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Chapter Law Content

Title: The Forestry Act CH
Category: Ministry of Agriculture(農業部)
Chapter VI Supervision and Incentives
Article 39
To register with the government agency, a forest owner shall provide the geographic name, area, tree and bamboo species and volume, a map of where the forest is located and the forest plan.
The rules governing forest registration shall be decreed by the central government agency.
Article 40
Should there be an incident of forest neglect, over-development for agriculture or over-logging, the local government agency may assign specific management practices to the owner.
Should there be a breach of the said practices or wanton logging, the government agency may order the termination of logging and order reforestation.
Article 41
Should reforestation be ordered, as stipulated above, but not undertaken accordingly, the government agency may execute the order, but the cost of reforestation shall be borne by the obligated party.
Article 42
Whereas publicly and privately held undeveloped mountains and lands shall be classified as forestry lands, the government agency may order the owner to reforest within an assigned time period.
If reforestation is not completed within the specified time period, the government agency may execute the order, but the cost of reforestation shall be borne by the obligated party.
Article 43
In forest areas, unauthorized disposal of wastes or pollutants is prohibited.
Article 44
A harvester of state or public forests shall keep an account book documenting the yield of each species, the volume, origins and distribution channels.
The said harvester shall choose a mark or seal to identify his forest products. The mark or seal shall be filed with the local government agency, and it shall be used before the forest products are moved out of the forest.
The harvester, as defined in paragraph one herein, may not use a mark or seal that is similar or identical the previously filed mark or seal of other harvesters.
Article 45
All forest products are subject to permitting and inspection by the government agency prior to transport for distribution. The terms of logging and harvesting permits, application procedures, and due compliance requirements and inspection regulations shall be decreed by the central government agency.
The government agency shall set up checkpoints to inspect the harvest at crucial locations along the roadways used to transport forest products.
The said government agency or public official invested with the authority of criminal investigation may, at their discretion, inspect the harvester’s permit, account book, equipment and materials.
Article 46
By act, taxation of forestry land and forest products is discounted or they are exempted.
Article 47
A forestry business that meets one of the following criteria may receive an award:
1. Special achievement in reforestation or forestry management;
2. A special forestry business whose forest products have significance to national defense or the nation’s economic development;
3. Large scale cultivation of forests as a commodity to supply industry, national defense, ship building, road engineering or other important applications;
4. Nurseries that propagate seedlings in large numbers for local reforestation;
5. Those who invent or improve tree species, or bamboo and wood applications and crafts;
6. Significant contributions to extinguishing forest fires, or mitigating the damage by pests or pathogen and disasters caused by man;
7. Significant contributions to the research improvement of forestry science;
8. Significant contributions to the security of the nation’s territory, conservation of water sources.
The award may be a cash prize, plaque, trophy or commendation certificate. The qualifications, procedures and complete incentive measures for such issuance shall be decreed by the central government agency.
Article 47-1
In the case of special achievements in protection or adoption of trees, provision of rewards in Paragraph 2 of the preceding Article shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Article 48
To encourage reforestation by private individuals, aboriginal people and/or organizations, the government agency may, depending upon actual needs, provide free seedlings, rewards, long-term low interest loans, or other assistance and rewards. The methods will be decided by the central government agency and the aboriginal peoples’ central government agency.
Article 48-1
To encourage long-term reforestation by private individuals and/or organizations, the Government shall establish a reforestation fund. The sources of funding shall be as follows:
1. Allocations from water-rights fees;
2. A reciprocation fund provided by those who undertake development of hillsides;
3. Penalty fines for violation of this Act;
4. Allocations from the engineering budget for water resource development projects;
5. Allocations from government budgeting procedures;
6. Donations;
7. Other sources of income.
The water-right fee in Section 1 and the proportion of the allocation from the engineering budget for water resource development projects in Section 4 herein shall be regulated by the central water conservation government agency in conjunction with the central government agency. At the time a permit is issued for hill development, the reciprocation fund fee in Section 2 shall be served. The obligated party, calculation format, payment schedule, time period, procedures, and regulations, shall be decreed by the central government agency, and submitted to the Executive Yuan for approval.
Article 49
Undeveloped mountains and lands owned by the state shall be classified for forestry. Lands not reserved for state forestry operation may be designated and classified by the central government agency for reforestation leased to nationals of the Republic of China.