Forest Law of the People's Republic of China (2019 Revision)

Forest Law of the People's Republic of China (2019 Revision) Order of the President of the People's Republic of China (No. 39) The Forest Law of the People's Republic of China as revised and adopted at the 15th session of the Standing Committee of the Thirteenth National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China on December 28, 2019, is hereby issued and shall come into force on July 1, 2020. President of the People's Republic of China: Xi Jinping December 28, 2019 Forest Law of the People's Republic of China (Adopted at the 7th session of the Standing Committee of the Sixth National People's Congress on September 20, 1984 Amended for the first time according to the Decision to Amend the Forest Law of the People's Republic of China at the 2nd session of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress on April 29, 1998 Amended for the second time according to the Decision to Amend Some Laws at the 10th session of the Standing Committee of the Eleventh National People's Congress on August 27, 2009 Revised at the 15th session of the Standing Committee of the Thirteenth National People's Congress on December 28, 2019) Contents Chapter I General Provisions Chapter II Forest Rights Chapter III Development Plans Chapter IV Forest Protection Chapter V Afforestation and Greening Chapter VI Operations and Management Chapter VII Supervisory Inspection Chapter VIII Legal Liability Chapter IX Supplemental Provisions Chapter I General Provisions Article 1 This Law is enacted for the purposes of implementing the concept that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, protecting, cultivating, and reasonably utilizing forest resources, accelerating land greening, protecting forest ecological security, building ecological civilization, and achieving the harmonious coexistence of humanity and nature. Article 2 This Law shall apply to the protection, cultivation, and utilization of forests and trees and the operations and management activities of forest, trees, and woodlands conducted in the territory of the People's Republic of China. Article 3 Forest resources shall be protected, cultivated, and utilized in such a manner as to respect and conform with nature, in adherence to the principles of according top priority to the ecology and protection, combining protection with cultivation, and sustainable development. Article 4 The state shall implement an objective responsibility system and an evaluation and assessment system for the protection and development of forest resources. Higher people's governments shall evaluate the completion status of the objectives of the protection and development of forest resources, forest fire prevention, and major forest pest control by lower people's governments and publicly disclose the evaluation results. Local people's governments may establish a forest director system as needed for the protection and development of forest resources in their respective administrative areas. Article 5 The state shall adopt fiscal, tax, financial, and other measures to support the protection and development of forest resources. People's governments at all levels shall guarantee investment in the protection and restoration of the forest ecology and promote forestry development. Article 6 The state shall, with the aim of developing a stable, sound, fine, and efficient forest ecosystem, implement operations and management by classifications of public welfare forests and commercial forests, highlight leading functions, exert multiple functions, and achieve the sustainable utilization of forest resources. Article 7 The state shall establish a forest ecological benefit compensation system, increase the support for the protection of public welfare forests, improve the transfer payment policy for key ecological functional zones, and guide the people's governments in beneficiary areas and forest ecological protection areas in making ecological benefit compensation by consultation or otherwise. Article 8 The State Council and the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government may implement more preferential policies for forest protection and forestry development in ethnic autonomous areas in accordance with the provisions on the autonomy of ethnic autonomous areas issued by the state. Article 9 The forestry department of the State Council shall be in charge of the national forestry work. The forestry departments of local people's governments at or above the county level shall be in charge of the forestry work in their respective administrative areas. Township people's governments may designate relevant institutions or appoint full-time and part-time personnel to undertake forestry-related work. Article 10 Afforestation and forest protection are the obligations of citizens. People's governments at all levels shall organize and conduct voluntary tree planting campaigns among the whole people. Tree Planting Day falls on March 12 every year. Article 11 The state shall adopt measures to encourage and support scientific research on forestry and promote advanced and applicable forestry technologies, so as to improve the level of forestry science and technology. Article 12 People's governments at all levels shall strengthen publicity, education, and dissemination of knowledge about the protection of forest resources and support autonomous people's organizations at primary level, news media, forestry enterprises and public institutions, and volunteers, among others, in conducting forest resource protection publicity campaigns. Education authorities and schools shall educate students on the protection of forest resources. Article 13 Any organization or individual that has made outstanding achievements in afforestation and greening, forest protection, agricultural operations related to and management of forests, and scientific research on forestry shall be commended and rewarded in accordance with the relevant provisions issued by the state. Chapter II Forest Rights Article 14 Forest resources belong to the state, except those that are collectively owned under the law. Ownership of state forest resources shall be exercised by the State Council on behalf of the state. The State Council may authorize the natural resources department of the State Council to uniformly perform the duties of the owner of state forest resources. Article 15 For ownership and rights to use of woodlands and forests and trees thereon, the real property registration authorities shall uniformly make registration and records and issue certificates. For the forests, trees, and woodlands in state key forest areas (hereinafter referred to as the “key forest areas”) determined by the State Council, the natural resources department of the State Council shall be responsible for registration. The lawful rights and interests of the owners and users of forests, trees, and woodlands shall be protected by law, without being violated by any organization or individual. The owners and users of forests, trees, and woodlands shall lawfully protect and reasonably utilize forests, trees, and woodlands in accordance with the law and neither illegally change the use of woodlands nor destroy forests, trees, and woodlands. Article 16 State woodlands and the forests and trees thereon may be so determined by law as to be used by forest operators. Rights to use state woodlands and the forests and trees thereon acquired by forest operators in accordance with the law may be transferred, leased, and contributed to capital at appraised value, among others, with approval. Specific measures shall be formulated by the State Council. Forest operators shall perform their obligations to protect and cultivate forest resources, ensure the stable growth of state forest resources, and improve the ecological functions of forests. Article 17 Where woodlands owned collectively or owned by the state and used by farmers collectively under the law (hereinafter referred to as the “collective woodlands”) are subject to a conventional usufruct for agricultural operations, the contractor shall enjoy a conventional usufruct on woodlands for agricultural operations and ownership of the trees on the woodlands subject to the conventional usufruct, unless otherwise provided by contract. The contractor may circulate his or her usufruct on the woodlands and ownership and rights to use of the trees by leasing (subcontracting), in payment for shares, by transfer, or otherwise, according to the law. Article 18 For collective woodlands not under a conventional usufruct for agricultural operations and the trees thereon, the rural collective economic organization shall organize operations in a unified manner. With the consent of more than two-thirds of the members of the villagers' meeting of the members of the collective economic organization or two-thirds of villagers' representatives, the usufruct on the woodlands and ownership and rights to use of the trees may be circulated according to the law by bidding, auction, public consultation, and other means. Article 19 For the circulation of a usufruct on collective woodlands, a written contract shall be signed. A contract for the circulation of a usufruct on woodlands generally contains the rights and obligations of the parties to the circulation, period of circulation, price of circulation and methods of payment, disposition of trees and fixed production facilities on the woodlands at the expiry of the period of circulation, liability for breach of contract, and other contents. If a transferee violates the law or the contract, causing serious damage to the forests, trees, or woodlands, the landowner or contractor shall have the right to recover the usufruct on the woodlands. Article 20 For the trees planted by state-owned enterprises, public institutions, government agencies, groups, and the military, the planting entities shall conduct management and protection and control the income generated by the trees in accordance with the provisions issued by the state. The trees planted by rural residents around their buildings and on plots of cropland and hilly land allotted for private use belong to the individuals. The trees planted by urban residents in the courtyards of their own buildings belong to the individuals. The trees planted in barren hills, land, and beaches fit for forests, owned collectively or by the state, under a contract awarded to a collective or an individual belong to the collective or individual, unless otherwise provided by contract. The trees planted by any other organization or individual belong to the planter, and the planter shall enjoy the income generated by the trees, unless otherwise provided by contract. Article 21 Where the expropriation or requisition of woodlands and trees are compellingly entailed by the public interest such as ecological protection and infrastructure construction, approval procedures shall be completed in accordance with the laws and administrative regulations such as the Land Administration Law of the People's Republic of China , and equitable and reasonable compensation shall be made. Article 22 Any dispute over ownership and rights to use of trees and woodlands between entities shall be handled by the people's government at or above the county level in accordance with the law. Any dispute over ownership and rights to use of trees and woodlands between individuals or between an individual and an entity shall be handled by the township people's government or the people's government at or above the county level in accordance with the law. Any party dissatisfied with the handling decision of the relevant people's government may sue in a people's court within 30 days of receiving the notice of the handling decision. If a dispute over the rights to trees and woodlands is pending, neither party may log the trees in dispute or change the status of the woodlands, except as needed for forest fire prevention, forest pest control, and major national infrastructure construction, among others. Chapter III Development Plans Article 23 People's governments at or above the county level shall incorporate the protection of forest resources and forestry development into their national economic and social development plans. Article 24 People's governments at or above the county level shall implement the requirements for spatial development and protection, reasonably plan the structure and distribution of the protection and utilization of forest resources, formulate goals of the protection and development of forest resources, increase forest coverage and accumulation, and improve the quality and stability of forest ecosystems. Article 25 The forestry departments of people's governments at or above the county level shall prepare forestry development plans in accordance with the goals of the protection and development of forest resources. A lower forestry development plan shall be prepared in accordance with a higher forestry development plan. Article 26 The forestry departments of people's governments at or above the county level may prepare special plans in relation to the protection and utilization of woodlands, afforestation and greening, forest operations, protection of natural forests, and the like, in light of local actual circumstances. Article 27 The state shall establish a forest resources survey and monitoring system to survey, monitor, assess, and regularly release the status and changes of forest resources nationwide. Chapter IV Forest Protection Article 28 The state shall strengthen the protection of forest resources and exert the various functions of forests such as water storage and soil conservation, climate regulation, environmental improvement, biodiversity protection, and provision of forest products. Article 29 Central and local finance authorities shall separately arrange funds for the planting, tending, protection, and management of public welfare forests and financial compensation payable to holders of rights to non-state public welfare forests and grant the funds for the designated use. The specific measures shall be formulated by the finance department of the State Council in conjunction with the forestry department. Article 30 The state shall support the transformation and development of key forest areas and the protection and restoration of forest resources, improve production and living conditions, and promote the economic and social development of the regions where they are located. Key forest areas shall enjoy policies such as transfer payments for key national ecological functio......