Sheona E. Shackleton and Charlie M. Shackleton 213The rate of harvesting of P. angolensis in 1994 was estimated as 5.6% of
harvestable individuals per year (Desmet et al. 1996). A simple Leslie matrix
model indicated that this was unsustainable over the long-term. Clarke (1997)
compared the demand data of Shackleton, S.E. (1993) with supply data (density
and size-class profiles) for several species and similarly concluded that the
current rate of demand is unsustainable. Certainly, wood scarcity has become
a major concern for producers and has been the most significant change
observed in the local industry. None of the harvesting sites mentioned in 1993
were still in use, and craftspeople were moving further north as well as looking
to populations outside the study area for wood (Shabangu personal
communication). However, recruitment appears adequate (Desmet et al. 1996),
with producers commenting on the large number of young individuals that
exist in selected areas. In particular, Bushbuckridge Nature Reserve has large
dense stands of immature trees (Shackleton 1997; Shabangu personal
communication), although most mature trees have been illegally removed
(Macleod 1999). There is evidence that pressure on young trees is increasing
as mature trees become scarcer, with some carvers harvesting small diameter
trees for walking sticks.Policy and management issues
Newton (1998) has argued that at the national level the ‘confusing and complex
legislative situation in South Africa represents one of the greatest obstacles in
the way of socially and environmentally appropriate development of the
woodcarving industry’. Legislation presently under development should take
cognisance of the socio-economic realities on the ground, so that disparaging
confrontation between rural communities and conservation authorities can
be avoided. Law enforcement needs to be downplayed in favour of greater
participation of woodworkers in resource management, and perhaps local
producers should be afforded some legal recognition that provides them with
preferential rights of access to wood. Controlled access to wood within
conservation areas, as well as the promotion of alternative species, would
help to reduce pressure on currently exploited populations. Uniform legislation
would contribute greatly towards an improvement in implementation and
monitoring (Newton 1998).
At present there is no ecological management of P. angolensis outside of
conservation areas. A management plan for this species in a communal area
was drawn up by the Mpumalanga Parks Board, but not implemented (Krynauw
1999) owing to a lack of resources and poor organisational capacity in the
local community. The extensive and intensive management of tree populations
within communal lands is a sphere that requires urgent attention if the local
extinction of key species is to be prevented. Some work in this regard has
been done for timber and carving species in east Africa (Holmes 1995), and
Vermeulen (1990) makes some suggestions for the management of natural
populations of P. angolensis.12SAwoodcarving.p65 213 22/12/2004, 11:05