FORESTRY AND
P0VERTY ALLEVIATION, A POLICY PERSPECTIVE
PRESENTATION
TO THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON WATER AFFAIRS AND FORESTRY
(NOTING: The Cabinet meeting of
1. INTRODUCTION
The Forestry programme
promotes the sustainable use and protection of plantation, woodlands and indigenous forests to achieve social and
economic benefits and to promote rural development, through policy development,
regulation, facilitation and monitoring and evaluation. The forestry sector has
significant potential for rural development and job creation in underdeveloped
areas. The eradication of poverty and underdevelopment
is the greatest challenge facing the world today,
Poverty is generally characterized
by the inability of individuals, households, or entire communities, to command
sufficient resources to satisfy their basic needs. The definition of poverty
has been the subject of debate amongst policy analysts, herewith follows some
of the ways in which poverty is
conceptualized, for example:
We should note that a major threat
to poverty reduction is the spread of HIV/AIDS. The Food and Agriculture Organization
has estimated that by 2020
Considering the purpose of this presentation the following will be addressed:
2.
The forest resources of
The state
through DWAF will in future no longer directly manage plantations, this role is
being transferred to the private sector, to this effect
National
forest laws have the following elements; to promote:
Elements referred to above are covered by the
following forest laws, the:
National Forest
Act no 84 of 1998;
National
Veld and
National
Veld and
Forestry
Laws Amendment Act no 35 of 2005
In addition
to the laws and policy framework referred to above forest management in
3.
FORESTS AND POVERTY ALLEVIATION
Forests, woodlands and other
natural resources are crucial to the livelihoods of millions of poor people in
Answers to these questions are
essential to design effective policies and projects to alleviate poverty, and
thereby contribute to meeting the challenge of halving poverty reduction by
2014. In order for Forestry to be
relevant in the current developmental agenda, it needs to make a substantive
contribution to poverty reduction in
Herewith
follows forestry means of intervention that contribute to poverty alleviation:
3.1 Subsistence and informal trade
The very poorest have to rely on the
collection of a wide range of items growing in the wild to sustain and
supplement their livelihoods.
(i)
the supply of basic needs;
(ii)
a saving of cash resources; and
(iii)
A buffer or safety-net during times of misfortune.
3.2 The supply of basic needs
This is a function where forest resources do make a contribution
towards poverty alleviation. Firewood, building poles, medicinal plants, and
edible fruits are all critical to the livelihood of the rural poor. For
instance, it is estimated that over 80 percent of rural households use fuelwood
as their primary source of energy.
3.3 Cash saving
The saving of scarce cash resources
is an important role played by forest
resources. Being able to collect such resources to meet daily needs for energy,
shelter, medicine and food allows scarce cash resources to be used to secure
other household needs, as well as helping to accumulate the necessary asset
base for a more secure livelihood. This includes the education of children,
investment in agricultural tools, and capital for income generation activities.
3.4 The safety-net function of forest goods
This refers to the role of assisting households cope in times of
adversity. During such times many rural households turn to forest resources for
subsistence use or as a means to
generate income. Because the safety-net function of forest resources is
temporarily variable, there is little information regarding its prevalence
throughout rural communities.
4. FORESTS AND DEVELOPMENT
4.1 The commercial forest sector
The
commercial forest sector offers significant business opportunities for
small-scale entrepreneurs, particularly for small growers, contractors and saw
millers. It is reported that there is more than 30 000 small growers, 240 small
saw millers and 300 independent contractors, of which half are black emerging
contractors. In addition to this the pulp and paper industry has created more
than 10 000 income opportunities for waste paper vendors.
4.2
Economic contribution of forests
The forestry industry is of
considerable importance to the national economy, and to large numbers of poor
people living in remote rural areas. Forest management generates 170,000 jobs (this range from
permanent, contract and informal workers). The majority of the jobs created are
low skilled based and concentrated in rural areas where there is high unemployment.
In comparison the forest sector contributes about 1,1% to the total Gross
Domestic Product of the Republic of South Africa and 1,4% to the total formal
employment; this is comparable to other large sectors of the economy1.
(1. Sub-sectors: plantation forestry,
sawmilling, pulp and paper, treated poles, charcoal, & firewood)
4.3
Non-Timber Forest Products
Income
from the trade in forest goods constitutes a significant business opportunity
for many small-scale entrepreneurs. There is widespread trade in forest goods
both within rural communities and in external markets. Rural livelihoods are
characterized as being diverse and opportunistic.
Therefore, for any single forest
product enterprise, be it marula beer sellers, woodcarvers, timber
small-growers, medicinal plant collectors or fuelwood vendors, a large number
of people earn relatively small amounts of income but it is still important as
it can be used to settle debts or make payments that do not occur frequently,
such as school fees, the purchase of agricultural implements, or household
improvements
4.4 Households and
livelihoods
The rural
poor rely on forests for important subsistence goods, such as fuelwood,
medicines, wood for construction and household items such as brooms, spoons,
Furniture as well as edible leaves, roots, fruits and medicines. Goods, such
as fuelwood, medicines, wood for construction and household items such as brooms
and cooking utensils, and medicines are also sold at markets, along with crafts
and timber products, providing families with extra income and improving food
security. Modest in scale, such forestry activities nonetheless make a real
difference to poor people
4.5 Forest enterprise development
The benefits of forest products are
not only restricted to household use and the substitution of cash items with
“free” forest goods. Forest products are also traded extensively and contribute
to rural household incomes. For instance the commercial forest sector offers
significant business opportunities for small-scale entrepreneurs, particularly
for small growers, contractors and saw-millers.
Additionally, other forest
operations like charcoal production, honey production and nurseries can be a
source of much-needed employment, raising incomes and so indirectly
strengthening food security
5.
POLICY PERSPECTIVES
Policy measures can also help boost
the contribution of Forest resources to reducing poverty. The department will
continue to promote forest policies that are people centred to ensure that poor
people in forest areas must have a much greater say in decisions regarding the
use of forest resources. In areas where forests are central to livelihoods, the
main objective of forest management should be meeting their needs in a
sustainable way.
It is
critical that forest social and economic development opportunities are
‘included’ in Provincial Growth and Development Plans as well as municipal
Integrated Development Plans. Forest-based poverty alleviation programmes
should not be carried out in isolation, but must be part of an overall Rural
Development Strategy of the National Government.
5.
CONCLUSION
An overriding Forestry Sector
Strategy, the Charter and the National Forestry Programme as well as a guiding
document for Local Economic
Development are being developed to help
set the priority work programmes for social and economic development through
sustainable management of forests.
The
Portfolio Committee could further note the work of Working for Water and
Working on Fire forestry related programmes that considerably contribute to
poverty eradication within the Expanded Public Works Framework.
In conclusion, Forestry will
contribute to poverty eradication within government’s larger agenda by ensuring
that the following are implemented:
a.
State
forest transfers and forestry-related
land reform
b.
Broad-based
Black Economic Empowerment in the Forest Sector
c.
Community
Forest Management (woodlands, small indigenous forests and woodlots)
d.
Forest
Products Innovation
e.
Management
of Ecological Services (climate change, soil & water conservation) and providing
information on the ecosystem services value attached to South Africa’s forests,
including the fraction of the benefits captured exclusively or primarily by
rural communities.
f.
Working
with other government departments to
encourage multipurpose land use in forests and woodlands, on State, private and
communal lands, so that benefits and opportunities from the full range of
resources are optimized from any piece of land.
g.
Strengthening
and developing initiatives on improving access rights for
rural communities with a concerted strategy to improve opportunities for the
poorest to benefit from both private and state forest resources.
h.
A
review of the legal provisions regulating the subsistence harvesting of forest
produce is required to make legal use possible and accessible to the rural
poor.
i.
Developing
and clarifying the roles and responsibilities of all tiers of
government, and local structures, particularly traditional authorities, in
protecting and regulating sustainable use of forest resources.
j.
A
long-term fuelwood strategy, which takes into account the predicted 2,5 million
rural households remaining without electrical supply for the next twenty years,
needs to be developed and implemented.
k.
National
statistics are required to record the significance of subsistence use of forest
produce and services by the rural (and urban) poor. (studies commissioned in
Gauteng and Bushbuckridge)
l.
Acknowledging
the role of women in forest development through proactive gender policies in all DWAF strategic
initiatives.
m.
Research
on the appropriate yields that can be harvested without damaging natural
population levels for a number of important plant species is urgently required.
n.
Support
needs to be provided to the small-scale tree growers and sawmilling industry in
securing log supplies and a strategy developed for the saw timber segment of
the sector generally, in order to meet the rising and projected increase in
demand.
o.
Supporting
charcoal joint ventures, for example the remaining DWAF plantations in the
Eastern Cape and Limpopo contain extensive areas of hardwood suitable for charcoal
manufacture.