Forestry Law Increases Punishment for Illegal Tree Cutting

The Minister of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARENA) announced at the Forestry Dialogue Table (MDB), in his capacity as the sector’s director, that he handed the government the document that will permit the Dominican Republic to adopt clear laws to regulate wood and timber production and to manage the sustainable use of the country’s forests.

This law project proposes that illegally chopping down trees will carry a fine the equivalent of between 10 and 200 minimum salaries and six months to three years in jail.

The fundamental objective of the project is to define, within a legal framework, that which will allow the Dominican Republic in the coming ten years to become self sufficient in wood production and to establish the framework to adequately develop the industry.

The document calls for a stiffening of penalties for such crimes as illegally cutting down trees, starting forest fires or falsifying documents. This law project proposes that illegally chopping down trees will carry a fine the equivalent of between 10 and 200 minimum salaries and six months to three years in jail. These proposals are more restrictive than those enacted by the Environment Law and for that reason are seen as very beneficial.

The minimum salary in the public sector, in effect since August, is $5,000 Dominican pesos. Hence the implication of the fine for those who illegally cut down trees can run up to a million pesos without taking into consideration the administrative sanctions and the other punishment which will be meted out according to the seriousness of the crime.

The document is the fourth law presented by the current administration of the six that demanded the creation of Environment Law 64-00. Up until now, it has only created the Law of Protected Areas in the year 2002.

The Environment Minister has submitted law projects for biodiversity, bio-security, sea and coastal resource protection laws. It has also prepared to review the Water Law Project which has been in the National Congress for 15 years.

Also pending are the territorial organization and environmental management laws.

The law project will be handed to the Judicial Consultancy of the Executive Power after having been reviewed by the Legal Office of the Environment Ministry.

Wood Production

“We in the forestry industry usually supply less than 10% to the Dominican market. That is to say, the country imports more than 90% of its timber to make wooden furniture which tends to be inferior in quality to our local wood,”

This forestry law in the private sector will allow local wood producers to be eligible for bank loans. “We in the forestry industry usually supply less than 10% to the Dominican market. That is to say, the country imports more than 90% of its timber to make wooden furniture which tends to be inferior in quality to our local wood,” explained Freddy González, president of the Dominican Forestry Chamber.

“The forestry activity is the only form of sustenance for more than a million people who live in the mountains,” affirmed the Environment Minister. The private sector is fundamental for the development of the Dominican forestry industry and should be transparent and enjoy fiscal exemptions.”

According to expert consultants, “in 1966 11% of the country´s surface was covered by forest. Today we have 34%, of which 24% is protected area. In this same year, some 5 million sacks of coal were consumed and today that number is down to 50,000. Poverty is a pillager of forestry resources, for that reason it is necessary to use our forests in a sustainable way.”

The Forestry Dialogue Table (MDB), a mixed participative effort in which SEMARENA is an Executive Secretary, concentrates and deals with the interests among key players of the forestry sector and others linked to the design and carrying out of actions and instruments of forestry policies.

The process of working out the proposal of the Forestry Law Project began in July 2007 among government organizations and civil society when the MDB decided that it should be a high priority issue.

An inter-institutional team worked on the document under the coordination of the Follow-up Committee, formed by five member organizations of MDB: SEMARENA, the Center for Agricultural and Forestry Development (CEDAF), the Dominican Forestry Chamber (CFD), the Dominican Environmental Consortium (CAD) and the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD).

The drafting of the document brought together 181 participants from 96 organizations in two regional workshops carried out in Barahona and Santiago and a national workshop in Santo Domingo. It incorporated points of view and proposals from all participants linked to the forestry sector and whose activities generate an impact on the development and conservation of forests.

The entire process of discussion, elaboration and socialization of the proposal was done with the support of the Environment Ministry through the Deputy Minister of Forestry Resources under the auspices of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) through Facility and the German Technical Cooperation Agency (GTZ).

In addition, the Araucaria Project of the Spanish Cooperation Agency for Development (AECID) and the UN Development (UNDP) Program´s Disaster Prevention Project also supported the effort.

Main Proposals Found in the Forestry Sector Law

1. Define in detail the functions of the Ministry for the conservation and protection of the forestry resources for the proposed creation of the National Forestry Institute (INABOSQUES) as the entity responsible for forestry management and development
   
2. Increase the penalty for any changes in the use of soil and any illegal use or exploitation of the natural forests.
   
3. The obligatory inventory and reporting of conditions in the natural forests (every ten years), as a way of evaluating and quantifying the country´s national forest reserves.
   
4. Proposal for the creation of a National Forestry Development Fund that contemplates the establishment of incentives to cover 75% of the costs of the plantations.
   
5. Foment the sustainable management of natural forests and commercial plantations.
   
6. Order a guaranteed research and technology transfer for the sustained management of the forests.
   
7. Propose the development of actions for the control and prevention of forest fires and plagues and other diseases affecting forests.
   
8. Establish norms that encourage forestry activities to be carried out by suitable professionals and experts.
   
9. Establish, through credits and incentives, the financing of natural forest management projects and commercial plantations.