Private sector community forestry partnerships in the Eastern Cape – Umzimkulu case study

Abstract

This Umzimkulu case study forms part of a broader investigation into community – private sector forestry partnerships in the Eastern Cape. This provincial study in turn, contributes to one of the three major research themes of a wider national research project referred to as ‘Instruments for Sustainable Private Sector Forestry in South Africa.’ This national investigation is co-ordinated by the CSIR, in collaboration with DFID and IIED. Its aim is to understand how the private sector is involved in forestry in South Africa, how it is changing and how it can help to achieve sustainable forest management in the future. The three themes include: redistribution of forest assets, impacts of certification, and company community forestry partnerships. Partnerships between communities, government and forestry companies have existed in South Africa in various forms, the most visible of which to date have been the commercially-focused outgrower schemes operating in KwaZulu-Natal, followed more recently by state-sponsored efforts towards building joint forest management relationships around managing state forest resources in the Eastern Cape and elsewhere. Private companies have recently started to explore new forms of partnerships in collaboration with communities. The State is also exploring a new brokerage role in facilitating partnerships between communities and other actors in developing small-scale enterprises Thinking around different types of partnerships has been recently spurred to some extent by potential opportunities afforded through the state forest restructuring process. The broad objectives of new individual partnerships may vary, and the roles that participant actors assume towards achieving different sets of objectives within partnership relations need to be understood. The objective of the research into partnerships in the Eastern Cape is to understand key issues in the evolution of new forms of partnership between private companies and communities in forest management, as well as their operation in the context of empowerment and redistribution processes, and the lessons that can be learned for forestry from other related sectors in South Africa. The case studies of the woodlots investigate the potential for the development of such partnerships around woodlots. In the Eastern Cape there are about 150 woodlots totalling some 12 000 ha and employing some 1300 labourers. As part of the process of restructuring state forests, DWAF is planning to transfer these woodlots to the neighbouring communities. It is hoped this will create new opportunities for community development and community-private sector partnerships