Source: http://paclii.org/vu/legis/num_act/fa2001139/
Timestamp: 2020-08-13 12:29:48
Document Index: 307549331

Matched Legal Cases: ['ART 3', 'ART 4', 'ART 6', 'ART 7', 'art 2', 'art 2', 'art 4', 'art 3', 'art 5', 'art 5', 'art 4', 'art 4']

Forestry Act 2001
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Commencement: 03 March 2003
Division 2 - Forests Board of Vanuatu
PART 3 - FORESTRY SECTOR PLANNING
PART 4 - AGREEMENTS
Division 1 - Agreements generally
Division 2 - Timber rights agreement
Division 3 - Timber permit
Division 4 - Forestry lease
Division 1 - Licences generally
34.	Transfer of a licence
35.	Surrender of a licence
36.	Variation of a licence
37.	Suspension and cancellation of a licence
38.	Appeal against cancellation of a licence
39.	Termination of a licence
40.	Copies of a licence
Division 2 - Timber licence
Division 3 - Mobile sawmill licence
Division 4 - Sandalwood licence
Division 5 - Special licence
Division 6 - Reviews
PART 6 - ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION
Division 1 - Conservation Areas
54.	Mandatory restrictions on logging
Division 3 - Protection from fire
PART 7 - REFORESTATION
58.	Payments in to the Forestry Project Fund
Schedule 1	Forests Board of Vanuatu
Schedule 2 Steps in negotiating and approving a Timber Rights Agreement (TRA)
Assent:	30 December 2001
Commencement:	03 March 2003
(2)	Part 2 of the Act sets out the general principles for forestry administration, and establishes the Forests Board of Vanuatu. The main task of the Forests Board is to supervise the negotiations for timber rights agreements. Its membership and method of operation are set out in the Schedule at the end of the Act.
approved negotiator means a person approved under section 18 to negotiate a timber rights agreement under Part 2.
Board means the Forests Board of Vanuatu established by subsection 6(1).
Code of Logging Practice means the Vanuatu Code of Logging Practice contained in the Forestry (Vanuatu Code of Logging Practice) Order No. 26 of 1998 as amended from time to time.
commercial forestry operations means:
(vi)	mobile sawmilling.
but it does not include the felling of trees or removal of timber or other forest products by custom owners for sale to Ni-Vanuatu in accordance with current customary usage.
Conservation Area means an area declared to be a Conservation Area under section 50.
customary land tribunal means a land tribunal within the meaning of the Customary Land Tribunal Act No. of 2001.
Director means the Director of Forests.
fell includes kill a tree by any means.
forest means any area of Vanuatu predominantly covered by trees, and includes areas planted with trees except where such trees are for agricultural purposes.
Forest Investigation Officer means a Forest Officer authorised by the Director of Forests to perform the functions and exercise the powers of a Forest Investigation Officer under this Act.
Forest Officer means an officer of the Department of Forests.
forest product means timber and any other material yielded by a forest.
forestry lease means a forestry lease granted under Division 4 of Part 4.
Forestry Sector Plan means the Forestry Sector Plan prepared under Part 3, as varied from time to time.
licence means a licence granted under Part 5.
licensee means the holder of a licence granted under Part 5.
local government council has the same meaning as in the Decentralization Act No. 1 of 1994.
local government region has the same meaning as in the Decentralization Act No. 1 of 1994.
logging means the felling of trees in the course of a commercial forestry operation.
Management Committee means the Management Committee appointed for the purposes of a timber rights agreement under section 25.
mobile sawmill means any type of sawmill or any timber-producing machine that is designed to be set up and moved from one location to another, and includes all portable or wokabout-type sawmills and any chainsaw minimills.
protected species means a species of plant prescribed as a protected species under section 53.
regulations means regulations made under this Act and includes the orders mentioned in subsection 71(2).
repealed Act means the Forestry Act [CAP 147].
sandalwood harvesting season means the period during which sandalwood trees can be legally felled for sale that starts on 1 June and ends on 31 of August each year, unless varied under subsection 47(6).
sandalwood operations means the purchasing or trading of sandalwood and the processing and exporting of sandalwood, sandalwood oil or any sandalwood product.
sandalwood trading season means the period during which sandalwood can be purchased and collected from sandalwood owners by a person under a sandalwood licence, being the period that starts on the same day as the sandalwood harvesting season, but ends 2 months after the end of that season.
sawmill includes a facility that manufactures lumber, veneer, plywood, wood-chips, pulp, paper or newsprint.
timber means any tree which has been felled or has fallen, and all wood whether sawn, split, hewn or otherwise fashioned, and includes logs.
timber permit means a timber permit issued under Division 3 of Part 4.
timber rights means the rights to fell, cut, remove, sell and dispose of growing or dead trees, whether standing or fallen, and any part of such trees, and any other vegetable growth, and includes the right to remove gravel and other roadmaking materials.
timber rights agreement means a timber rights agreement approved under Division 2 of Part 4.
tree includes a shrub, palm or bush of any kind and of any age, and any sapling, seedling or reshoot.
watercourse includes any river or stream indicated on the official topographical maps, and any watercourse designated in a timber rights agreement, timber permit, forestry lease, coupe harvesting plan prepared under the Code of Logging Practice or licence in force under this Act.
(2)	The provisions of Schedule 1 apply with respect to the membership and operation of the Board.
(iii)	the kind and level of forestry operation suitable to promote the aims set out in subsection 9(2); and
(e)	state the order of priority which the Government attaches to each kind of forestry operation, for the purpose, among other things, of the rational and effective allocation of its administrative resources in promoting the aims set out in subsection 9(2).
(3)	If a reference is made under paragraph (2)(b), the Director must either:
(a)	the Forestry Sector Plan as amended under paragraph (3)(a); or
(b)	the report of the Director under paragraph (3)(b).
(4)	However, if the Board is not satisfied of the matters in paragraphs (3)(a), (b) and (c), the Board must reject the application stating its reasons for rejection.
The Board must give the applicant written notice of the Board’s decision within 7 days after making it.
(a)	the boundaries of the land, the subject of the proposed negotiations;
(3)	For the purposes of identifying and describing the indigenous groups referred to in paragraph (2)(d), the Forest Investigation Officer must prepare the genealogies of such groups, and must record, in the case of each such group:
(2)	Where an application to negotiate made in accordance with subsection 18 (1) is rejected by the Board, the Director must refund to the applicant:
(a)	90 percent of the application fee paid in the case of a rejection under subsection 18(4); or
(b)	75 percent of the application fee paid in the case of a rejection under subsection 19(3);
Upon a declaration of the indigenous groups who are entitled to sell timber rights under paragraph 20 (4)(b) being made, the Director must:
(1)	A person who objects to the contents of a declaration made under paragraph 20(4)(b) may apply to a customary land tribunal.
(2)	An application must be made within 3 months after the notification date stated in the Director's certificate under paragraph 22(d).
(3)	An application must otherwise comply with the requirements of the Customary Land Tribunal Act No. of 2001.
(a)	the application raises a claim to ownership of land or timber rights which would conflict with the contents of the declaration made under paragraph 20(3)(b); and
(b)	that indigenous group has not been recorded under subsection 20(3);
a Forest Investigation Officer must comply with subsections 20(3) and (4) in relation to that group.
(6)	The Customary Land Tribunal Act No. of 2001 applies in relation to a decision made under this section by a customary land tribunal, including the rights of appeal provided for under that Act.
(a)	give to them a copy of the Forest Investigation Officer's report made to the Board under paragraph 20(3)(a), and any comments by the Board on that report; and
(b)	notify them of the identity of the indigenous groups entitled to sell the timber rights, and the details of those groups as recorded under subsection 20(2).
(5)	Without limiting the material, information and advice referred to in paragraph (4)(a), it must include information and advice on:
(b)	be executed, on behalf of the indigenous group entitled to sell the timber rights under the agreement, by all the members of the committee or other controlling body of the group, as recorded by the Forest Investigation Officer under paragraph 20(3)(c); and
(c)	include an endorsement by the Forest Investigation Officer that the decision to enter into the agreement was taken for each group in the manner recorded for the group under paragraph 20(3)(d); and
(b)	the guidelines, if any, issued under subsection 24(7) have been complied with or substantially complied with; and
(2)	However, if the Board is not satisfied of the matters in paragraphs (1)(a) to (e), the Board must refuse approval to the agreement, stating the reasons for the refusal.
(4)	A refusal of approval to an agreement under subsection (2) does not prevent the parties to the agreement from amending it, in which case the amended agreement must be resubmitted in accordance with subsection 26(3), and further processed in accordance with this section as if the amended agreement were an original agreement.
(6)	The Minister may, by order, prescribe the volume (not exceeding 200 cubic metres) and value of timber for the purposes of paragraph (1)(b).
(2)	A forestry lease must be in the prescribed form , and must contain such terms, conditions, provisions, restrictions and covenants as may be prescribed.
(5)	A forestry lease must be entered into in accordance with the Land Reform Act [CAP 123], and is registrable in accordance with the Land Leases Act [CAP 163].
(3)	Paragraph (2)(b) does not apply to a person nominated in a licence as an agent or sub-contractor of the licensee.
(4)	Paragraph (2)(c) does not apply to a transfer of rights or shares in a partnership or a company if:
(a)	to cause the forestry operations, the subject of the licence, to be inconsistent with the contents of the Forestry Sector Plan, as it relates to the island, or part of the island, to which the licence applies; or
the Director may, by written notice to the licensee, suspend the licencee’s operations in the disputed area, for a period not exceeding 3 months specified in the notice. If the dispute is not resolved within 3 months, the Director may, by written notice to the licensee, extend the suspension for a further period not exceeding 3 months. To avoid doubt, this subsection applies whether or not a licensee has complied with a notice of non-compliance.
(5)	Upon the suspension of a licence under paragraph (3)(a), all commercial forestry operations under the licence must immediately cease, and must not be resumed until such time, if any, as the Director certifies that the suspension is lifted.
(1)	A licensee may appeal to the Magistrates Court against the cancellation of a licence under subsection 37 (6) or (7).
(2)	An appeal must be made within 28 days after service of the notice of cancellation on the licensee, or within such further time as the Magistrates Court for any special reason allows.
(3)	The cancellation of a licence under subsection 37(6) has no effect until the final determination of the appeal, but the licence remains suspended under subsection 37(3) pending the final determination of the appeal.
(4)	The cancellation of a licence under subsection 37(7) remains in force pending the final determination of the appeal.
(5)	In this section, a reference to the final determination of the appeal is a reference to the Magistrates Court deciding the appeal, and either:
(3)	A court which convicts a person who is a licensee under this Act of an offence under subsections 69(2), (5) or (10) may, upon an application to the court by the Director, in addition order that the licence be terminated.
(4)	If a licensee, after 3 months from the date of grant of the licence, has failed to enter into a bond as required by subsection 41(1), the licence is immediately terminated.
(c)	a notice of non-compliance under subsection 37(2);
(d)	a notice to show cause under subsection 37(3);
(e)	a notice of cancellation of a licence under subsection 37(6); and
(f)	a notice of termination of a licence under subsection 39(5);
(3)	The bond must take the form of a bank guarantee or equivalent instrument in the prescribed form that is acceptable to a bank that is the holder of a licence within the meaning of the Financial Institutions Act No. 2 of 1999.
(3)	The Code of Logging Practice may contain provisions for the enforcement of its requirements, which may include penalties not exceeding VT1 million for a breach of the Code.
(1)	The approved negotiator, upon an application to negotiate being approved under subsection 19(3), must apply to the Director in the prescribed form for a licence under this section to conduct forestry operations on the land the subject of the approved negotiations.
(6)	On the advice of the Director General, the Minister may by order:
(4)	The provisions of section 41 apply to any bond prescribed under paragraph 3(c).
Division 6 - Review
(b)	take such steps for gaining comments from interested members of the public;
(b)	cause a notice of the cancellation of the declaration to be published in the Gazette.
Division 2 - Restrictions on forestry operations
Payments into the Forestry Project Fund
There is to be paid in to the Forestry Project Fund:
(e)	refunds or rebates of forest management charges under subsection 60(2);
(a)	in the case of a sandalwood licence, the sandalwood management charge imposed under the Forestry (Management and Control of Sandalwood Trade and Exports) Order No 3 of 1997; and
(3)	The Minister may by order increase or decrease the amount referred to in paragraph (1) (a) or (b).
(3)	In deciding whether special circumstances exist under paragraph (2)(a) regard must be had to the following:
(7)	In this section, “logs” and “flitches” mean any timber which has not been processed into plywood, veneer or planks or the finished products made therefrom, with the exception of:
(2)	The Director must include in an annual report prepared under section 20 of the Public Service Act No. 11 of 1998:
Collection of plant or animal species
(4)	Any person who fells or removes a tree of a protected species in contravention of subsection 53(2) is guilty of an offence punishable on conviction by a fine not exceeding VT 500,000 or imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both.
(5)	Any person who conducts logging in contravention of the mandatory restrictions on logging in subsection 54 (1) is guilty of an offence punishable on conviction by a fine not exceeding VT 500,000 or imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both.
(7)	The Director, on receipt of a payment under paragraph (6)(a), must pay the amount to the custom owners of the timber rights, provided that if the custom owners of the land concerned have themselves committed the offence in question, the Director must instead pay the amount into the Forestry Project Fund.
(10)	Any person who exports forest products in contravention of subsection 61 (1) is guilty of an offence punishable on conviction by a fine not exceeding VT 1,000,000 or imprisonment for not more than 12 months, or both.
(12)	If a person to whom subsection 69(1) applies collects animal or plant specimens (whether dead or alive) from an area without the prior written approval required under that subsection, the person is guilty of an offence punishable on conviction by a fine not exceeding VT 500,000 or imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both.
(1)	The Forestry Act [CAP 147] is repealed.
(4)	This Act does not in any way limit the Forestry Rights Registration and Timber Harvest Guarantee Act No 28 of 2000 and if there is any inconsistency between the 2 Acts, this Act prevails.
73.	Commencement
(a)	the Director, who is the Chairperson ; and
(2)	In addition to the Board's membership as set out in subsection (1), when the Board considers:
(ii)	one of the other two members under subsection 1(1); and
(iii)	in the circumstances referred to in subsection 1(2), the Secretary General of the local government council concerned; and
A member of the Board must not sit on a matter in which he or she is directly or indirectly interested, whether it is a financial or personal interest.
URL: http://www.paclii.org/vu/legis/num_act/fa2001139