| Summary: | 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.
|
|---|
