212 The Pterocarpus angolensis DC. based woodcraft industry in the Bushbuckridge districtThis system relies heavily on law enforcement by rangers and tribal
authorities. To date little attempt has been made to include woodworkers in
resource management. Producers found with illegal wood (usually in periodic
home raids) are apprehended and fined. Consequently, most craftsmen, while
recognising the need for protection of the resource, do not support the current
system (Shackleton 1993). Harassment, alleged corruption (rangers taking wood
or issuing incorrect receipts) and a lack of credit to purchase wood were provided
as further reasons for carvers’ discontent. However, craftsmen expressed concern
about the decline in the resource base and the increased appropriation of wood
by external groups. Indeed, there is growing anecdotal evidence to suggest that
many of the controls have broken down (Macleod 1999; Shabangu personal
communication), mainly a result of institutional confusion and a lack of clarity
regarding which authorities at both provincial and local level (i.e., local
government or chiefs) are responsible for this function, as well as budgetary
and capacity constraints. Recent efforts by Limpopo Province, however, are
attempting to address this by supporting traditional leaders in reasserting their
customary control over the natural resource base. A Deforestation Liaison
Committee has recently been formed for Bushbuckridge.Ecological characteristics of P. angolensis and impacts of harvesting
P. angolensis has few characteristics that favour its sustainable use as a carving
wood. Although a fairly ubiquitous species occurring throughout southern and
eastern Africa, its geographic distribution in South Africa is narrow and limited
to parts of Limpopo Province, Mpumalanga and northern KwaZulu-Natal. It
demonstrates poor sprouting ability (Shackleton 1997; Krynauw 1999), and
most trees die after felling. Recruitment is episodic as illustrated by size class
profiles (Shackleton, C.M. 1993; Clarke 1997). Tree density is low at about 2 to
3 adults per hectare (Desmet et al. 1996), although the total number of stems
(seedlings and saplings) can be as high as 26 to 59 per hectare (Krynauw 1999).
Little is known about its growth rate. P. angolensis has a peculiar trait of
remaining as a suffrutex (small sapling) for a number of years, possibly up to
24 years (Vermeulen 1990). The cues that stimulate it to enter a phase of
rapid vertical growth are unknown, but have been speculated as fire, browsing,
a year of high rainfall or release from competition. Data collected by Shackleton
(1997) over a period of seven years for 99 trees estimated that the time to
reach a minimum harvestable size of 84 cm circumference (Desmet et al.
1996) was approximately 82 years.^6 The model derived by Desmet et al. (1996)
between diameter and absolute mean annual increment based on one year’s
growth data resulted in an estimate of approximately 93 years. Neither of
these includes time in the suffrutex stage. The length of time to reproductive
age is also long. Shackleton (1997) found the smallest size of fruiting for P.
angolensis was 25 cm circumference (about 36 years old), but only a few trees
of this size bore fruit. Half of all trees 60 cm circumference possessed fruit
(about 59 years old), and all trees 80 cm circumference (approximately 78
years old) or greater had fruit. Fruiting is regular and pollination and seed
dispersal is by wind.12SAwoodcarving.p65 212 22/12/2004, 11:05