The Tokai and Cecilia state forests will be incorporated into the Peninsula National Park as part of the restructuring of the government forestry company - South African Forestry Company Limited (Safcol) - the pubic enterprises minister, Jeff Radebe, announced on Thursday.
The restructuring will also see 12 000 hectares of forestry land on the shores of lake St Lucia incorporated into the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park and more than 40 000ha of state forests elsewhere in the country turned over to agriculture and conservation uses, Radebe said in a joint statement with water affairs and forestry minister Ronnie Kasrils.
Safcol will sell or lease a total of 90 000ha of forests in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape to private companies, realising R193 million for the state.
The sale of a further 135 000ha of Safcol forests in Mpumalanga is being negotiated with three bidders, including two foreign-owned companies.
About 1 100 water affairs and forestry workers had accepted voluntary severance packages, but there would be no other job losses as a result of the restructuring agreement, Kasrils said.
About 1 500 workers have been transferred to Safcol, which will be left with about 61 000 hectares of forest, and 950 workers will remain with the department.
Safcol and South African National Parks have reached agreement in principle for the incorporation of the Tokai and Cecilia plantations on the slopes of Table Mountain into the Cape Peninsula National Park, Radebe said.
The forests will continue to operate as commercial timber plantations managed on an agency basis by Safcol, but tourism facilities will be operated by the park authorities.
"The plantations will continue to serve as important recreational areas," Radebe said.
Safcol and SA National Parks are expected to sign a final agreement concerning the two forests before the end of the year.
Forestry is to be phased out on a further 15 000ha in the Boland and some 30 000ha in the southern Cape. This would open up further opportunities for agriculture, tourism and conservation after land use studies, Radebe said.
The decision to incorporate the state forests into the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park was described by Kasrils as "a tremendous bonus for the country".
The 12 000ha of forest are on the eastern and western shores of the lake, which falls within a World Heritage Site.