Abstract
M.Ed.
Over a period of approximately one hundred years, the South African forestry
industry has grown into one of great importance to the national economy with
significant international interests. In order to produce a balance of economic
efficiency, ecological sustainability and social empowerment to meet the
needs of present and future generations, forest resources and associated
lands need to be managed effectively.
This research aims to investigate and identify trends in the development of
sustainable forest management in the South African forest industry. A
significant development in recent years has been the emergence of
certification. This is intended to ensure sustainable forest management.
Certification entails independent and ongoing assessment (auditing) of an
organisation's forest management practices, to measure compliance against a
range of nationally and internationally recognised social, economic and
ecological standards
Forestry workers remain largely uneducated and poorly paid and there has
been a trend to employ contract labour over the past few years. This research
aims to determine the level of environmental literacy of forest workers and to
discover to what extent the workers are aware of the problems facing forestry.
A combined qualitative and quantitative approach was adopted. The
researcher engaged in qualitative observations and open-ended interviews
with a number of informants. A quantitative questionnaire was distributed to a
sample of forestry workers drawn from three groups. These comprised
workers from Komatiland Forestry, Global Forest Products and a group of
small independent contractors and sub-contractors. A total of 141
questionnaires were completed and analysed. The results indicated that while
forestry practices were generally understood, and correct procedures were
followed, a deeper understanding of environmental matters was superficial.
The living standards of most of the respondents were found to be poor. This
could negatively effect the implementation of sustainable forest development.
This research combined a quantitative analysis of the responses to the
questionnaire with a qualitative analysis of focused interviews and discussions
with various stakeholders in the forestry industry. This provided a broader
understanding of the trends in the industry.
The forestry industry was found to be in a state of flux. Of the two large
companies involved in the research, Global Forest Products had only recently
been bought out from Mondi and Komatiland, a state owned forestry company
was facing an uncertain future while undergoing the privatisation process.
Conditions concerning the workers were generally found to be poor. This was
largely due to the companies absolving themselves of social responsibilities.
In order to produce a balance of economic efficiency, environmental
sustainability and social empowerment a new vision for the forestry industry is
needed. This requires the combined efforts of the government, the corporate
sector as well as other role players such as labour unions, non-governmental
institutions and the general public.