| Summary: | A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, School of Geograpgy, Archaelogy and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 29 May 2018. === This research report considers deforestation of Tholeni Forest in the context of rural poverty and underdevelopment. According to the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) 2007, close to 13 million hectares of forests are deforested each year. This has led to the reduced economic viability of forests and lower investment in the management of forests as a whole. Most of the international literature, however, focusses on indigenous forest resources, with little focus on the economic and environmental sustainability of former plantation forests beyond the assumption of the environmental impact of mono-culture industrial agriculture. In the Eastern Cape, Tholeni in particular, local (primarily rural) communities rely upon former industrial plantations for as part of their livelihood – including collecting firewood for fuel. Meanwhile, despite its questionable environmental benefit, the Eastern Cape provincial government has declared the forest a protected environmental resource. This creates tension between longer-term traditional ways of life and increasingly urban expectations.
While such traditional rural practices may be one of a number of proximate (or immediate) causes of deforestation, this research has attempted to account for the ultimate (or distal) causes of environmental pressures in the Tholeni area. The history of rural areas such as Tholeni have shaped a major part of the way in which the environment is treated and understood in rural South Africa and for this reason underdevelopment has been the result. In doing so, this research also attempts to understand the relationship between traditional rural livelihood practices, broader social and political impacts on the area, and the possible role of environmental education in creating sustainable futures.
The research has adopted a qualitative research method, including: a literature review to describe the changing dynamics of the Tholeni area over the years; interviews with local residents to understand changing community dynamics over the years and to track the impacts of deforestation on livelihoods; focus group discussions to establish the relationship between the community and its leaders and the relationship between the two power structures that are supposed to sustain and manage natural resources and participant observation undertaken on environmental education sessions with local political leaders and communities.
The study has revealed that the possibilities for sustainable futures in areas like Tholeni are hindered by factors such as history, current state of social and environmental indicators which are affecting many South African rural communities. === LG2018
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