Plantations, power and people : two case studies of restructuring South Africa's forestry sector

This PhD thesis introduces an arena in which government policy, private-sector compliance and community actions interact. Based on South Africa's forestry sector and on two forestry companies - Singisi Forest Products (SFP) in the Eastern Cape Province and Siyaqhubeka Forests (SQF) in KwaZulu-Natal Province - as examples, the author asks whether it is possible to fulfil disparate actors' objectives by negotiating the government's withdrawal from the forestry sector. She applies concepts of power and empowerment, co-management, and policy implementation as triple lenses that capture contemporary policy dynamics in South Africa. [ASC Leiden abstract