PART I PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS
1. These Regulations may be cited as the Forest Regulations, 2004 and shall come into operation on the date of its publication.
2. In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires:- “Act” means the Forest Act, 2002; “authorised officer” means as defined under the Act; “CITES” means Convention on International Trade on Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora; “Director” means as defined under the Act; “Forest Manager” means a person appointed so by the Director of Chief Executive Officer; “forest road” means a road in Forest Reserve developed, constructed and maintained by forest manager; “genetic resources” means genetic material of actual or potential value; “grantee” means as defined under the Act;
PART II FELLING, REMOVAL AND TRANSPORTATION OF TIMBER OR OTHER FOREST PRODUCE
3. (1) No person shall fell or remove any forest produce the felling or removal of which is prohibited by the Act, or these Regulations save with the written permission of the Director and subject to the provisions of this Part. (2) Save with a licence issued under these Regulations or otherwise as permitted under the Act, no person shall cut, fell or remove any forest produce from a forest reserve. (3) The form of licence to fell and remove forest produce shall be as set out in the First and Second Schedules to these Regulations. (4) The Licensing Officer may order the grantee of a licence issued under this Part to effect the afforestation or re-forestation of the forest reserve area where the grantee is permitted to fell and remove trees.
4. (1) No standing tree or felled tree shall be cut or removed under these Regulations unless appropriate measurements specified in tables or volumes have been taken and duly recorded of such produce in the following manner: (a) in log volume in the case of felled trees; (b) in standing volume in the case of standing tree; (c) in bundle, head-load or in weight; or (d) any other manner as the Director may determine. (2) The volume and tariff tables for the purpose of this regulation shall be as set out in appendices I to III to these Regulations.
5. (1) The minimum girth of trees that may be felled and removed under a licence shall be as provided for in the Third Schedule to these Regulations. (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-regulation (1), the Director may prescribe the minimum girth for trees not listed in the Third Schedule to these Regulations. (3) Every tree permitted to be felled under this Part shall be cut at a height not exceeding 15 centimetres above the ground, but in case of a buttress or swelling at this level the cutting shall be done immediately above such buttress or swelling.
6. Еvегу tree permitted to be felled undег this Рагt slall be cut at а height not exceeding 15 centimetгes аЬоvе the gгоund, Ьut in case of а buttгess or swelling at this level the cutting shall be dопе immediately аbovе such buttгess ог swelliпg.
7. (1) Every person licensed to fell trees under these Regulations shall clearly mark – (a) on the stump of each tree with the licensee’s registered property mark and number to be known as a stump number; and (b) on each cut log at both ends with the property mark of the licensee, the tree number and log number. (2) Stump number used by a licensee under this regulation shall run consecutively from number one upwards; number one being allocated to the first tree to be felled. (3) Log numbers used by a licensee under this regulation shall run consecutively from number one upwards for each stump number; the butt log being assigned number one.
8. (1) The removal of forest produce allowed by a licence issued under this Part shall be completed as soon as possible within the period prescribed in the licence or within such further period as shall be extended by a forestry officer upon payment of prescribed fees. (2) Such forest produce which remains un-removed from the forest reserve after the expiry of the licence period or the extendeds period of the same, shall be forfeited and disposed of by the Director. (3) All forest produce felled and removed under the provisions of this Part shall be transported on a track or road or any other appropriate method approved by the licensing officer as prescribed on the appropriate; licence or Transit Pass issued.
9. No timber or other forest produce removed by a licence issued under these Regulations shall be sold, marketed or disposed of in any description other than the description of the produce shown in the relevant licence or Transit Pass.
10. It shall not be lawful to acquire or keep in possession any forest produce unless such produce is obtained by a licence issued under these Regulations and duly marked by the registered mark of the Director and the registered property mark of the licensee.
11. The licensee who has felled and removed any forest produce shall at the end of such operation fill up any pits dug during the process of cutting and removing the produce at his own costs.
12. (1) The Forestry officer responsible for the forest where logging or sawmilling has been completed shall arrange to sell any outstanding wastes accruing from any logging or sawmilling operation. (2) The Forestry Officer of the forest where a logging or saw milling operation is intended to be effected under a licence issued in this Part may give directions which shall bound the licensee on the manner of disposal of logging or sawmilling waste.
13. (1) No forest produce such as trees, timber, logs, poles, charcoal, firewood, gums, fibres, flosses and the like shall be removed from any forest area or woodlots under the control of the Forestry and Beekeeping Division, a local government or urban authority or private owner, or from any other location unless a Transit Pass in the form set out in the Fourth Schedule to these Regulations has been obtained. (2) A Transit Pass shall be issued under sub-regulation (1) after due ascertainment of the bona fide origin of the forest produce, to the applicant who need to remove such forest produce, from the boundaries of any forest area or any other location by a forestry officer. (3) Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-regulations (1) and (2), all forest produce for which a Transit Pass has been issued shall be marked in accordance with the provisions of regulation 7. (4) The owner of any means of transport be it by road, rail, air or any waterway, shall not accept any forest produce for transportation unless the forest produce concerned is covered by a valid Transit Pass. (5) Infringement of the provisions of sub-regulations (1) and (4) shall constitute an offence and shall make the owner or transporters of such forest produce liable to a penalty under the Act: Provided that: (a) No Transit Pass shall be required when movement of charcoal, firewood, gums, fibres and flosses is restricted within the same administrative district; and (b) Registered marks of the authorised officer shall not be required for charcoal, firewood in head load, flosses and such other forest produce on which such mark cannot be indented.
PART III USE AND OCCUPATION OF FOREST LAND FOR CULTIVATION, COMMERCIAL OR INDUSTRIAL USERS
14. (1) Except where a permit or licence has been issued under these Regulations, no person shall use any land within any part of a forest for the purposes of erection of any building or structure, or occupation. (2) No licence or permit shall be issued under this regulation unless an environmental impact assessment has been submitted to and approved by the authorised officer. (3) No permit or licence shall be issued under this Regulation for erection of any building or structure for occupation or for mining within any part of water catchment areas or wetlands. (4) (a) No licence for grazing or cultivation shall be issued in any natural forest. (b) No person shall cut, fell, damage or remove any tree or forest produce from catchment areas situated in general land.
15. (1) The form of application and licence for cultivation in a forest which is a plantation shall be as set out in the Fifth and Sixth Schedules to these Regulations. (2) No permit or licence for the occupation of any forest reserve for commercial or industrial purposes shall be allowed. (3) The provision of sub-regulation (2) shall not apply to commercial or industrial facilities which have been established before the coming into force of these Regulations.
16. (1) Any livestock which is found grazing or straying in any part of a forest reserve shall be liable to seizure by an authorised officer and shall be detained by such officer at an appropriate place. (2) A notice of seizure shall be issued and delivered to the owner or person in charge of such livestock, if available and a copy of the notice shall be affixed or placed at nearest forest office and notification shall be made to the local village governments if necessary, for assistance in identifying and tracing the owner of the livestock seized. (3) The form of notice of seizure for the purposes of this regulation shall be as set out in the Seventh Schedule to these Regulations. (4) The owner or apparent owner of any livestock detained pursuant to this regulation shall defray the cost of sustenance and keeping of such livestock for the whole period of detention until the livestock is released. (5) Unless the owner exculpates himself for letting the livestock to stray or graze in the forest reserve, on admission of the offence, the offence shall be compounded. (6) An authorised officer may dispose by public auction of any livestock detailed pursuant to sub-regulation (1), if no owner or claimant shows up within 7 days from the date of seizure and either exculpate himself for the incidence to the satisfaction of the authorised officer, or pays the prescribed fees and meets the costs of sustenance as provided for in sub-regulation (4).
PART IV USE OF FOREST RESERVES FOR ECO-TOURISM, CAMPING, HIKING ETC.
17. (1) Recreation activities in forest areas shall only be permissible if they are carried out in accordance with the management plans. (2) The Director shall consult the stakeholders and experts, if any, before the grant of a licence for the use of any forest reserve for such activities.
18. (1) The Director shall determine the basic recreational facilities that may be provided in suitable areas of any forest reserve other than a private or village forest reserve and may license the development, management and use of such forest reserve by any competent individual, group of individuals or institution subject to any suitable terms that he may ascribe. (2) The terms and conditions for running of recreational facilities under this regulation shall include a supportive environmental impact assessment financed by the investor. (3) Any person or institution may apply to the Director for a licence to develop and operate recreational facilities in any part of a forest reserve, and the Director may grant such licence upon such terms and conditions as he shall determine. (4) A licence or lease to operate recreational facilities in a forest reserve may be granted to the successful applicant upon payment of prescribed fees as set out in the Eighth Schedule to these Regulations as may be set from time to time. (5) The form of application and grant of a licence to operate recreational facilities in a forest reserve shall be as set out in the Ninth and Tenth Schedules to these Regulations.
19. (1) The Director may in his discretion, limit or terminate the use of any licensed recreational facilities if in his opinion its continued operation or the prevailing circumstances are likely to affect the environment adversely. (2) The Director shall notify the licensee in writing on his intention to direct the discontinuation of the facility.
PART V PROCEDURES AND CONDITIONS FOR THE APPLICATION OF GRANT, VARIATION, REFUSAL, EXTENSION, CANCELLATION OF LICENCES, PERMITS OR CERTIFICATES
20. (1) No activity listed in section 49(1) of the Act may be undertaken or continued by any person in any national or local authority forest reserve save in accordance with a permit issued in that behalf under these Regulations. (2) The following application and grant of a permit for the purposes of this regulation shall be as set out in the Eleventh and Twelfth Schedules hereto. (3) The Director shall inform unsuccessful applicants in writing of the grounds for his refusal to issue a permit, licence of certificate sought under this regulation.
21. Any terms and conditions endorsed on a permit shall be construed as an integral part of these Regulations.
22. (1) The Director may order the cancellation and forfeiture or suspension of a permit granted under this Part for non-compliance or the breach of the terms and conditions prescribed in such permit or for an infringement of the provisions of the Act or these Regulations. (2) The person in respect of whom an order is made for the cancellation, forfeiture or suspension of the permit under paragraph (1) shall surrender forthwith the permit to the Director or his authorised officer.
23. (1) A permit under this Part shall be issued for a specified period and shall lapse accordingly save that the Director may extend the life of the permit for a further period subject to any conditions he may impose and where he determines it to be desirable or beneficial to the public and sound forest management. (2) Permits issued under this Part shall not in any circumstances be transferable or negotiable and may not be assigned to unauthorised persons.
PART VI PROCEDURES FOR APPLICATION AND GRANT OF CONCESSIONS
24. (1) Any person who desires to obtain a concession of forest land within a national forest reserve or a local authority or village forest reserve shall – (a) submit an application to the Director or Chief Executive Officer on the prescribed form as provided for in the Thirteenth Schedule to these Regulations; and (b) in the event of a successful application, pay the prescribed fees set out in the concession agreement. (2) The Director of Chief Executive Officer after receiving the opinion or recommendations of the authorised officer or the responsible local authority or the village council as may be necessary, shall grant the requested concession subject to such terms and in conformity to the provisions of Part IV of the Act relating to private forests. (3) In the event an application made under this regulation is refused, the Director or Chief Executive Officer shall inform the applicant the grounds of refusal.
25. In the exercise of the power to grant or refuse an application for a concession under the preceding regulation, the Director or Chief Executive officer shall cause extensive consultations to be made with the relevant stakeholders, including local authorities and village councils of the area where the concession is intended to be granted.
26. (1) The successful applicant shall be granted the requested concession subject to conditions made by the Director or Chief Executive officer and consistent with the objectives of the Act. (2) The Director shall maintain a register of concessions granted under this Part with the terms and conditions for granting, extending, altering or revoking such a concession granted under this regulation.
27. Any terms or conditions ascribed to a concession shall be construed as an integral part of these Regulations.
28. (1) Subject to the provision of sub-regulation (2), the Director or Chief Executive Officer may order the suspension of a concession granted under this Part for a breach of any terms or conditions attached to the concession, or for non-compliance with the provisions of any forest management plan applicable to the forest land in question. (2) Before effecting the suspension under the sub-regulation (1), the Director or Chief Executive officer shall cause a notification to be sent to the concessionaire affected giving him an opportunity to show cause why the proposed suspension should not be implemented. (3) If within sixty days the concessionaire fails to respond or to satisfy the Director or Chief Executive Officer that he should not be suspended, then the Director or Chief Executive Officer shall effect the suspension by written notification with reasons assigned. (4) Subject to the provisions of sub-regulations (2) and (3) and notwithstanding the provisions of sub-regulation (1), the Director or Chief Executive Officer may order the cancellation or revocation of a concession granted under this Part for a serious breach of the terms or conditions attached to the concession, or for non-compliance with the provisions of the Act or any forest management plan applicable to the forest land in question.
PART VII FEES FOR ANY LICENCE PERMIT OR CERTIFICATE
29. (1) The level of fees payable for any licence, permit or certificate issued under these Regulations shall be as provided for in the Fourteenth Schedule to these Regulations. (2) The Minister may by notice published in the Gazette amend the level of fees prescribed in such Schedule.
30. Fees for a concession and forest produce removed from forest land under a concession granted under these Regulations shall be payable at the rates, times and periods prescribed in the Agreement.
PART VIII SALE AND DISPOSAL OF FOREST PRODUCE BY TENDER, PUBLIC AUCTION, PRIVATE AGREEMENT OR OTHERWISE
31. The Director and any authorised officer may dispose of forest produce:- (i) at the fees prescribed under Regulation 29 for tree species from non-plantation or plantation forests as appropriate; or (ii) by tender or public auction; or (iii) by a private agreement, modality or schedule.
32. The disposal of forest produce at the fees prescribed in regulation 29 shall be subject to the following conditions, namely- (a) where a maximum and minimum fee is prescribed, an authorised forestry officer shall fix the fees after considering the species, size, the accessibility and the potential market value of the produce concerned; (b) the fees prescribed shall apply to produce which is felled and harvested by the purchaser, where such produce is felled, prepared, delivered or otherwise dealt with or disposed of by a government servant acting in the scope of his employment, the Director may, on behalf of the Government, in addition to the fee prescribed for such produce, charge a further fee being not more than three times the said prescribed fee;
PART IX ENTRY INTO FOREST RESERVE FOR MINING PURPOSE INCLUDING PROSPECTING AND EXPLORING FOR MINERALS
33. (1) No holder of a mining licence or prospecting licence shall be entitled to enter any part of a national or local authority or village land forest reserve for mining or prospecting activities unless he has been granted a permit by the Director or Chief Executive Officer for such purpose. (2) No person shall take or remove rocks, stones, sands, shells and soils unless he has a permit granted by the Director for that purpose. (3) The form of application and permit for mining or prospecting activities shall be as provided for in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Schedules to these Regulations.
PART X RESTRICTIONS OF ENTRY OF PERSONS, ANIMALS OR VEHICLES INTO A FOREST RESERVE
34. (1) Any authorised officer may:- (a) close to traffic any forest roads or tracks, in national or local authority forest reserves for such period as he may consider necessary either for the purpose of repair, maintenance or protection of such roads, or tracks, or the protection of forest produce or Government property within the forest reserve against fire or theft; (b) restrict the types, weights and sizes of vehicles which may use any forest road, track or bridge, in national or local authority forest reserves; (c) restrict the entry of persons into any part of a national or local authority forest reserve according to prevailing conditions. (2) Any such closure or restriction shall be notified to the public by notices in English and Kiswahili placed in conspicuous positions at all entrances to the forest reserve affected by such closure or restriction.
35. (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of regulation 34 an Entry Permit may be issued by an authorised officer for any public vehicle to enter or to be moved into a forest reserve on such terms and conditions as the officer shall impose in regards of duration of stay or passage, route or other matters. (2) Notwithstanding the generality of sub-regulation (1), only the draft animals may be allowed. (3) The form of Entry Permit under this regulation shall be as set out in the Seventeenth Schedule to these Regulations.
PART XI RESTRICTIONS OF ENTRY, TAKING AND REMOVING OF PLANTS OR PARTS OF PLANT AND SEED FROM A FOREST RESERVE
36. Except where a permit has been issued by an authorised officer, no person shall collect, take, pock, store or remove any wild plant, parts of plant or seed from a forest reserve.
37. Any person or entity desirous of collecting, taking, storing or removing a wild plant, parts of plant or seed from a forest reserve in accordance with regulation 36, shall make an application in a prescribed form and pay the necessary fees as may be prescribed.
38. (1) The form of application and permit prescribed in this Part shall be as set out in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Schedules to these Regulations. (2) The grantee of a permit or license to pick take or removing wild plants shall carry out the operation in the presence of a forest officer who shall verify the quantity and the type of the wild plant, parts of plants or seed to be picked and removed and the requisite fee/ royalty to be paid and collect the same.
PART XII COMPULSORY USE OF REGISTERED MARKS BY AUTHORISED OFFICER AND LICENCE HOLDERS
39. (1) The Director and every local authority shall provide their respective authorised officers with distinctive registered marks. (2) Local Authorities shall provide distinctive registered marks to authorised officers for purposes of making timber from village, community and private forests. (3) Such registered mark shall be registered with and Gazetted by the Director. (4) The authorised officer shall be responsible for the proper use and safety of such registered mark which on the officer’s retirement or at any point of time which he ceases to hold the office tenure, shall deposit forthwith with the responsible forest manager. (5) The authorised officer shall be liable to a disciplinary action as the employing authority deems fit for any unauthorised use or misuse of the registered mark in his possession.
40. (1) Any licence holder shall apply, in a prescribed form, to the Director for registration of a distinctive property mark which shall be stamped together with the locality mark. (2) Subsequent to the application under (1) above, a licence holder, upon approval of his application, shall be issued with a registration certificate and entered into a register of property marks. (3) In the event the application under paragraph (1) above is rejected, the reasons for such rejection shall be communicated to the Applicant in writing. (4) The form of application and of registration certificate of property marks shall be set out in the Twentieth and Twenty First Schedules to these Regulations.
41. (1) Any forest manager or licence holder who disposes of trees, timber, logs and poles from their forests or woodland shall, before such trees and poles are allowed to be felled, cause them to be marked with a distinctive registered mark for the identification of such trees and poles. (2) Before any tree, timber, logs and poles referred to under paragraph (1) of this regulation are allowed to be removed from the site, the forest manager, or licence holder shall cause to be marked with a distinctive registered mark for purposes for identifying such produce. (3) No forest produce being trees, timber, logs, poles, charcoal, firewood, gums, fibres and the like, shall be removed from any forest area or woodlots to any other location except under the cover of a Transit Pass in the form prescribed in the Fourth Schedule to these Regulations and marked by the registered mark. (4) Notwithstanding the preceding sub-regulations, a timber dealer with a registered property mark operating in a national or local authority or village or community or private forest reserve shall be allowed to only use his property marks for the purposes of identifying the source of the forest produce.
42. (1) No person or a licensee other than the registered owner shall use registered marks. (2) No person shall use unregistered, defaced or counterfeited property marks. (3) Any person who contravenes paragraphs (1) and (2) under this regulation and any person, who defaces, destructs, cut out or removes any of the registered trade marks, commits an offence under these Regulations.
43. (1) Any authorised officer shall have powers to seize or forfeit any forest produce not branded with registered property marks or on which the registered property marks have been defaced, obliterated or altered beyond recognition or have been sawn off to remove evidence. (2) Notwithstanding sub-regulation (1) above, the owner of the seized property shall be required to provide proof of the legality of the property within 24 hours.
PART XIII PROHIBITION OF THE USE OF ROADS OR PATHS OTHER THAN PUBLIC HIGHWAYS IN A FOREST RESERVE
44. (1) Any road, track or path in a forest reserve other than a highway shall be deemed to be a private road. (2) It shall be unlawful for any person, other than a person who is travelling through a forest reserve along a public highway, cause or permit a motor vehicle to enter into the reserve.
45. Any person intending to use a road, track or path, other than a public highway, passing through a forest reserve shall do so after obtaining a permit and comply with the conditions therein; the form of the permit shall be as set out in the Twenty Second Schedule to these Regulations.
46. The authorised officer may for such periods or at such times as he may consider necessary for the execution of his duties under these Regulations or the Act: (a) erect barriers across the roads or paths and tracts passing through a forest reserve; and (b) erect check-points on public highways, airports, ports/ harbour and railway stations. (c) require any person to stop at check points.
47. Any person who damages any road, tract, path, bridge, culvert, embankment, drain or any other work constructed in a forest reserve and having done so after failure to comply with conditions on the permit stipulated under Twenty Second Schedule shall be required to make good of the damage.
48. The Director, local authority, village council, or private owner of a forest reserve may make good the damage if the offender fails to do so in a specified time and bill the offender for the cost incurred in making good of the damage.
PART XIV REGULATION OF FOREST FIRES AND THE USE OF INFLAMMABLE MATERIALS WITHIN FOREST RESERVES AND WOODLANDS
49. (1) No person while in a forest reserve shall:- (a) light or maintain a fire, or cause a fire to be lighted for purposes of cooking or preparing a meal or boiling water or for any other purposes, other than a lamp or stove having been permitted to do so within a camping site or stopping place; (b) leave any fire, which he has lighted, or which he has caused to be lighted, till un-extinguished; (c) discard any burning or incandescent object; (d) use fire in connection with charcoal making, lime making, brick making, honey harvesting, distillation or activities of a similar nature or the destruction of waste or such activities; (e) use fire in the open air for the purpose of or in connection with the destruction of sawmill waste, unless such fire is lit: (i) in an incinerator with which the escape of sparks, incandescent or burning material is prevented; (ii) within a pit dug into the ground or ground enclosed with a 2 meter high fence of fire resisting materials where the top of waste to be burnt shall be not less than 60 centimetres below the top of the pit or the top of the edge of the fence and provided that the area within a radius of 10 meters from the edge of the pit of fence is cleared of all inflammable material. (2) No person other than a forest officer or manager shall light or maintain or use or cause to be maintained or used any fire in any forest reserve for the purposes of cleaning bush, timber scrub, trees, grass or any other material for burning any firebreaks unless: (a) a written permit has been applied for and be granted by a forest officer or forest manager; and (b) such fire is lit, maintained and used in compliance with conditions of the said permit. (3) The form of application and permit under sub-regulation (2) shall be as set out in the Twenty Third and Twenty Fourth Schedules to these Regulations. (4) Any person or body of persons conducting saw milling, logging and other forest operations in any forest reserve shall: (a) surround his working compound, building, logging and landing yards, logging camps and settlements with a fire break completely cleaned of inflammable material to a minimum width of 10 metres and maintain such a clean condition at all times; (b) carry out protective early burning in the vicinity of the industry, camp or settlement from time to time as directed by a forest officer or manager and; (5) Every person or body of persons carrying out logging or similar licensed or permitted forest operations shall maintain a minimum requirement of fire fighting equipment and must be able and ready to provide additional fire fighting equipment to combat forest fires as and when directed to do so by a forest officer or manager and shall take all reasonable precautions to avoid and prevent damage to a forest reserve by fire and to extinguish any fire arising from their operations. (6) In the event the forest officer deem that milling, logging or any other operations in a forest reserve may give rise to a danger of ignition or rapid spread of fire, he may require a holder of a logging licence or any other forest licensed operations in any forest, to suspend milling, logging or any other activity, until instructed otherwise and in writing by the forest officer. (7) Any person who has knowledge of any fire outbreak shall report the same to the forest officer or any authorised officer and where possible seek assistance of neighbours to extinguish the fire swiftly. (8) The Director or any authorised officer may by order close for a stated period any forest reserve or roads, tracts or paths passing through such a reserve to protect the same from fire or to prevent loss of property and life where the forest reserve is already on fire.
PART XV REGULATION ON THE EXPORT OF FOREST PRODUCE
50. (1) No logs of any tree species shall be exported. (2) No forest produce and wood products shall be exported unless it has been inspected and graded by a grader in the manner prescribed and complies with one of the grades set out in the Twenty Fifth Schedule and Twenty Sixth Schedule to these Regulations. (3) All hard wood and soft wood timber exported shall have been hammered, marked or stencilled with one of the grade marks described in the Twenty Fifth Schedule or Twenty Sixth Schedule respectively, such grade marks shall correspond to the grade of the timber into which the timber falls at the time of grading. (4) All graded timber shall be marked indelibly with the registered number of the grader who graded the timber; this number shall be within a circle and no other number may be within the circle. (5) No grader shall use any number other than that shown on the authorization to grade issued to the grader by the Director under Section 60 of the Act. (6) The following marks may also be placed on graded timber, subject to the provisions of these Regulations: (a) the name of the timber, provided that only the appropriate standard name as listed in Twenty Seventh Schedule to these Regulations shall be used for this purpose; (b) A mark of origin which may be either a mark registered by the saw miller who produced the timber, or a mark registered by the dealer or exporter of the timber, or both such marks; and (c) Shipping marks. (7) All marks of origin shall be registered with the Director and no mark shall be used unless the Director has given his permission in writing. (8) (a) Marks may be placed on a face or on an end of a piece of timber, or in the case of timber secured in bundles, on the outside of the bundle and if placed in a face they should be placed on the graded face. (b) If the timber is to be secured in bundles the grader must inspect each and every piece before the bundle is secured. (9) The appropriate grade mark and the grader’s mark shall be placed on each piece of timber or on each bundle, if the timber is secured in bundles, by the grader, or in the presence of the grader, at the time of grading. (10) No grader shall grade or attempt to grade any timber the surfaces of which are obscured by dirt, nor shall he/ she grade or attempt to grade any timber except in the open in full daylight. (11) No grader shall grade or attempt to grade any timber or shall place any grade marks upon or issue any Certificate of Grading in respect of any timber, which is his opinion: (a) contains live borers, rot or decay, soft or pulpy heart, and unsound and loose knots except as allowed in the grading specifications described in the Twenty Fifth Schedule and Twenty Sixth Schedule to these Regulations; (b) is affected by brittle heart, compression failures and severe surface checking; (c) is affected by twist, cup bow and soring unless in the opinion of the grader these defects are so slight that the piece of timber can be surfaced on both sides to its finished dimensions, or unless these defects come within the limits set out in the separate grade specifications for hardwood and softwood timbers in the Twenty Fifth Schedule and Twenty Sixth Schedule to these Regulations respectively; and (d) is not in shipping dry condition or drier, unless green timber is specified by the buyers in which case the timber shall be graded as Specified Grade and shall be marked accordingly. (12) When any defect, which is not included in the grading specifications is encountered, such defects shall be considered according to its estimated damaging effect on the piece of timber which shall be graded and marked accordingly: (a) On the completion of grading and marking a grader shall issue a Certificate of Grading which shall be in the Form A prescribed in the Twenty Eighth Schedule to these Regulations; each and every part of such certificate shall be completed. (b) It shall be an offence for any grader to issue any Certificate of Grading knowing or having any reason to believe that the same is false in any material peculiar. (c) It shall be an offence for any person other than a grader to issue any Certificate of Grading. (d) Each and every Application for an Export Certificate which shall be in the Form B prescribed in the Twenty Eighth Schedule hereto, shall be accompanied by a valid Certificate of Grading referring to the timber for which the application is made, or reference shall be made on the application form to the appropriate Certificate of Grading if such Certificate of Grading shall already have been submitted with some prior application for an Export Certificate. (e) Export Certificate shall be in the Form prescribed in the Twenty Eighth Schedule to these Regulations. (13) Each Export Certificate shall include a certification signed by the Director indicating that the timber approved for export under the Export Certificate were originated sourced from a sustainable managed forest cover in Tanzania. (14) Where applicable, each export certificate shall include a certification signed by the CITES Management authority indicating that the timber approved for export under the export certificate complies with CITES conditions.
PART XVI PROHIBITIONS ON DAMAGE TO FOREST PRODUCE
51. (1) No person shall injure, destroy or remove any vegetation, tree or any timber in a forest reserve. (2) Any holder of a licence or permit or any person shall, while conducting operations in a forest reserve, take all reasonable precautions not to damage any forest produce. (3) Any holder of a licence or permit or any person who negligently or wilfully causes damage to a forest or forest produce shall, within a stated period, make good the damage. (4) In the event of any failure by the licence or permit holder or any person to do so as stated under paragraph (2), the forest officer or manager shall make good the damage at the cost and expense of the licence or permit holder. (5) The forest officer or manager shall bill the holder of a licence or permit or any person on any damaged forest produce that cannot be made good at the prescribed fees or royalty or as the forest officer or forest manager shall determine in the absence of prescribed fees or royalty for the forest in question.
PART XVII PROVISIONS ON ACCESS TO GENETIC RESOURCES
52. (1) The Minister shall declare and publish by order, in the Gazette a list of genetic resources found in any forest areas of Tanzania mainland. (2) Any access to any genetic resource in a forest area governed by the Act shall be subject to an application for a prior informed consent to the Director and the forest manager of the forest that access is being applied for. (3) The Form of Application for the prior informed consent shall be in the Form prescribed in Twenty Ninth Schedule to these Regulations. (4) Upon completion of the application, the Director shall cause to be placed, the said application in the Gazette, or cause it to be published in a newspaper that is reasonably accessible to the public for a period of 90 days. (5) The Director shall cause a copy of the application to be sent to the public registry. (6) Any person may consult the public registry and comment on the application. (7) The Director shall cause the wide and effective dissemination of the relevant information on the Application to the communities concerned and to other interested parties. (8) (a) Except with a permit applied and granted by the Director, no person shall have access to genetic resources in any forest in any part of the country. (b) The form of application for access to genetic resources shall be in the Form prescribed in the Thirtieth Schedule to these Regulations. (9) The Director shall approve the granting of access to the biological resource or the community innovation, practice, knowledge or technology in question with any conditions it may deem necessary. In granting access the Director shall ensure that all the requirements under these Regulations have been fulfilled. (10) Any access permit shall be granted through a signed written agreement, between the Director and the concerned local community or communities on the one hand, and the applicant or collector on the other hand. (11) The access permit shall only be valid if there is a written prior informed consent. (12) The agreement referred to in sub-regulation (8) shall contain commitments undertaken or to be undertaken by the collector, as follows: (a) to adhere to a limit set by the Director on the quantity and specification of the quality of the biological resource that the collector may obtain or export; (b) to guarantee to deposit duplicates thereof, with complete field information on, each specimen of the biological resource or the records of community innovation, practice, knowledge or technology collected with the duly designated governmental agencies and, if so required, with local community organizations; (c) to inform immediately the Director and the concerned local community or communities of all findings from research and development on the resource; (d) not to transfer the biological resource or any of its derivatives or the community innovation, practice, knowledge or technology to any third party without the authorization of the Director and the concerned local community or communities; (e) not to apply for any form of intellectual property protection over the biological resource or parts or derivatives thereof and not to apply for intellectual property rights protection over a community innovation, practice, knowledge or technology without the prior informed consent of the original providers; (f) to provide for the sharing of benefits; (g) access shall be conditioned upon a commitment to contribute economically to the efforts of the State and concerned local community or communities in the regeneration and conservation of the biological resource, and the maintenance of the innovation, practice, knowledge or technology to which access is sought; (h) submit to the Director a regular status report of research and development on the resource concerned and where the biological resource is to be collected in large quantities on the ecological state of the area; and abide by the relevant laws of the country particularly those regarding sanitary control, bio-safety and the protection of the environment as well as by the cultural practices, traditional values and customs of the local communities. (13) All efforts should be made for research to be done in the country and in a manner that facilitates the participation of actors in the country of the provider of the biological resource. (14) Patents over life forms and biological processes are not recognized and cannot be applied for under these Regulations. (15) (a) The access permit should be subject to the payment, made before commencement of collection, of a fee the sum of which will depend on whether or not the collection is to be used for commercial purposes, and the number of samples, the area of collecting, the duration of collection and whether or not the collector is granted exclusive rights. (b) The State and the community or communities shall be entitled to a share of the earing derived from when any biological resource and/or knowledge collected generates, directly or indirectly, a product used in a production process. (c) The State shall ensure that at least fifty per cent of benefits provided for in paragraph (a) shall be channelled to the concerned local community or communities in a manner which treats men and women equitably and shall involve the full participation and approval of the concerned local community or communities. (16) (a) Having ascertained that the conditions set by the prior informed consent procedure have been fulfilled, the Director shall grant the applicant/collector the appropriate permit for access; which may be an academic research permit, a commercial research permit, or a commercial exploitation permit. (b) No person shall be in possession of and use two types of permit at the same time for the same resource unless granted written permission to do so. (17) The Director may unilaterally withdraw consent and repossess the written permit under the following conditions: (a) when there is evidence that the collector has violated any of the provisions of these Regulations or any other law; (b) when there is evidence that the collector has failed to comply with the agreed terms; (c) when there is failure to meet any of the conditions of access; (d) for reasons of overriding public interest; or (e) for the protection of the environment and biological diversity. (18) Any termination or withdrawal of consent shall be done in consultation with the concerned local community or communities. (19) The Director should establish to or prohibitions on those activities which are directly or indirectly related to access to or introduction of a biological resource, particularly in cases of: (a) endangered taxa; (b) endemism or rarity; (c) adverse effects upon human health or upon the quality of life or the cultural values of local communities; (d) environmental impacts which are undesirable or difficult to control; (e) danger of genetic erosion or loss of ecosystems, their resources or their components, which arise from undue or uncontrolled collection of biological resources; (f) non-compliance with rules on bio-safety; and (g) use of resources for purposes contrary to national interest and to relevant international agreements entered into by the country. (20) Local communities have the right to refuse access to their genetic resources, innovations, practices, knowledge and technologies, where such access will be detrimental to the integrity of their natural or cultural heritage. (21) Local communities shall have the right to withdraw consent or place restrictions on the activities relating to access where such activities are likely to be detrimental to their socio-economic life, or their natural or cultural heritage. (22) Local communities shall exercise their inalienable right to access, use, exchange or share their biological resources in sustaining their livelihood systems as regulated by their customary practices and norms. (23) (a) The Community Intellectual Rights of the local communities, including traditional professional groups, particularly traditional practitioners, shall at all times remain inalienable, and shall be further protected under the mechanism established by the relevant law relating to Intellectual Property and Rights. (b) An item of community innovation, practice, knowledge or technology, or a particular use of a genetic or any other forestry resource shall be identified, interpreted and ascertained by the local communities concerned themselves under their customary practice and law, whether such law is written or not. (c) Non-registration of any community innovations, practices, knowledge or technologies, shall not mean that these are not protected by Community Intellectual Rights. (d) The publication of a written or oral description of a genetic resource and its associated knowledge and information, or the presence of these resources in a gene bank or any other collection, or its local use, shall not preclude the local community from exercising its community intellectual rights in relation to those resources.
PART XVIII PROVISIONS FOR THE REGISTRATION AND PAYMENT OF FEES OF ALL DEALERS OF TIMBER AND FOREST PRODUCE
53. (1) Any person intending to operate a sawmill, clipboard mill, pulpwood mill, wood preservative treatment plant and any other similar installation of a similar nature must apply for and obtain a licence under these Regulations. (2) Any person who has established a saw mill or plant or installation, shall employ qualified personnel who shall be responsible for the operations of the established facility. (3) Any person who successfully obtains a licence for a sawmill or plant or installation shall use efficient technology as may be determined by the Director, for processing the products. (4) The form of the application and the content of the licence described under paragraph 1 of this regulation shall be set out in the Thirty First and Thirty Second Schedules to these Regulations. (5) The licence to be issued under paragraph (1) of this regulation shall prescribe the terms and conditions of using the saw mill. (6) Any person who unsuccessfully applies for a sawmill licence shall be so informed in writing and the reasons for the refusal to issue the licence shall be stated. (7) The licence described under paragraph (1) of this regulation shall expire on the 30th day of June each calendar year and may be renewed by application to be made two months before the expiry date. (8) Any holder of a licence described under paragraph (1) of this regulation who intends to: (a) remove a sawmill to another site; (b) increase the maximum capacity of a sawmill; and (c) transfer a sawmill licence shall be authorised in writing by a forest officer or manager before doing so. (9) Any product produced from a licensed sawmill shall be marked with a registered property mark identifying the source of the processed product. (10) The format for the Application of a licence to erect or utilize or both a Sawmill shall be in the prescribed form in the Thirty Third and Thirty Fourth Schedules to these regulations. (11) The format for the Application of a licence to erect or utilize or both a pressure timber preservative, pulp, paper, fibberboard, chipboard and plywood plant shall be in the prescribed form in the Thirty Fifty Schedule to these Regulations. (12) Any holder of a saw mill or Pressure Timber Preservative Plant licence shall prepare and submit returns to the Director in a prescribed manner as set out in the Thirty Sixth Schedule to these Regulations.
54. (1) No person shall deal with or trade in timber or other forest produce without applying for and obtaining a certificate of registration as a timber or other forest produce dealer or trader. (2) The form of the application, the content of the certificate of registration and prescribed fees described under paragraph (1) of this Regulation shall be as set out in the Thirty Seventy and Thirty Eighth Schedules to these Regulations. (3) Any person who unsuccessfully applies for a certificate described under paragraph (1) of this regulation shall be so informed in writing and the reasons for the refusal to issue the licence shall be stated. (4) The licence described under paragraph (1) of this regulation shall expire on the 30th day of June each calendar year and may be renewed by application to be made two months before the expiry date. (5) The holder of a certificate for dealing with timber or forest produce shall prepare and submit quarterly returns to the Director in a prescribed manner as set out in the Thirty Ninth Schedule to these Regulations.
PART XIX PROHIBITION OF HARVESTING, GRAZING, CULTIVATION AND MINING IN CATCHMENT FORESTS
55. It is hereby prohibited to graze, cultivate, mine, harvest or cut or remove any tree or forest produce from any area of Catchment or of watershed value by any person or persons, institution or parastatals for any use except where such act is done for purposes of forest management of Catchment or watershed value.
56. Any person who has in his possession of any timber, mineral agricultural produce summed to be illegally obtained from any Catchment Forest or an area of watershed value shall be guilty of an offence against these Regulations and all timber shall be confiscated and shall be the property of the Government.
57. Any person or persons who contravene the provisions of these Regulations shall be guilty of an offence and shall on conviction, be liable to such penalty as prescribed under the Act and any minerals found with him/her while committing the offence shall be confiscated by the Government.
PART XX MISCELLANEOUS
58. Any person who contravenes any provision of these Regulations for which no specific penalty is provided for in the Act shall be liable on conviction, to a fine not exceeding five hundred thousand shillings or a term of imprisonment of two years or to both such fine and imprisonment.
59. The following subsidiary legislation are hereby revoked: (1) Forest Rules, 1959 (2) The Export of Timber Rules, 1965 (3) The Registration of Forest Produce Dealers and Traders Order, 1995; (4) Forest Regulations 1996; (5) The Forest, 1961 (Exemption of Forest Reserve, Cutting, Removal and Possession of Mangroves), 1961; and (6) Forests (Exemptions of Forest Reserves, Collection of Honey and Beeswax), 1961; (7) The Forest (Regulation of the Export of Hardwood timber, Round logs and Other hardwood forest produce) Rules, 1993; (8) The forests (Prohibition of harvesting in Catchment Forest) Order, 1995; (9) The Forests (Control of Movement of forest produce) (All species of timber) Order, 1995 (10) The Forests (Amendment) Rules, 2001. FOR SCHEDULES AND APPENDICES PLEASE REFER TO THE FULL TEXT HERE:
