one of the forms of energy
available, and many households have already substituted wood with other fuels, such as
paraffin. This is especially so in districts where wood is scarce and expensive. Many
forms of renewable energy are available, at falling prices. Wood fires usually pollute the
home, and cause much disease. Households will therefore make choices on economics and
preference, and wood need not necessarily be supplied everywhere. Woodlots are offered as
the solution for social forestry, but wood from woodlots have been shown to become more
valuable for other purposes than fuelwood and the intended beneficiaries find they cannot
afford it. Woodlot programmes sometimes cause more problems than they solve.
However, alternatives to woodfuel are not readily nor soon
available. Rural households spend excessive time on collecting wood because there is no
way of earning money to buy fuel. The current, massive household electrification programme
will first deliver to urban communities, and will require decades to reach the majority of
families in the countryside. In the mean time, sources of wood are being depleted.
Social forestry and wood energy programmes need to be
designed within the larger framework of district-level plans for energy supply. Ways of
reducing demand for wood, by the marketing of the many effective designs of stove
available, must also enter the equation - these pay the extra dividend of improving
hygiene in the home.
[ Top ]
4.1.4 Working in forestry
Employment in the forestry and wood processing
industries
The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry estimates
formal employment in forestry at about 141,000 people, of whom nearly 80% are in the
Eastern Transvaal and KwaZulu/Natal. This estimate may be too high - other statistics
suggest about 80,000 forestry workers. An estimated 121,000 people are employed in those
industries which use wood as a primary input. Therefore, between 200,000 and 260,000
people probably find direct employment in the forests and the processing industries.
About 40% of these are employed in sawmilling, 30% in pulp
and paper manufacturing, and the balance in secondary processing. In addition there are
those employed by the smaller primary converters such as in making poles, matches, and
charcoal.
Labour intensity varies greatly in the processing sectors.
Sawmilling employs about one worker for every 80 cubic metres processed; in pulp and
paper, the ratio is one worker for every 250 cubic metres.
These figures are uncertain, but the forestry and forest
products industry is a major employer and of great importance in the South African labour
market.
Current conditions in forestry - wages, employment
conditions and bargaining procedures
Average wage rates for the large companies range from R570
to R2,400 per month. Unskilled workers in these firms earn R570-R600 per month,
semi-skilled earn R880-R920, and skilled R2,200-R2,400. Only 5% of workers fall into the
skilled category.
No comprehensive figures are available for employees of
small growers and forestry contractors.
Trade union members report that in some areas, wages are as
low as R200 per month. On average, the small employers probably pay 50% to 70% of the
wages paid by the large companies. This would mean that for the unskilled jobs, the
average pay is about R300 to R400 per month. The South African Agriculture, Plantation and
Allied Workers' Union (SAAPAWU) argues that no employee in the sector should earn less
than R750 per month before benefits, to ensure a reasonable minimum standard of living.
In addition to the cash wage, most of the large companies
also provide a range of benefits including pensions, housing, subsidised meals, medical
facilities and schooling. The Forest Owners Association estimates the costs to the
employers of providing these benefits at about R250 per worker per month. Few small
employers, including sub-contractors, provide these benefits.
Other employment conditions also vary from one employer to
the next. One of these conditions is training (see section 4.5).
Occupational safety and health
Forestry is often a dangerous occupation, and, since many
tasks are performed outdoors, workers frequently experience difficult working conditions.
Management of safety and working environments is a special need.
All forestry companies, of necessity, comply with the
Occupational Safety and Health Act, and all major companies participate in the NOSA
programme. Safety standards have steadily improved in many companies, including Safcol.
Nevertheless, workers in the industry express
ongoing concern regarding health and safety provisions.
Continuous improvement is needed; there is a long way to go in ensuring uniform minimum
health and safety standards in the forests and the wood processing industries.
Trade union rights
There is also an uneven application of trade union rights.
Some employers have recognised trade unions for many years, and others since legislation
has included forest workers. Among some, however, there is still a reluctance to accept
trade unions' and other worker rights.
Forestry contractors
There has been a strong trend in recent years towards using
contractors in forestry operations. This includes transport, planting and harvesting,
although each company differs in the work that it is subcontracting. About 15,000 people
are estimated to be employed by forestry contractors.
Problems have been experienced by both forestry companies
and workers as a result of this trend including:
- poor quality of work by contractors, related to being
under-equipped, lacking experience, and employing workers without the necessary skills
- failure to adhere to accepted operating standards;
- payment of unacceptably low wages;
- insecurity among workers employed by contractors;
- social problems in some of the forest villages.
Measures taken to address these problems include:
- establishment of the South African Forestry Contractors
Association (SAFCA), whose 194 members include most main contractors; SAFCA operates a
grading system, reflecting the quality of work of each of its members, negotiates group
rates on insurance and facilitates access to training services;
- companies are working at improving the standard of
contractor work by selecting contractors according to quality of work, requiring minimum
wages and employment conditions, and pressing for improved skills and equipment.
[ Top ]
The major companies have developed comprehensive policies
for managing their relationships with contractors.
Contractors tend to employ labour-intensive methods. The
trend for contracting has probably helped to maintain employment levels in the industry.
Forestry contracting offers an important avenue for
creation of new black enterprises in rural areas, as is already happening. The promotion
of small business is an important part of South Africa's national economic strategy. On
the other hand, however, satisfactory working conditions and human resource management
must be achieved if these businesses are to be sustainable.
4.1.5 Land claims in forestry areas
Claims for restitution by the victims of forced removal
(e.g. in the Tsitsikamma, or in the St Lucia area) are to be treated through the
mechanisms of the Restitution of |
