Título V. Del aprovechamiento, manejo e industrializacion forestal

The utilization and sustained management of the forest shall be directed through the Management Plan approved by INAB. This is a fundamental instrument in the monitoring of the utilization and of the silvicultural techniques applied to the forest mass, and shall comprise at a minimum:

a)Biophysical description of the property;

b)The surface area with forest;

c)Type and class of forest;

d)Area to be intervened;

e)Protection areas;

f)The volume to be extracted;

g)The cutting system;

h)The annual growth of the forest and its allowable cut;

i)The recovery of the forest mass;

j)Prevention measures against forest fires; and,

k)The time of execution.

In accordance with the regulations of this law, INAB may determine, under its responsibility, the conditions of the license for the sustainable management of the forest, within a maximum period of sixty (60) days, counted from compliance with the requirements established in the regulations of this law.

The license shall be the authorization to implement the Management Plan. Any forest harvesting of timber or other woody products, except those for family consumption, those from voluntary plantations and voluntarily planted agroforestry systems, may be carried out only with a license that INAB shall grant within the period indicated in the preceding article; it shall be exclusively for the owner or lawful possessor of the land or forest area in question and it shall remain under their responsibility and supervision for the time required by the Management Plan in accordance with the regulations.

Forest harvesting licenses shall be cancelled when the obligations undertaken before INAB are not complied with, or for any cause stipulated in Title Nine of this law, or when there is exceeding of the felled volumes.

In the event that the real property containing the forest covered by the license is transferred to another owner, the forest harvesting license shall be transferred to the new holder, who acquires the rights and obligations of the license.

The application for forest use shall conform, insofar as applicable, to the provisions of the Code of Civil and Commercial Procedure, but it shall not be admitted if it is not accompanied by the Management Plan and if it does not comply with the technical requirements determined by the regulation.

The INAB, within a term of sixty (60) days counted from the administrative admission of the license application, shall decide on the Management Plan submitted.

After admitting the license application, the INAB shall have a maximum term of sixty (60) days to approve or disapprove it.

According to the nature and magnitude of the harvesting, in accordance with what is established in the specific regulation, the Management Plan may be prepared by professionals in the forestry field: Agricultural Engineer, Forestry Engineer or Technician, University Technicians with a specialization in silviculture or forest management, Forest experts, and Dasonomists, and Professionals with a postgraduate degree in the subject matter, duly registered with INAB.

The figure of the Forest Regent is established, who shall be a technician or professional with the qualifications indicated in the preceding article, who shall be jointly and severally liable with the license holder for the correct execution of the Management Plan, under the terms set by the regulation. The Forest Regent shall be an Agronomic Engineer or Forest Engineer if the magnitude of the forest harvesting so justifies, as indicated in the regulation, and shall be a Perito or Forestry or Agronomic Technician for harvestings of a lesser amount. For forest harvestings of less than one hundred cubic meters per year, a Forest Regent shall not be required.

Are exempt from forest harvesting license:

a)Clearing, pruning, felling and thinning in the cultivation of coffee, cardamom, cacao and other similar agricultural crops;

b)The felling, pruning and thinning of voluntary plantations registered with INAB;

c)The felling and thinning of fruit tree plantations;

d)The pruning and thinning of mandatory plantations; and,

e)The pruning and thinning of agroforestry systems.

The municipalities shall grant licenses for the felling of trees located within their urban perimeters, for volumes of less than ten (10) cubic meters per license per property per year. For larger volumes the license shall be granted by INAB.

The Management Plan must establish the mandatory extent to be reforested and the methods that ensure regeneration of the forest, to maintain the extent and quality of the original forest. In the case of clearcutting, it shall be mandatory at a minimum to reforest the area cut. The regulation of this law shall establish the detailed specifications for management and regeneration.

The Manager of INAB shall report semi-annually to the Board of Directors on compliance with the reforestation obligations undertaken and other commitments undertaken in the management plans.

The reforestation obligations established in the licenses shall be guaranteed before INAB by the license holder, under any of the following options:

1.That he carries out the reforestations and maintains them during the following three years at his own expense, guaranteeing performance before INAB by means of:

a)bond or monetary deposit;

b)mortgage guarantee;

c)State bonds; and,

d)Any other guarantee sufficiently satisfactory in the judgment of INAB

2.That he has established a reforestation that is between one and ten years established at the time of requesting the harvesting and that meets the adequate area and phytosanitary conditions, in addition to being registered with INAB as an artificial forest and not corresponding to prior reforestation commitments.

3.That he pays to the Private Forestry Fund the established reforestation cost and, additionally, that of maintenance for three more years, at the prices published by INAB in the year in which the forest harvesting is carried out.

The regulations shall stipulate the conditions of compliance with and acceptance of the obligations contained in this article.

The Board of Directors and the Manager shall be jointly and severally liable for unexecuted bonds.

All forest harvesting for protection, sanitation and salvage purposes, fully verified by INAB, are exempt from submitting the guarantee for the reforestation commitment. In all cases, it is mandatory to prepare the respective sanitation or salvage plan specifying the quantity of material to be extracted, the phytosanitary and forest-fire prevention measures to be applied, and other activities to be carried out. The Regulation shall determine the requirements for the sanitation plan and salvage plan.

The municipalities shall implement the surveillance systems as required to prevent illegal harvesting of forest products at the level of each municipality, with the support of INAB, and shall support its activities in the control of authorized harvesting of forest products; INAB shall send copies of the licenses and management plans to the respective municipalities.

It shall be the responsibility of INAB to promote and supervise forests specifically destined for the production of high-quality seeds. Such forests may also be managed or established by natural or legal persons. By means of a specific certificate issued by INAB, the high quality of forest seed shall be accredited and the corresponding records shall be made; management and certification shall be specified in the requirements established by the regulation of this law.

Forest products and by-products that are damaged or felled by natural causes may be utilized by the owner of the forest with no requirement other than the corresponding authorization, granted by INAB, which shall be issued after the visual inspection and estimation of the volume to be extracted, in the areas within its jurisdiction.

Forest products and by-products found felled as a result of unlawful harvesting in forests under the jurisdiction of INAB, by order of a competent judge, shall be subject to salvage extraction and shall remain at the disposal of the Judicial Branch.

INAB shall incentivize the integral utilization of the tree, through the promotion of industrialization systems and equipment that achieve the greatest added value for forest products.

INAB shall oversee the sawmills and customs offices of the country, in order to quantify, qualify and verify the lawful origin of forest products, in accordance with the procedures established by the regulation of this Law.

Authorized INAB personnel, upon identification, shall have access to the facilities of the country's forest industries. Such industries have the obligation to keep accounting records of the volume of logs purchased or felled and the volume of sawn timber yielded therefrom.

The total volume of timber to be sold shall be equivalent to the volume of authorized logs, less the waste caused by processing.

The export of timber in round or squared logs and of sawn timber of dimensions greater than eleven centimeters in thickness is prohibited, regardless of its length or width.

The following are excepted from this prohibition

a)Posts, piles, sleepers and blocks impregnated under pressure;

b)Products from duly registered plantations, including voluntary agroforestry plantations;

c)Products from planted forests registered with INAB, with the corresponding certificate;

d)Furniture parts and wood pieces having added value.