Título VI. De la forestacion y reforestacion

Persons engaged in the exploitation of non-renewable natural resources or those who carry out infrastructure works in areas with forest are obligated to reforest the areas they use as the tree cover is eliminated and to provide maintenance thereof for a minimum of four years, which shall be stipulated in the concession, license or contract or any other legal transaction linked to the exploitation or the works in question, including a specific compliance bond. If the conditions of the land are adverse to the actual establishment of the new forest, the reforestation shall be carried out in another area of equal size, located in the jurisdiction of the same municipality or department, as a second option.

The obligation of forest repopulation is acquired by individual or juridical persons who:

a)Carry out forest harvesting in accordance with the provisions contained in this law.

b)Use non-renewable natural resources in the cases provided for in Article 65 of this law.

c)Cut forest to lay transmission lines, oil pipelines, subdivisions and other infrastructure works.

d)Cut forest to build works for the use of water resources, or which as a result of these projects, forest areas are flooded.

e)Use waters from lakes and rivers in accordance with Article 128 of the Political Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala.

The required forest repopulation programs may be carried out on State lands, lands of the municipalities, of decentralized entities or on private lands, but it shall be mandatory that they be carried out in the departmental jurisdiction where the activity giving rise to the repopulation is carried out, in accordance with this article.

Reforestation activities to fulfill the obligations corresponding to this article shall be included in the respective management plan duly approved by INAB.

To fulfill the obligations or carry out any forest repopulation project, any of the following systems shall be adopted:

a)Directed natural regeneration;

b)Stump resprouting;

c)Direct seed sowing;

d)Indirect sowing or planting;

e)Combination of the foregoing or other methods aimed at the replacement of the forest.

Public or private entities planning the construction of hydroelectric projects with a capacity greater than ten megawatts shall submit the prefeasibility study to INAB so that it may issue an opinion on the obligations and forest repopulation activities that must be included in the project and whose repopulation shall be carried out primarily in the upper part of the basin where the resources are obtained.

Conditions that conclude the reforestation obligations. The reforestation obligations shall be deemed satisfactorily fulfilled when the forest, four years after establishment, has the density approved in the Management Plan, and has fire protection measures and the phytosanitary condition is suitable for the forest.