Voices of the Wilderness

This brings us to the question of whether South Africa can afford the luxury of setting aside wilderness areas. If the present rate of population growth is not checked we shall in thirty years have twice as many mouths to feed as we have today. We shall need all the ground we can get to raise crops and to support our livestock. How can we afford to tie up land for an ideal that precludes its use for food production? The answer lies in the fact that we do have land that cannot be used to grow food crops, to raise cattle or even to grow timber, because it is far too valuable as the source of streams or rivers to permit any form of use that may detract from the optimum yield of clear siltfree water.

It has been frequently stated that the growth of the South African economy will be limited or even halted by the scarcity of water at about the end of the present century, and as yet we have no means of producing water economically other than by good management of our natural catchments. 5 Many of our mountain catchment areas constitute sensitive environments that require sympathetic management as they are very susceptible to wear and trampling by over use. In some of these environments even moderate grazing by domestic cattle may create excessive erosion and large numbers of visitors seeking outdoor recreation may cause similar problems. Such areas can be best conserved and protected by dedicating them as wilderness areas.

The Department of Forestry is not only concerned with the conservation of indigenous and the establishment of artificial forests, it is also the agency charged with the control of water catchment areas. Of the 1 620 000 hectares of state land managed by this department about 1 120 000 hectares are classified as mountain catchment areas to be managed with the primary objective of conserving the country's water resources, and it is in such areas that we can still find the nearest approach to untouched wilderness.

These mountainous areas include some of South Africa's most spectacular scenery, and their use for extensive outdoor recreation by responsible people will not conflict with the primary object of their conservation as water catchments to ensure the optimum sustained yield of clear water. To cater to the demands of a mixed public, various means of access into the mountain regions will be called for. In certain less sensitive areas intensive developments such as scenic drives and possibly even aerial cableways will not be out of place, whereas other areas provide a unique opportunity for their permanent entrenchment as wilderness.

Future generations may well regard the amendment of the Forest Act of 1971 as one of the most significant steps taken by Parliament in that year.

This amendment empowers the Minister of Forestry to set aside any state forest or any portion of it as a wilderness area for the preservation of forests and natural scenery, and entrenches such areas against encroachment to the extent that any rights over them, for instance for the construction of roads or erection of power lines, may be granted only with the concurrence of both houses of Parliament. The amendment recognizes that maintenance of wilderness areas is of great cultural and scientific value by stipulating that the Minister shall obtain the recommendation of the National Monuments Coun150