South Africa's growing natural resource.

A well-run and successful timber industry allows this country to maintain its native trees while reaping the benefits of the ones that it plants.

Mention South Africa's wealth of natural resources, and people automatically think of the minerals and ores hidden below the surface of the earth: gold, coal, platinum and diamonds. But take a drive through Mpumalanga or the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), and you'll pass vast plantations of timber that are the basis for a multi-billion dollar industry.

South Africa's forestry industry developed because the country has little in the way of natural indigenous timber reserves--just 1,158 square miles total. But with nearly 1,100 species of indigenous trees, South Africa is extremely rich in arboreal diversity. Europe, by comparison, has only 100 species of indigenous trees. In the late 1800s, it became obvious that South Africa's limited forests would be totally insufficient for the country's timber requirements.

To prevent the total depletion of the indigenous forests, a process of forest development ensued. This process was so successful that the indigenous forests have never been cut; the country draws on plantation forests as a source of timber, making South Africa almost totally self-sufficient for wood and wood-based products. Today, the forestry industry in South Africa plants 360,000 trees every working day, a total of 90 million trees a year.

The hardwood and softwood trees in South Africa's tree farms occupy 5,405 square miles, 1 or 2 percent of the country's total land area. The hardwood species are eucalyptus (gum) and wattle, which are used for pulp and paper; the softwood species is pine, which is used for paper, pulp, and solid wood products.

Luckily for the forest industry, the country can grow hardwoods and softwoods in equal quantities and on a relatively short rotation basis. Trees grow quickly in South Africa: Pine is ready to harvest for pulp after 14 years, compared to 50 to 100 years in the Northern Hemisphere. Eucalyptus can be felled after seven years in Northern KZN and after 11 in the cooler northern region. Because forests are grown for commerical use, trees are of more uniform quality.

One of the mast significant advantages of the South African forestry industry is that more than 75 percent of local forestry resources are managed according to standards set by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). The FSC is an international nonprofit founded in 1993 in response to public concerns about the destruction of the world's natural forests.

The FSC's mission is to support the environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable management of global forests. It promotes responsible forest management by evaluating and certifying that timber resources meet set standards. As most South African timber is FSC-certified, local timber is accepted globally by buyers who are strict about buying only FSC-accredited timber. South Africa has the world's ninth largest certified area of timber and can boast the largest area of certified exotic plantations in the world.

In fact, South Africa's timber industry is so productive that, in addition to supplying almost all the country's wood requirements, it exports a significant percentage of the industry's output as well.

The forestry industry is important beyond its value for revenue and foreign exchange. It is a vital contributor to national employment levels. By far the largest part of the industry's activities takes place in rural areas where unemployment (particularly of semi-skilled people) is concentrated. Including timber growing and wood processing, the industry directly employs an estimated 140,000 people. According to research, for every job in the industry, another four are created, resulting in a total of 560,000 additional job opportunities, or 700,000 people employed overall. If each of those employees supports four dependants (and often more), the industry can be said to be providing a livelihood for as many as 3 million people, 7.5 percent of the country's total population.

The industry's impact on poverty alleviation and rural improvement is another important aspect of this economic sector. The forestry industry shoulders the cost of providing and maintaining basic human services for its workers, services such as housing, water and electricity, medical care, educational facilities (almost 200 schools accommodating 15,000 children have been established), and offers literacy, life skills, and skills training for adults throughout the country. It also maintains and repairs government infrastructure so invaluable for the sustained management of the timber industry, such as roads and bridges.

The forestry industry also plays an important role in establishing community development and empowerment operations. Small-grower development projects are being spearheaded by the country's largest private commercial forestry operation. The Wattle Industry helps with small-grower development operations. New growers are expected to sign onto this program at a rate of 1,000 to 1,500 each year, adding nearly 39 square miles to the program. And they are guaranteed a market by the commercial forestry companies, which will buy their timber at the prevailing commercial market rate when harvested.

In addition, the forestry industry offers significant protection to the country's natural environment and resources. Only 70 percent of landholdings or estates may be planted; the unplanted land has been set aside as a nature preserve.

Certain plant and animal species endemic to forested areas are offered protection by the forestry industry. The Karkloof blue butterfly, the Treur River barb, Hewitt's ghost frog and the endangered wattled crane, blue swallow and Cape parrot enjoy refuge in forestry areas.

In addition, most of South Africa's 58 natural heritage sites are located on forested land that, while remaining with the landowner, is protected by the state. Many forest owners are now opening their land to the public, with hiking and biking trails, picnic sites, fishing rights, and even 4x4 tracks created to widen the public's use and enjoyment of commercially planted areas. Trees also have an unseen role in purifying the atmosphere of pollution and acting as natural filters for water and dam siltation.

However, it's not all plain sailing for the local forestry industry. The pace of turning land to forest has decreased in recent years due to the 1990s drought, high transportation costs (30 to 40 percent per ton of the cost of delivered timber), and especially a slowdown in the government's granting of permits for further planting. All forestation programs require permits, which are a means of protecting and conserving water resources. An average tree consumes 6.6 gallons of water daily and is one of the most beneficial crops that makes effective use of water. South Africa's plantations consume just 3 percent of the country's total water resources. Irrigation, the norm in the production of most crops, is never used in forestry. Because they are usually located on steep slopes, plantations prevent the degradation of these fragile ecosystems from overgrazing and soil erosion.

Yet the government's policy has been to hold back on new plantations. Industry organizations such as Forestry South Africa are lobbying for a clearer understanding by government of the industry's economic and social roles and what steps must be taken to support local forestry. The industry is pushing for the development of new plantations in the Eastern Cape, an area which has the least amount of water-shortage problems, has the most open land available for planting, has appropriate soils and climate, and is in need of human development and employment.

The forestry industry in KZN is well established with forestry and its products contributing to more than 12 percent of the total gross geographic product for the province; 3 percent of the province's population depends on forestry (excluding the timber processing sector). KZN has 38 percent of the country's total timber plantations; 45 percent of new foresting projects takes place in KZN. KZN produces 40 percent of the total plantation output for South Africa. Fifty-five percent of all timber used in the country is processed by KZN plants.

With the government's support, the country's timber industry can grow in strength as one of South Africa's most responsible, valuable, and viable sectors. So next time you think South Africa, think first of its forests and all that the timber does for the country, both in revenue and in the impact it has on people's lives.

Gaynor Lawson is editor of the South African publication The Quill. This article is adapted from that publication.