Título IX. Delitos y faltas contra los recursos forestales

The penalties for forestry crimes shall be applied in accordance with the provisions of Chapter II, Title VI, of Book I, of the Penal Code, as well as those established in the Code of Criminal Procedure.

To determine material damage, the following shall be considered:

a)The value of the material damaged, exploited or exported unlawfully or left without reforestation; which shall have a direct link with the cost lists published by the INAB;

b)Whether the damage was committed on national or private lands;

c)The capacity for forest production and exploitation;

d)The seriousness of the crime committed;

e)The economic injuries caused to society by the investment of resources in the struggle to maintain natural resources; and,

f)Other circumstances that in the judge's judgment serve to determine the damage caused.

The judgment shall establish the confiscation of the property under seizure and the amount of civil liability, which if not paid within the time limit of three (3) days from the ruling becoming final, shall give rise to enforcement of what was decided, proceeding to the auction of the attached property, or, as applicable, to adjudication in payment.

Civil liability fixed by the judge in favor of the State shall increase the Private Forestry Fund of INAB.

Whoever, without the corresponding license, fells, harvests or extracts trees whose timber in total standing exceeds ten (10) cubic meters, of any forest species with the exception of the species referred to in Article 99 of this law, or carries out their debarking, ocote extraction, girdling, commits a crime against forest resources. Those liable for the actions contained in this article shall be punished as follows:

a)From five point one (5.1) cubic meters to one hundred (100) cubic meters, with a fine equivalent to the value of the timber according to the appraisal conducted by INAB.

b)From one hundred point one (100.1) cubic meters onward, with imprisonment of one to five (1 to 5) years and a fine equivalent to the value of the timber, according to the appraisal conducted by INAB.

Whoever causes a forest fire shall be sanctioned with a fine equivalent to the value of the appraisal conducted by INAB and imprisonment from two to ten years. In case of recidivism, the imprisonment shall be from four to twelve years. Whoever causes a forest fire in legally declared protected areas shall be sanctioned with a fine equivalent to the value of the appraisal conducted by CONAP, and imprisonment from four to twelve years. In case of recidivism the imprisonment shall be from six to fifteen years.

For each forest fire, exhaustive investigation proceedings shall be opened in order to determine the origin and, once established, action shall be taken against the person or persons liable, as indicated in the preceding paragraphs.

Whoever collects, utilizes or commercializes forest products without the corresponding documentation, reusing it or adulterating it, shall be sanctioned in the following manner and criteria:

a)From one to five (1 to 5) cubic meters, with a fine equivalent to twenty-five percent (25%) of the value extracted.

b)Of more than five (5) cubic meters, with imprisonment of one to five years (1 to 5) and a fine equivalent to fifty percent (50%) of the value extracted.

Whoever, being responsible for issuing forest licenses, as well as for authorizing management of forests, issues licenses and authorizations without verifying the information required by this law and its regulations; or the authority that permits the commercialization or export of forest products, without verifying that the corresponding documentation reliably exists, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of one to five (1 to 5) years and a fine equivalent to the value of the timber, pursuant to the rate established by INAB.

Whoever, in order to benefit from the forest incentives granted by this law, submits false documents or alters a true one or inserts or causes to be inserted false statements into the documents related to the use and granting of forest incentives, commits fraudulent acts and shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of two to six (2 to 6) years and a fine of fifteen thousand to one hundred thousand quetzales (Q.15,000.00 to Q.100,000.00).

Whoever, through non-compliance with the rules established in the approved Forest Management Plan, damages forest resources, shall be sanctioned in proportion to the damage caused and with a fine of not less than two thousand quetzales (Q.2,000.00), based on the quantification carried out on the ground by INAB and reported to the competent authority. The products and by-products obtained shall remain at the disposal of INAB.

Whoever changes, without authorization, the land use in areas covered with forest and registered as beneficiaries of the forest incentive, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of two to six (2 to 6) years and a fine equivalent to the value of the timber in accordance with the appraisal conducted by INAB.

Whoever fells, exploits, debarks, extracts ocote from, girdles or cuts the crown of trees of protected and endangered species, contained in the international agreements to which Guatemala is a party and which are found in the legally approved national lists, shall be sanctioned as follows:

a)From one to five hundred cubic meters of standing timber, (1 to 500), with a fine of four hundred to ten thousand quetzales (Q.400.00 to Q.10,000.00).

b)From five hundred one cubic meters (501 and +), of standing timber onward, with non-commutable imprisonment of one to five (1 to 5) years and a fine of ten thousand to fifty thousand quetzales (Q.10,000.00 to Q.50,000.00).

Trees established by artificial regeneration are excepted.

Whoever exports wood of the species, forms and dimensions that contravene the provisions of Article 65, and which does not come from voluntary plantations, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of three to six years (3 to 6) and a fine equivalent to the value of the export wood, according to a report of the Institute, in accordance with market prices.

Trees originating from duly registered voluntary plantations are excepted.

In the event that the Regent incurs in falsehood in the information that the Regent must provide to INAB, in addition to the criminal liabilities that may derive from the act, the Regent shall be excluded from the list of professionals authorized to perform this function before INAB.

The public official or employee of INAB who fails to comply with the time limits established by this Law and its regulations for the processing of files, notifications, decisions, orders and other acts of an administrative nature, shall be sanctioned with a fine of not less than two thousand quetzales, without prejudice to the application of sanctions established in the pertinent laws.

The following are minor offenses in forestry matters:

a)Without written authorization, felling trees of any forest species or proceeding to debark them, extract ocote, girdle them or cut the crown, without the corresponding license, when the total volume does not exceed five cubic meters of standing timber.

b)Refusing to present harvesting authorizations when required by the competent authority, duly identified.

c)Causing the destruction or death of trees producing gums, resins, waxes, latex or analogous substances through negligence, abuse of harvesting or lack of adequate techniques.

d)Opposing field inspections ordered by INAB.

The previously defined offenses shall give rise to written admonitions with a warning that in the case of recidivism, the offender shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of fifteen to sixty days (15 to 60), according to the magnitude of the offense committed.