FOREST LAW

    Chapter I  General Provisions

    Chapter II  Forest Management and Administration

    Chapter III  Forest Protection

    Chapter IV  Tree Planting and Afforestation

    Chapter V  Forest Felling

    Chapter VI  Legal Liability

    Article 1  This Law is enacted with a view to protecting, cultivating
and rationally exploiting forest resources, accelerating territorial
afforestation and making use of forests in water storage and soil
conservation, climate regulation, environmental improvement and supply
of forest products to meet the requirements of socialist construction
and people’s livelihood.

    Article 2  Engagement in activities of growing of saplings and planting,
felling and exploitation of woods and forests, forests, woods and forest land
management and administration within the territory of the People’s Republic
of China must abide by this Law.

    Article 3  Forest resources belong to state ownership, excluding those
specified under law belonging to collective ownership.

    State-owned and collective-owned forests, woods and forest lands,
individual-owned woods and individual-used forest lands shall be registered
by local people’s governments at or above the county level and rosters
compiled and certificates issued confirming the ownership or right to
use. The State Council may authorize the competent department of forestry
under the State Council to register and compile rosters of forests, woods
and forest lands of the key state-owned forest regions determined by the
State Council, issue certificates and notify the local people’s governments
concerned.

    Legitimate rights and interests of owners and users of forests, woods
and forest lands are protected by law upon which no unit or individual shall
infringe.

    Article 4  Forests are classified into the following five categories:

    (1) Shelter forests: forests, woods and clusters of bushes with protection
as the main aim including water source conservation forests, water and soil
conservation forests, shelter forests against wind and for fixing sand,
farmland and cattle farm shelter forests, embankment protection forests
and highway/railway protection forests;

    (2) Timber forests: forests and woods with timber production as the main
aim including bamboo groves with production of bamboo materials as the main
aim;

    (3) Economic forests: woods with the production of fruits, edible oils,
drinks, flavorings, industrial raw materials and medicinal materials
as the main aim;

    (4) Fuel forests: woods with the production of fuel as the main aim; and

    (5) Special-purpose forests: forests and woods with national defence,
environmental protection and scientific experiments as the main aim
including national defence forests, experimental forests, mother tree
forests, environmental protection forests, ornamental forests, woods at
ancient and historical sites and revolutionary memorial places and forests
in nature reserves.

    Article 5  Forestry construction pursues the policy of universal forest
protection, afforestation in a big way, combination of felling and cultivation
and sustainable exploitation with afforestation as the basis.

    Article 6  The State encourages scientific research in forestry,
popularizes advanced forestry technology in upgrading the scientific and
technical level of forestry.

    Article 7  The State protects the legitimate rights and interests of
forest farmers, lightens forest farmers’ burden in accordance with law,
prohibits illegal collection of fees and fines from forest farmers and
prohibits apportionment and compulsory fund-raising from forest farmers.

    The State protects the legitimate rights and interests of collectives
and individuals in contractual afforestation. No unit or individual shall
infringe on the ownership over woods and other legitimate rights and interests
the collectives and individuals have in contractual afforestation in
accordance with law.

    Article 8  The State carries out the following protective measures
with respect to forest resources:

    (1) practising quota forest felling, encouraging afforestation and closing
hills and mountains to facilitate afforestation and expanding forest coverage;

    (2) providing financial support or long-term loans to collectives and
individuals for afforestation and facilitation of afforestation in accordance
with the relevant regulations of the state and local people’s governments;

    (3) encouraging comprehensive utilization of timber and economy in timber
use, encouraging development and utilization of substitutes for timber;

    (4) levying and collecting the sapling growing fee for the special purpose
of afforestation and facilitation of afforestation;

    (5) departments of coal and paper making drawing a certain amount of fund
on the basis of the production of coal, pulp paper and other products for
the special purpose of planting timber forests that will be used for mine
timber and paper making; and

    (6) establishing the system of forestry funds.

    The State establishes the forest ecological benefit compensation fund
to be used for the planting, tending, protection and management of the forest
resources and woods for shelter forests and special-purpose forests either of
which generate ecological benefit. The forest ecological benefit compensation
fund must be used for the said special purpose and must not be used for other
purposes. Specific measures shall be formulated by the State Council.

    Article 9  The state and people’s governments of provinces and
autonomous regions give more independent power and economic benefits to
forestry production and construction of nationality autonomous localities
than to other general areas in forest development, timber allocation and
use of forest funds in accordance with the state provisions on autonomous
power of nationality autonomous localities.

    Article 10  The competent department of forestry under the State Council
takes charge of the forestry work nationwide. The competent departments of
forestry of local people’s governments at or above the county level take
charge of the forestry work within their respective areas. People’s
governments at the village level assign full-time or part-time personnel to be
responsible for forestry work.

    Article 11  Tree planting, afforestation and forest protection are the
obligation that citizens should fulfil. People’s governments at all levels
should organize voluntary tree planting and afforestation by all citizens
and carry out activities of tree planting and afforestation.

    Article 13  The competent departments of forestry at all levels carry out
administration and supervision over protection, utilization and renewal of
forest resources pursuant to the provisions of this Law.

    Article 14  The competent departments of forestry at all levels shall be
responsible for the organization of forest resources survey and establishment
of resources archive system to monitor change in resources.

    Article 15  The right of use of the following forests, woods and forest
lands may be transferred in accordance with law. There can also be equity
participation in terms of evaluation or be treated as conditions of
contribution and cooperation for joint venture, cooperative afforestation
and timber management. However, forest lands must not be turned into
non-forest lands:

    (1) timber forests, economic forests and fuel forests;

    (2) the right of use of forest lands in timber forests, economic forests
and fuel forests;

    (3) the right of use of forest lands in slashes of felling and burnt
slashes of timber forests, economic forests and fuel forests; and

    (4) the right of use of other forests, woods and other forest lands
specified by the State Council.

    Where there is transfer and equity participation in terms of evaluation or
those treated as conditions of contribution and cooperation of joint venture,
cooperative afforestation and timber management pursuant to the provisions of
the preceding paragraph, the timber felling permits obtained may be
simultaneously transferred, meanwhile parties to the transfer must abide by
the provisions of this Law concerning forests, timber felling and renewal of
afforestation.

    Except for the circumstances specified in the first paragraph of this
Article, the right of use of other forests, woods and other forest lands
must not be transferred.

    Specific measures shall be formulated by the State Council.

    Article 16  People’s governments at all levels should work out long-term
forestry planning. State-owned forestry enterprises, institutions and nature
reserves should compile forest management schemes in accordance with the
long-term forestry planning and submit them to the competent department at
the next higher level for approval and implementation thereupon.

    The competent departments of forestry should guide rural collective
economic organizations and state-owned farms, cattle farms and industrial
and mining enterprises in the compilation of forest management schemes.

    Article 17  Disputes arising between units over timber and forest land
ownership and the right of use shall be handled by people’s governments at or
above the county level according to law.

    Disputes arising between individuals and between an individual and a unit
over woods ownership and the right of use of forest lands shall be handled by
local people’s governments at the county level or at the village level
according to law.

    When a party refuses to accept the decision of the people’s government,
he/she may bring a suit at a people’s court within one month from the date
of receipt of the notice.

    Pending a settlement of the dispute over woods and forest land ownership,
neither of the parties shall fell the woods in dispute.

    Article 18  No forest land or less forest land should be occupied in
exploration and mining of mineral resources and all construction projects;
where occupation or requisition of forest land is necessitated, formalities
of examination and approval for land use for construction shall be completed
pursuant to laws and administrative regulations on land administration upon
the examination, verification and consent of the competent department of
forestry of the people’s government at or above the county level and the land
use unit shall pay the forest vegetation restoration fee pursuant to the
relevant provisions of the State Council. The forest vegetation restoration
fee shall be used for the specified purpose. Competent departments of forestry
shall make unified arrangement for tree planting and afforestation pursuant to
relevant provisions and restore forest vegetation. The area of tree planting
and afforestation shall not be less than the area of forest vegetation
reduced as a result of occupation and requisition of forest land. The
competent department of forestry at the next higher level should supervise,
urge and inspect the competent department of forestry at the next lower level
at regular intervals in the organization of tree planting and afforestation
and restoration of forest vegetation.

    Article 19  Local people’s governments at all levels should organize
the departments concerned in the establishment of forest protection
organizations to be responsible for the work of forest protection; step up
forest protection in the light of actual requirements in large-area forest
regions by building additional forest protection facilities; supervise and
urge grass-roots units with forests and those in forest regions to make a
forest protection pledge, organize mass forest protection, delimit forest
protection responsibility areas and assign full-time or part-time forest
guards.

    Forest guards may be appointed by people’s governments at the county
level or at the village level. Main responsibilities of a forest guard
are: to patrol and protect forest, and stop acts of destroying forest
resources. A forest guard has the power to ask the local department concerned
to deal with whoever that has caused destruction of forest resources.

    Article 20  Forest public security organs established in forest regions
pursuant to relevant state provisions shall be responsible for the maintenance
of the social order under jurisdiction and for the protection of forest
resources under jurisdiction and may, pursuant to the provisions of this Law
and within the authorized scope of the competent department of forestry under
the State Council, exercise on its behalf the power of administrative
penalties specified in Articles 39, 42, 43 and 44 of this Law.

    The Armed Forest Police Force performs the missions of prevention,
extinguishment of forest fires and rescue operations assigned by the state.

    Article 21  Local people’s governments at all levels should earnestly
carry out the work of prevention and extinguishment of forest fires and
rescue operations:

    (1) specifying forest fire prevention periods and banning field use of
fire in a forest region during forest fire prevention periods; in case of
necessity of use of fire owing to extraordinary circumstances, it must be
subjected to the approval of the people’s government at the county level or
the authorized organ of the people’s government at the county level;

    (2) installing fire prevention facilities in forest regions;

    (3) immediately organizing local army units, civilians and the departments
concerned in fire extinguishment and rescue operations in the event of a
forest fire; and

    (4) with respect to those injured, disabled or deceased in extinguishment
of a forest fire and rescue operations, workers and staff members of the
state shall be given medical treatment or pension for the deceased by the
units wherein they are employed; non-state workers and staff members shall
be given medical treatment or pension for the deceased by the unit where
the fire broke out pursuant to the provisions of the competent department
concerned under the State Council; where the unit where the fire broke out
bears no responsibility for the outbreak of the fire or has no actual
ability to bear the burden, the local people’s government shall provide
the medical treatment and pension for the deceased.

    Article 22  The competent departments of forestry at all levels shall
be responsible for the organization of the work of prevention and control of
forest plant diseases and insect pests.

    The competent departments of forestry shall be responsible for determining
the objects of quarantine among nursery stocks of woods, delimiting quarantine
areas and protective areas and carrying out quarantine of nursery stocks of
woods.

    Article 23  Destruction of forest for reclamation and destruction of
forest for quarrying, sand gathering and earth gathering as well as other
acts of forest destruction are prohibited.

    Cutting of firewood and grazing in young forest lands and special-purpose
forests are prohibited.

    Personnel entering forests and the fringe areas of forests must not
shift or damage marks set up in the service of forestry without authorization.

    Article 24  The competent department of forestry under the State Council
and people’s governments of the provinces, autonomous regions and
municipalities directly under the Central Government should delimit nature
reserves and step up protection and administration in typical forest
ecological regions, forest regions wherein rare and precious animals and
plants grow and breed (multiply), natural tropical rain forest regions and
other natural forest regions with special value of protection in different
natural belts.

    Measures for the administration of nature reserves shall be worked out
by the competent department of forestry under the State Council which shall
come into force upon submission to the State Council for approval.

    Serious protection should be given to rare and precious trees outside
nature reserves and plant resources with special value in forest regions;
no felling or gathering thereof shall be made without the approval of the
competent departments of forestry of the provinces, autonomous regions and
municipalities directly under the Central Government.

    Article 26  People’s governments at all levels should work out planning
for tree planting and afforestation and determine the goals to be striven for
in raising forest coverage of the respective areas in the light of local
conditions.

    People’s governments at all levels should organize all trades and
professions and rural and urban inhabitants in the fulfillment of tasks
set in the planning for tree planting and afforestation.

    On barren hills and waste lands suitable for afforestation that belong to
the state, afforestation shall be organized by the competent departments of
forestry and other competent departments; on those belonging to collectives,
afforestation shall be organized by collective economic organizations.

    Afforestation shall be organized by the competent departments concerned
in the light of local conditions on either side of railways, highways, on
either banks of rivers and on the rim of lakes and reservoirs; on land under
use by industrial and mining areas, organs and schools, armed forces barracks
as well as areas managed by farms, cattle farms and fish farms, afforestation
shall be the responsibility of the said units.

    State-owned and collective-owned barren hills and waste lands suitable
for afforestation may be contracted out to collectives or individuals for
afforestation.

    Article 27  Woods planted by state-owned enterprises and institutions,
organs, societies and armed forces shall be managed by the units that have
planted them and gains from the woods shall be budgeted pursuant to state
provisions.

    Woods planted by a unit of collective ownership shall belong to the said
unit.

    Trees planted by rural inhabitants at the front and back of their farm
houses, on plots of land for personal needs and plots on hills for personal
needs belong to the said individuals. Trees planted by urban and township
inhabitants, workers and staff members in the courtyards of their own
houses belong to the said individuals.

    For state-owned and collective-owned barren hills and waste lands suitable
for afforestation contracted out to collectives or individuals for
afforestation, the trees planted after contracting belong to the contracting
collectives or individuals; provisions of the contract shall be adhered to
in case of separate provisions in the contract.

    Article 29  The State strictly controls the annual rate of forest felling
in accordance with the principle that the rate of consumption is lower than
the rate of growth. Annual quotas for felling shall be worked out by
state-owned forestry enterprises and institutions, farms, factories and mines
as units with respect to the state-owned forests and woods and by counties as
units with respect to collective-owned forests and woods and
individually-owned woods which shall be collected and consolidated by the
competent departments of forestry of the provinces, autonomous regions and
municipalities directly under the Central Government and submitted to
the State Council for approval upon examination and verification by
people’s governments at the corresponding level.

    Article 30  The State formulates a unified annual timber production plan.
The annual timber production plan must not exceed the approved annual quota
for felling. The scope of plan control shall be specified by the State
Council.

    Article 31  The following provisions must be abided by in the felling of
forests and woods:

    (1) For mature timber forests the modes of selective felling, total
felling or gradual felling should be employed in the light of different
conditions. Total felling shall be strictly controlled and renewed
afforestation shall be completed within the same year of felling or the
following year.

    (2) Only felling in the nature of tending and renewal is permitted in
shelter forests and such special-purpose forests as national defence forests,
mother tree forests, environmental protection forests and ornamental forests.

    (3) Felling is strictly prohibited in such special-purpose forests as
woods at ancient and historic sites and revolutionary memorial places and
forests in nature reserves.

    Article 32  Anyone who intends to fell timber must apply for a felling
permit and the felling must be carried out pursuant to the provisions of the
permit; but rural inhabitants who intend to fell scattered trees owned
individually by themselves and growing on plots of land for their personal
needs or at the front and back of their farm houses are excluded.

    For timber felling by state-owned forestry enterprises and institutions,
organs, societies, armed units, schools and other state-owned enterprises and
institutions, the felling permits shall be issued, upon examination and
verification, by the competent departments of forestry at or above the county
level of the locality where they are located pursuant to relevant provisions.

    For renewal felling of railway and highway protection forests and urban
and township trees, the felling permits shall be issued, upon examination and
verification, by the competent departments concerned pursuant to relevant
provisions.

    For timber felling by rural collective economic organizations, the felling
permits shall be issued, upon examination and verification, by the competent
departments of forestry at the county level pursuant to relevant provisions.

    For the felling of trees on plots of hills or mountains for personal needs
by rural inhabitants and collective woods contracted out to individuals, the
felling permits shall be issued, upon examination and verification, by the
competent departments of forestry at the county level or the village or
township people’s governments entrusted by them pursuant to relevant
provisions.

    Provisions of the afore-said paragraphs apply to the felling of bamboo
groves with production of bamboo materials as the main aim.

    Article 33  Departments in charge of examination, verification and
issuance of felling permits must not issue felling permits beyond the
approved annual felling quotas.

    Article 34  State-owned forestry enterprises and institutions must,
in applying for felling permits, present documents on survey and design
of the felling area. Other units must, in applying for felling permits,
present documents on the purpose, location, forest type, forest status,
area, retained area, mode of felling and renewal measures relating to the
felling.

    A felling permit issuing department has the power to withdraw the
felling permit from a unit that fails to conform to provisions in felling
operations and suspend its felling operations until a rectification has been
made.

    Article 35  Timber felling units or individuals must, pursuant to the
area, number of trees, species of trees and time period specified in the
felling permits, complete the tasks of renewal and afforestation. The area
of renewal and afforestation and number of trees to be planted anew must not
be less than the felling area and number of trees already felled.

    Article 36  Control measures for the management and supervision of
timber in forest regions shall be formulated separately by the State Council.

    Article 37  A transport permit issued by the competent departments of
forestry shall be required for transporting timber out of a forest region,
except for the timber unifiedly allocated by the state.

    The competent departments of forestry should issue transport permits
for the transportation out of the forest regions of the timber felled
pursuant to the provisions of the felling permits obtained in accordance with
law.

    With the approval of the people’s governments of the provinces, autonomous
regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government, timber
inspection stations may be set up in forest regions to be responsible for the
inspection of timber transportation. Timber inspection stations have the power
to stop the timber transportation without obtainment of transport permits or
allocation notices issued by the competent departments of materials.

    Article 38  The State prohibits and restricts the export of rare and
precious trees and their products and derivatives. The catalogue and annual
restricted export volume of rare and precious trees and their products and
derivatives, the export of which is prohibited or restricted, shall be worked
out by the competent department of forestry under the State Council in
conjunction with the departments concerned under the State Council and
submitted to the State Council for approval.

    Whoever intends to export rare and precious trees or their products and
derivatives, the export of which is restricted as specified in the preceding
paragraph, must go through the examination and verificati