Last week, we commenced our discussion of the Forests Act 2009 that the National Assembly approved on 22 January 2009. However, it was not until 12 October 2010 that the then President assented to it. In addition, the concerned Minister did not sign the related Order to bring the Act into operation until 8 August 2012. The total delay was therefore over three and one half years, an unsatisfactory state of affairs by any standards, given the importance of this legislation. The predecessor Act was the Forests Act 1953, Chapter 67:01, as amended from time to time. Therefore, the 1953 Act was applicable until 7 August 2012, as pointed out by two forestry experts, Janette Bulkan and John Palmer.
The main point about last week’s article relates to exploratory permits. The holder of such a permit is only allowed to cut and take specified kinds and quantities of forest produce from the exploratory area for testing, research and limited commercial purposes. The extent to which this could happen is to recoup no more than a certain percentage of the costs and expenses incurred in the exploratory operations during the life of the permit. That percentage is specified by regulations or where no percentage is prescribed, 25 per cent. We now learn that to date no regulations have been made under the new Act and therefore the latter applies. It is also important to note that capital expenditure, such as the purchase of vehicles and equipment, is not included in the computation.
An exploratory permit expires on the earlier of the expiry date contained in the permit or on the third anniversary of the permit. The law does not allow for the renewal of an
