3. Report by Thematic Areas

An increasing number of international and regional processes are requesting forest related information from countries on structure and multiple functions of forests and the civil society is increasingly concerned about forest resources and wants to be informed on sustainability of forests and its goods and services.

The thematic assessment component of FRA 2005 basically attempts to serve the above diverse demands of international process and agencies as well as civil society at large. In doing so, it plans to assess the state of forest resources, their goods and services in a country against six of the seven Thematic Areas or Criteria (CICI, 2003) common to all the nine regional processes of Criteria and Indicators. Such thematic assessment expects to provide comprehensive inputs to develop effective national policies and strategies for sustaining forest resources and to maximize their social, economic and ecological benefits. The example also presents an optional alternative process (integrated assessment) that leads to a review of the sustainability of forest resources in a country.

This section first presents the information collection process for thematic assessment of forest resources, which is followed by an analytical phase indicating changes over time with the help of temporal trends. Finally the section presents national official opinion on the state of forest based on the past and forecasted trends

3.1 Extent of Forest resources and contribution to global carbon cycle

3.1.1 Approach and methods

The National Forest Act (Act No. 84 of 1998) mandates the government, among its other obligation in terms of the forests, to monitor and report on the state of the resources. In response to this requirement, a formalised biogeography-floristic classification of the South African indigenous forest was developed by the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). This was based on analysis of information from over 4500 plots from 427 forests around the country. The same institution was also commissioned to develop a classification system for woodlands for the purposes of policy, management and monitoring. The new woodland classification, classified woodlands to include those types ranging from wooded grasslands (between 5% and 10% canopy cover) to thickets (vegetation with over 75%) canopy cover but which do not meet the other criteria required to be defined as natural forests. The classification derived for woodlands is based upon the dominant structural features of the vegetation, and on the functional characteristics, i.e. the prevailing adaptation among the plants to their environment, as well as the dominant family or genus of trees in the vegetation.

3.1.2 Relevant Variables

National variables

Extent of forest by forest type

Regional variables

Biomass

3.1.3 Sources and Source data

National variable	Source	Reliability	Year
Area Indigenous forests	National mapping, 2000. Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. Pretoria	Reliable	2000
Forest types	Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, 2002 Classification System for South African Indigenous Forests	Reliable	2002
Woodlands types	Unpublished “state of the forest” report	Reliable	2003
Area of woodlands	Le Roux P.J. 1979: Supply of fuelwood for rural population in South Africa: Paper presented at seventh meeting of the SARCCUS Standing Committee for Forestry	Not reliable
Area of plantation	Commercial Round wood timber Statistics. 2000/01 Department of Water Affairs and Forestry	Reliable	1990, 2000
Regional Variable
Biomass

3.1.4 Additional Data

Table: Extent of natural and woodlands forest by type (2000)

Indigenous Forest type	Area (ha)	Actual Woodland classes	Area (ha)
Southern Afrotemperate	80,542	High-altitude Acacia	10,234,306
Northern Afro temperate	14,635	Low-altitude Acacia	2,351,012
Northern Mistbelt	65,240	Kuruman	752,674
Southern Misbelt	114,520	Ghaap Plateau	2,163,103
Scarp	177,237	Southern Renosterveld	18,056
Northern Coastal	51,330	Waterberg	1,224,270
Southern Coastal	15,000	Low-altitude Combretum	7,929,347
Lowveld riverine	4,387	Soutpansberg	429,213
Swamp	4,843	Spekboom	801,883
Mangove	673	Northern Succulent	521,366
Licuati sand forest	6,000	Southern succulent	552,637
Total	534,407	Mopane	2,324,449
		Total	29,302,316

Table: Plantations area by species

Type of Species	1985	1990	1995
Softwood species	670,356	671,562	705,227
Eucalyptus species	401,912	538,485	526,248
Wattle species	126,642	115,198	107,944
Other species	8,678	7,991	12,341
Total	1,207,588	1,333,236	1,351,760

Table: Total Forest Area by forest types in South Africa

Forest Type	1990	1995	2000	%
Forest	513,693.97	524,045.87	534,407	0.0193881
Woodlands	31,609,880.65	30,456,095.30	29,302,316	-0.0393750
Plantations	1,200,000.00	1,333,236.00	1,350,000	0.0407407

3.1.5 Temporal Changes in extent of forests

Fig. 1: Temporal changes in plantation and woodlands area from 1986 to 2000

3.1.6 Assessment of State of Forest and their good and services

Comparison between global trends and national trends in terms of forest cover change indicates that forest cover has not changed very much over the past 10 years. For example, indigenous forest area showed an annual increase of about 1.9%, woodlands a decline of 3.9% and plantations about 4%. The increase in area of indigenous forest can be attributed to the fact that area less than 10 hectares are now being accounted for in the National Forest Inventory whilst the decrease in the area under woodlands are due to degradation and conversions into other land use.

3.1.7 Conclusion

The extent of woodlands has declined at an annual rate of 230,000 hectares from 1974 to 2000 suggesting total woodland cover change of almost 20% over the same period. The general trends with regards to indigenous and plantation cover has however remained stable. The slight change in the extent of forest cover in South Africa can mainly be attributed to change in the extent of woodlands

3.2 Forest ecosystem health and vitality

3.2.1 Approach and methods

Pest and disease data for plantations was obtained through questionnaires. Information on extent and condition of forest was obtained through the National Land Cover Project and the indigenous forest type classification project. Information on infestation and cost to control infestation was obtained through literature review.

3.2.2 Relevant Variables

National

1. Condition of natural/woodlands forest canopy

2. Population structure of target species

3. Extent and connectivity of natural ecosystems

4. Rehabilitation of degraded forest

5. Impacts of pests and diseases

6. Negative impacts of fire

7. Infestation by alien invader plants

8. Soil conservation

9. Pollution levels

Regional

1. Percentage of forest ecosystem with or without regeneration

2. Trends in yields of forests and agricultural produce

3. Percentage of forest area encroached by human activities

4. Percentage of forest ecosystem with or without regeneration

5. Percentage of the population employed in crop and livestock farming

3.2.3 Sources and Source data

Variable	Source	Reliability	Year
Plant invasive	Van Wilgen B.W., Richardson D.M., LE Maitre D.C., C. Marais., Magadlela D. 2001. The economic consequences of alien plant invasion: Examples of impacts and approaches to sustainable management in South Africa. Environment, Development and Sustainability 3. 145-168. Kluver Academic Publishers. Netherlands.	Reliable	2001
Cost of clearing invasive	http://fred.csir.co.za/plants/global/continen/africa/safrica/bigpic/costclear		2002
Cost of fire
Extent of forest type occurring in protection areas	Bailey, C.L., Shackleton, CM., Geldenhuys C, J., Moshe D., Fleming G., Vink E.R., Rathogwa N, R., Cawe, S.G. 1999. Guide to and summary of the meta-database pertaining to selected attributes of South African Indigenous Forest and woodlands	Reliable	1990
Extent of natural and woodlands forest by type	Von Maltitz G. et al. 2003. Classification System for South African Indigenous Forests. CSIR. Environmentek	Reliable	2002
Condition of natural/woodlands forest canopy	Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. 2003. Unpublished “state of the forest report”	Reliable	2001
Nutrient cycling
Canopy cover of forest	Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. 2003. Unpublished “state of the forest report
State of environment of south Africa	www.ngo.grida.no/soesa/issues/land/state2.htm

3.2.4 Additional Data

Table: Extent of natural and woodlands forest by type

Type Indigenous Forest31	Area in ha	Type of woodland	Area protected by State organs
Southern Afrotemperate32	80,542	High-altitude Acacia	1,205,132
Northern Afro temperate	14,635	Low-altitude Acacia	751,712
Northern Misbelt	65,240	Kuruman	9,410
Southern Misbelt	114,520	Ghaap Plateau	3,496
Scarp	177,237	Southern Renosterveld	4,582
Northern Coastal	51,330	Waterberg	267,798
Southern Coastal	15,000	Low-altitude Combretum	1,404,760
Azonal		Soutpansberg	82,996
Lowveld riverine	4,387	Spekboom	84,379
Swamp	4,843	Northern Succulent	11,652
Mangove	673	Southern succulent	39,160
Licuati sand forest	6,000	Mopane	1,121,037
Total	534,407	Total	4,986,114

Table: Area converted out of timber production by species (in ha)

SPECIES	1990	2000
Softwood	776	4,767
E. Grandis	504	800
Other Eucalypts	2,418	n/a
Wattle	922	939
Other	133	7
TOTAL	4,753	6,513

Table: Area of woodlands degraded and converted to other land use

Woodland class	Degraded	Converted woodland	Actual woodland	Total
High-altitude Acacia	1,858,908	7,554,361	10,234,306	19,647,575
Low-altitude Acacia	470,337	2,022,868	2,351,012	4,844,217
Kuruman	2,831	548,484	752,674	1,303,989
Ghaap Plateau	81,241	94,779	2,163,103	2,339,123
Southern Renosterveld	1,701	114,119	18,056	133,876
Waterberg	11,396	0	1,224,270	1,235,666
Low-altitude Combretum	1,139,426	794,869	7,929,347	9,863,642
Soutpansberg	49,657	0	429,213	478,870
Spekboom	57,331	718	801,883	859,932
Northern Succulent	202,028	567,650	521,366	1,291,044
Southern succulent	82,827	324,012	552,637	959,476
Mopane	26,887		2,324,449	2,351,336
Total	3,984,570	12,021,860	29,302,316	45,308,746

Source: DWAF 2000

Table: Summary table of the status of conditions of indigenous forest by forest group

Forest Type	Condition/Status
Western Cape Talus Forests	Most patches are protected within nature reserves
W. Cape Afrotemperate	1. Generally conserved in conjunction with fynbos.
Southern Cape Afrotemperate Forests	1. Largest portion well protected and managed within a system of ‘strict’ nature reserves and areas for sustainable exploitation.
Marekele Afrotemperate Forest	Well preserved
Northern Highveld Forests	Insufficient data to assess either the extent of use or conservation status. Most of the forest patches are within conservation areas
Drakensberg Montane Forests	Well preserved in nature reserves of Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park.
Northern KwaZulu-Natal Mistbelt Forests	Protected in a number of nature reserves found along the Low Drakensberg and in Ngome N.R.
Northern Mistbelt Forests	1. Well conserved in the Magoebaskloof under DWAF management and private ownership. 2. Threatened along the North Eastern Escarpment in previous Lebowa areas. 3. Well conserved in the Soutpansberg, excluding areas in communal land where subsistence agriculture and fire wood collection is not controlled.
Mpumalanga Mistbelt Forests	1. Occur on state land and are protected. 2.Those occurring on private land have been declared Natural Heritage Sites

Source: DWAF. 2002

Impacts of pests and diseases:

Table: Area of plantations affected by pests and diseases

	1987	1999/00	2000/01	2001/02
Insects	202	41	165	470
Diseases	200	51	202	134

Negative impacts of fire:

Table: Number and area of sites negatively affected by fire

	1986/87	1999/00	2000/01	2001/02
Number of occurrences	39	3,265	3,540	3,128
Hectares	32,037.6	2,0221	17,266	16,727

Table: Change in fire protection expenditure

	1987		2000		cost of protection
					1987	2000
Province	No of occurrences	Area in ha	No of occurrences	Area in ha	R/ha	R/ha
Western cape	5	0.16	65	1,851	0.03	94.25
Southern cape	17	178.61	147	314	3.58
Eastern Cape	13	932.02	162	3,477	63.9
KwaZulu Natal	54	7.03	1,900	3,327	0.51	133.99
Zululand	63	41	254	1,342	1.06	117.47
Central district	41	230	18	814	3.2	103.92
Mpumalanga	41	92.49	850	5,464	0.62
Limpopo	15	9.59	125	101	1.34	96.27
	249	1,490.9	3,521	16,690
Average for South Africa					4.02	108.91

Table: Fire Protection Cost: Catchments area

	1987/86		2000
Province	Area Protected (in ha)	Cost/ha	Cost/ha
Western Cape	717,859	0.3	No information
Southern Cape	548,452	2.08
Natal	202,000	0.79
Eastern Cape	38,977	2.94
Limpopo	22,009	2.64
Total	1,529,297	0.74

Infestation by alien invader plants:

Table: Infestation area and stand densities of alien plant invader species

Province	Total area in 000 ha	Area infested in 000 ha
		1986/87	2000
Western Cape	12,931	373	3,727
Eastern Cape	16,986	7	671
KZN	9,212	24	922
Mpumalanga	7,957	23	1,277
Limpopo	12,214	8	1,178
Free State	12,993		166,308
Gauteng	1,651		22
Northern Cape	36,198		405
North West	11,601		1,702

Source: Plantation, catchments and drift sand

Table: Cost per hectares of controlling invading plants

PROVINCE	Cost of control		Cost per ha
	1986	2000	1986	2000
	RM	R M	R/ha	R/ha
Western Cape	0.692	2,884	1.85	773.75
Eastern Cape	0.152	723.22	20.12	1076
KZN	0.541	765.67	22.10	830.44
Mpumalanga	0.28	477.75	12.06	373.88
Limpopo	0.059	525.58	6.75	446.03
Free State		127.03		763.85
Gauteng		57.63		2,610.75
Northern Cape		1,114.6		2,751.01
North West		297.39		446.03
Total		6,972.87		1,119.0822

Table: Cost per ha in real prices of controlling invading plants

Provinces	Cost per ha
	1986	2000
Western Cape	7.16	773.75
Eastern Cape	77.92	1,076.00
KZN	85.59	830.44
Mpumalanga	46.71	373.88
Limpopo	26.14	446.03

3.2.5 Temporal Changes in Variables

Fig.2: Comparison of number of occurrences of fire by province between 1990 and 2000

Fig.3: Comparison of cost per hectare of controlling invading plants between 1986 and 2000.

Regional:

No information available for areas of forests and other wooded lands managed for scenic and amenity purpose.

3.2.6 Assessment of forest ecosystem health and vitality

Most of the indigenous forests are well protected, except for a few forests which have been invaded by communities. Woodlands are however, still the most affected ecosystem in South Africa indicating that almost 35% of the total have been converted to other land use or degraded. The National Forest Act (NFA No.84 of 1998) recognises these negative trends and provides the Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry with powers to intervene urgently to prevent deforestation and to rehabilitate deforested areas.

Although the number of occurrences of fire in plantations has increased tremendously from 1986/87 to 2002, the actual total area affected has declined. This can be attributed to an increase in fire protection and conservation investments by the forest industry. The total land area infested by alien invasive though, has increased (by 97%) over the same period with Western Cape Province the most infested. Most plantations were severely affected by insects in 2001 whilst the rate of areas affected by diseases seems to have declined.

3.2.7 Conclusion

Frequency of fire occurrences in plantations were mostly found in the Kwa-Zulu Natal provinces followed by Mpumalanga. Although the number of occurrences was higher in Kwa-Zulu Natal, the actual area damaged was small as compared to Mpumalanga. This may be attributed to several factors, one of which is speedy reaction to fire alarm and the actual investment in forest protection and conservation. No reports on disease and insects effect on indigenous forest are available at national level, whilst there is fluctuation in the number and the area affected by insects and diseases in plantations. Invasive species seem to be a problem, affecting almost 10 million hectares of land in South Africa.

3.3 Biological diversity

3.3.1 Approach and methods

The IUCN red Data List system of categories and criteria were used for the purpose of publishing Southern African Red Data List. The system used consists of eight categories. The placement of taxan in each category was justified according to certain criteria that applied. Bailey et al, 1999, reports that the information on the protection status of the South African woodlands was compiled using the National Register of Protected Areas in South Africa (Wahl & Naudè 1996). Conservation officers in the nine provinces were consulted in the process. Where there were discrepancies, between these two sources, the data from the National Register was used. The National Register of Protected Areas forms part of the national data bank for national conservation planning in South Africa. This database is kept and maintained by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. When calculating the size of protected areas/reserves within woodlands, certain errors were encountered because the actual area of woodlands in the reserve could not always be determined. This can be attributed to the fact that it was not possible to digitise the exact boundary and locality/position of certain reserves. The ill defined boundary reserves were relatively small compared to the total area for which calculation were done, and as such were excluded. There were a total of 12 such reserves nine of which was found in the Limpopo provinces. This may have resulted in a possible underestimation of the area.

3.3.2 Relevant Variables

National

1. Implementation of forest protection plans

2. State of forest protection

3. Extent of natural and woodlands forest by forest type

4. Extent of forest type occurring in protection areas

5. Presence of specific organism as bio monitoring indicators

6. Status of forest dwelling species at risk of not maintaining viable breeding population

Regional

1. Conservation area outside protected areas

2. Areas lost annually of forest ecosystem containing endemic species

3. Resource exploitation system

4. Average number of provenance

5. Population level of key species across their range

6. Degree of management of genetic resources

3.3.3 Sources and Source data

National variable	Source	Reliability	Year
IUCN categories of woodlands	Bailey, C.L., Shackleton, CM., Geldenhuys C, J., Moshe D., Fleming G., Vink E.R., Rathogwa N, R., Cawe, S.G. 1999. Guide to and summary of the meta-database pertaining to selected attributes of South African Indigenous Forest and woodlands
Canopy cover of forest	Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. 2003. Unpublished “state of the forest report
State of environment of south Africa	www.ngo.grida.no/soesa/issues/land/state2.htm
Implementation of forest protection plans	Annual report. 1986/87. Department of Environmental affairs. Government Printer, Pretoria	Reliable
State of forest protection	ditto	Reliable
Forestry protection cost	Rusk GD, Pennefather M, Cronje CA, Meyer WK. 1996. Forestry Costs in South Africa. The Green Gold Crop Pietermaritzburg	Reliable

3.3.4 Additional Data

Table: Extent of protected indigenous forests and woodlands by type

Type Indigenous Forest33	Area in ha	Type of woodland	Area under Protection by organs of state
Southern Afrotemperate34	80,542	High-altitude Acacia	1,205,132
Northern Afro temperate	14,635	Low-altitude Acacia	751,712
Northern Misbelt	65,240	Kuruman	9,410
Southern Misbelt	114,520	Ghaap Plateau	3,496
Scarp	177,237	Southern Renosterveld	4,582
Northern Coastal	51,330	Waterberg	267,798
Southern Coastal	15,000	Low-altitude Combretum	1,404,760
Azonal		Soutpansberg	82,996
Lowveld riverine	4,387	Spekboom	84,379
Swamp	4,843	Northern Succulent	11,652
Mangove	673	Southern succulent	39,160
Licuati sand forest	6,000	Mopane	1,121,037
Total	534,407	Total	4,986,114

Implementation of forest protection plans:

Table: Area of forest by type, number of hectares per forest protection person and protection expenditure

	Area of forests		Forest protection cost
Forest type	196/87	2000	86/87	1996	% change in Cost of protection
	ha	ha	R/ha	R/ha
Indigenous forest	507,496.7	533 669	0.74	?
Woodlands	32,422,15235	29,302,316	n/a	n/a
Plantation	261,477.7	1,357,760	14.99	154.71	90%

There is no latest available data on the cost of protection and conservation for woodlands and indigenous forestry, however, the 1986/87’annual report by the Department of Environment Affairs indicates the average total cost per hectare for catchments areas as R0.74/ha. This figure also includes declared mountain catchments areas. The cost to protect and conserve plantations increased from R14.99 to R151.74 (90%), between 1987 and 1996, an increase of about 70% in the cost of protection.

Table: Number and type of reported transgressions (by category) in terms of the Environmental Conservation Act, 1982 (Act 100 0f 1982) and National Forest Act No.84 0f 1998

Reported transgression	1986/87	2000/01
	EVA 1982	NFA 1998
Unlawful lighting of fire	100	No national figures
Theft	65
Trespass	909
Beer-brewing and illegal liquor sales	27
Poaching	21
Assault	30
Unlawful grazing	1,265
Malicious damage to property	17
Littering	9
Felling of protected trees	75
Other	63
Total number of trespasses	2,581
Total number of prosecutions	1,638
Total number of convictions	1,587

Reported numbers of transgressions for recent years are collected at Forest Management Units by some regional foresters but have not yet been aggregated at national level to indicate national trends. However, an example of the type and extent of forest transgressions in South Africa was captured in the annual report of 1986/87 in compliance with the requirements of the Environmental Conservation Act (Act 100 of 1982). According to this information, a total of 1 587 transgressions were made in 1987, the highest of which was unlawful grazing. Indications are that this pattern still exists to date. The National Forest Act (NFA no84 of 1998) requires that the number and type of transgressions be reported at national level for the purpose of reporting and policy revision to address negative trends. Some measures that have been taken to address illegal transgression, uses and access are the issuing of licences and exemption for forests goods and services required for commercial and domestic purposes respectively to comply with the requirements of the Act.

Table: Conserved area and number of Red Data book taxa in South African hot-spots

Red data book taxa	Area conserved (%)	Number Extinct	Other
Wolkberg	13.3	0	32
Maputaland	10	?	?
Eastern Mountain	5.5	0	27
Pondoland	7	0	33
Albany	6.5	1	51
Succulent Karoo	2	18	978
Cape: Lowlands mountain	3	29	1,406

Table: Number of Endemic Tree Species in each Forest Group

Forest Group	Number
Southern Afrotemperate Group	20
Northern Afro temperate Group	3
Northern Mistbelt Group	12
Southern Mistbelt Group	6
Scarp Group	44
Northern Coastal Group	0
Southern Coastal Group	3
Total	88

Table: Change in status of taxa in Each Red Data List in South Africa

	1980*	1995*	2002** (taxa)
Extinct	39	56	15
Endangered	104	241	77
Vulnerable	165	422	322
Rare	521	1,322	92
Indeterminate	259	378	334
Insufficiently known	805	849	108
Total	1,893	3,268	948

Source:
* Figures from the National Environment Report.
** Figure from the Southern African Plant Red Data List (2002).

Table 15: The number of plant species for which national recovery plan is required

Category	1990	1995	200036	% Change
Number of threatened plants	2,215	3,268	3,973	44%
Number of threatened tree species	37	65	72	49%

3.3.5 Temporal changes in variables

Fig.4: Temporal changes in the number of threatened tree species from 1990 -2002

³¹ All indigenous forests are legally protected.
³² Same as above
³³ All indigenous forests are legally protected.
³⁴ Same as above
³⁵ Estimates from Le Roux (1979).
³⁶ 2002 for 2000