Título II. Del organo de direccion y encargado de la aplicacion de esta ley

The National Forest Institute is hereby created, which may be abbreviated INAB and interchangeably as the Institute, for designations in this Law, with the character of a state, autonomous, decentralized entity, with legal personality, its own patrimony and administrative independence; it is the directing body and competent authority of the Agricultural Public Sector in forestry matters.

The following are the attributions of the National Institute of Forests:

a.To implement the forestry policies that fulfill the objectives of this law;

b.To promote and foster the forestry development of the country through the sustainable management of forests, reforestation, industry and forest craftsmanship, based on forest resources and the protection and development of hydrographic basins;

c.To promote research for the resolution of forestry development problems through programs carried out by universities and other research entities;

d.To coordinate the implementation of forestry development programs at the national level;

e.To grant, deny, supervise, extend and cancel the use of forest concessions, and of licenses for the harvesting of forest products, outside protected areas;

f.To develop programs and projects for the conservation of forests and to collaborate with entities that so require;

g.To encourage and strengthen technical and professional careers in forestry matters;

h.To prepare the specific regulations of the institution and of matters within its jurisdiction; and,

i.Such other attributions as correspond to it, in accordance with this law and other applicable provisions.

The labor relations of the public officials, employees and other personnel of INAB shall be subject to the provisions of an Internal Regulation of a civil nature, and not by the Civil Service Law.

The Environment Commissions of the Municipalities, with specific delegation from the Mayor, shall be in charge of supporting the National Forest Institute in the application of this law and its regulation; in no case shall they be decision-making bodies, except for the provisions set forth in this law.

For such purpose, the municipalities shall:

a)Support INAB in the fulfillment of its functions;

b)Assist in the formulation and implementation of forestry educational programs in its municipality; and,

c)Be spokespersons in their communities for the policies, strategies and programs that INAB designs for its municipality.

INAB shall have at its highest level the following administrative structure:

a)The Board of Directors; and

b)The Management.

INAB shall have such technical, scientific and administrative units as are necessary for the fulfillment of the powers assigned in the preceding article; the Board of Directors, upon proposal of the Management or on its own initiative, shall establish such units and shall regulate their functions, methods and procedures.

The Board of Directors of the National Forest Institute is integrated as follows:

*a) The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food, which presides over it and shall appoint its alternate. *

b)A principal and alternate representative of the Minister of up to a maximum of two additional periods, is excepted

c)A principal and alternate representative of the National Association of Municipalities, elected in General Assembly convened for that purpose;

d)A principal and alternate representative of the National Central School of Agriculture, elected by the Board of Directors.

e)A principal and alternate representative of the trade associations of the Chamber of Industry, engaged in the processing of timber and other forest products, elected in joint general assembly convened for that purpose;

f)A principal and alternate representative of the universities offering forestry and related studies within the related professions; elected by the rectors of said universities and nominated by the Superior Councils thereof;

g)A principal and alternate representative of the National Association of Non-Governmental Organizations for natural resources, ecology and the environment, elected by its joint General Assembly.

*h) A principal representative and their alternate appointed by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Food *

The Manager shall form part of the Board of Directors with voice but without vote, serving as Secretary thereof.

A per diem per meeting attended is established for each member of the Board of Directors, which shall be equivalent to twenty daily minimum wages of the budgeted position of lowest amount within the Institute. Alternates may earn the per diem indicated in this article when acting in place of the principal. In no case shall there be a right to more than one per diem on the same day.

To be a member of the Board of Directors, the following is required:

a)To be Guatemalan;

b)To be a person of recognized honorability and suitability to perform the office;

c)To preferably be a university professional; and,

d)To have no legal limitation or matter pending resolution at the time of their nomination.

The members of the Board of Directors shall be elected for a period of two years and may be reelected or reappointed, except for the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Food, who shall be appointed ex officio.

The attributions of the Board of Directors are:

a)To enforce and monitor the forest policies of this law;

b)To appoint the Manager and Deputy Manager of INAB;

c)To approve or disapprove the budgets prepared by the Manager, as well as to approve the balance sheets and annual reports;

d)To approve the annual work programs, as well as the medium- and long-term programs and projects, clearly specifying the goals to be achieved;

e)To issue the provisions necessary for the efficient functioning of the institution and the fulfillment of its purposes;

f)To approve the internal regulations of INAB; to approve, upon proposal of the Manager of INAB, the creation of directorates, sections, advisory units and other job positions deemed necessary for the proper functioning of the institution, and to prepare the job position manuals;

g)To authorize the purchase of immovable property, movable property, assets and the contracting of works and services, in accordance with the State Contracting Law, as well as to grant, deny, extend or cancel forest concessions;

h)To approve the forest tree species and the reforestation regions under incentives, and the amount of reforestation costs applicable to incentives;

i)To approve the costs of planting and maintenance operations for the obligations arising from the application of this law, earmarked exclusively for the Private Forestry Fund; and,

j)To exercise such other functions as by their nature correspond to it.

The Board of Directors shall hold ordinary sessions every fifteen days and such extraordinary sessions as may be necessary.

The sessions shall be presided over by the president of the Board of Directors, who shall always be the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Food or his alternate. In the absence of the foregoing, the session shall be presided over by one of the members of the Board of Directors elected at the time the session begins.

Decisions shall be taken by absolute majority and in case of a tie the person presiding shall have a double vote. Abstentions are not permitted, and the vote may be reasoned; at the request of a member there shall be a roll-call vote. What was transacted shall be recorded in the corresponding record. For the Board of Directors to hold a session, the presence of four of its members is required.

The following are the attributions of the Manager:

a)To direct, execute and order all technical and administrative activities of INAB, in accordance with the policies, guidelines and mandates established by the Board of Directors, being responsible to the latter for the correct and effective functioning of the Institute;

b)To appoint INAB personnel in accordance with the personnel manual issued by the Board of Directors;

c)To be the legal representative of the Institute; and,

d)To formulate the annual budget draft of the National Forest Institute, for submission to the consideration of the Board of Directors.

In case of absence or temporary impediment, the Deputy Manager shall assume the functions and attributions of the Manager.

In the emergency cases established by the regulation of this law, the Manager may take urgent decisions which shall be brought to the knowledge of the Board of Directors at the next session.

The Board of Directors shall issue the call for applications for the position of Manager, through two written media outlets, informing of the conditions and evaluation mechanisms, and shall make the appointment by competitive examination.

Both the Manager and the Deputy Manager may be removed from their positions by the Board of Directors, when the grounds specified in the regulation of this law occur.

To be appointed Manager, the following is required:

a)To be Guatemalan;

b)To be a person of recognized honorability and suitability to perform the position;

c)To be a Forest Engineer or Agronomic Engineer or other university professional with specialization in Renewable Natural Resources; or Perito Agrónomo or Dasónomo with a minimum of ten years of experience.

d)To possess a minimum of five years of professional experience in the forestry sector and/or in public administration; and,

e)Five years of experience in the management of public or private enterprises and/or in projects related to forestry activity. The Deputy Manager must meet the same requirements as the Manager and shall be appointed by the Board of Directors, from a three-candidate list proposed by the Manager.

The Board of Directors and the Manager are jointly and severally liable for the proper performance of INAB, which shall be evaluated in terms of effectiveness in achieving the goals set by the Board and efficiency in the use of resources. In this regard, they may, in the judgment of the Board of Directors, contract the execution of activities within the private sector, provided that this does not entail detriment to the secure fulfillment of INAB's objectives; being obligated to involve the communities in the execution and planning of forest policies, as well as to ensure that the institution and the personnel comply with an active decentralization and deconcentration scheme.

The Board of Directors shall submit an annual report to the Congress of the Republic on the situation of the sector and of forest resources, the financial statements, budget execution and the degree of achievement of the established goals.

The patrimony of INAB is constituted by:

a)The Private Forestry Fund;

b)The assets owned by the General Directorate of Forests and Wildlife, which shall be transferred to it;

c)Donations and subsidies that it receives from the State; from any other public or private entity, national or foreign, and from individual and juridical persons;

d)The allocation established in its favor within the General Budget of Income and Expenditures of the Nation; and,

e)Own property acquired by any title.

The Executive Branch shall contribute annually to INAB a budget allocation of not less than ten percent (10%) of the total amount of the Administrative Expenses item approved for the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food, which shall serve only as a reference.

This allocation shall be included in the General Budget of Income and Expenditures of the State, for each fiscal year.

artificial or natural.

The INAB, upon prior technical studies, may, by means of transfer, cede those areas which, having become part of its patrimony and which have no forest vocation, which are not essential for the fulfillment of its functions, to the corresponding State entities or municipalities, according to their possible uses and location.

If it should be convenient for the interests of the Institute, it may also grant them in concession, complying for such purpose with the rules contained in Articles 27 and 28 of this Law, and moreover it shall be for a period of up to fifty years, to community organizations, cooperatives and/or related private institutions.

The Financial Year shall be computed from January 1 to December 31 of each year.

The control, oversight and inspection of the accounting and financial operations of the Institute shall be the responsibility of the Internal Audit and the Comptroller General of Accounts.

INAB is empowered to grant concessions and to receive movable property and immovable property of any nature and to receive donations. It shall likewise have powers to obtain loans, provide financing and carry out commercial dealings related to forestry activity for itself, or for third parties; all of which shall be subject to contracting and in accordance with the provisions of applicable laws and regulations.