Forests (Amendment) Act, 1999 (No. 23 of 1999)

Legal Supplement Part A to the “Trinidad and Tobago Gazette’’, Vol. 37, No. 210, 12th November, 1999 Fourth Session Fifth Parliament Republic of Trinidad and Tobago REPUBLIC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO Act No. 23 of 1999 [L.S.] AN ACT to amend the Forests Act, Chap. 66:01 [Assented to 5th November, 1999] ENACTED by the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago as follows:— 1. This Act may be cited as the Forests (Amendment) Act, 1999. 2. In this Act, a reference to “the Act” is a reference to the Forests Act. Enactment Short title Interpretation 3. Section 2 of the Act is amended by— (a) inserting after the word “2” at the commencement of this section the word “(1)”; (b) deleting the definition of the word “timber” and substituting the following definition: “timber includes— (a) all species of trees listed in the Second Schedule whether standing, fallen, living or dead; (b) lumber, bucked or peeled; (c) logs; and (d) all wood whether cut up or fashioned for a purpose or not.”; (c) deleting the definition “tree” and substituting the following definition: “tree includes— (a) all species of trees listed in the Second Schedule; and (b) bamboo, palms and brushwood found growing on State lands.”; (d) inserting the following subsection: “ (2) In this Act, and in any other written law, a reference to the terms “Conservator” or “Conservator of Forests” shall be read and construed as a reference to the term “Director” or “Director of Forestry.”. 4. Section 3 of the Act is amended— (a) by inserting immediately after the word “3” at the commencement thereof, the word “(1)”; and 230 No. 23 Forests (Amendment) 1999 Section 2 amended Section 3 amended (b) by inserting after subsection (1), the following new subsection: “ (2) The Minister may, in consulta tion with the Minister with responsibility for National Security, designate the required number of officers of the Coast Guard as Forest Officers, and may by Notification published in the Gazette, authorise them to grant any permission required under this Act, in relation to the removal of forest produce along the coast of Trinidad or Tobago.”. 5. Section 7 of the Act is repealed and the following section is substituted: 7. (1) A person who fells any— (a) tree listed in the Second Schedule; or (b) tree on a slope of over thirty degrees, within a minimum of one hectare of land, without a Felling Permit granted in accordance with subsection (2), commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of twenty thousand dollars. (2) An owner or occupier of such land or a person authorised by the owner or occupier of land who desires to fell any tree listed in the Second Schedule shall apply to the authorised officer of the district for a permit to do so, and subject to section 7D, the authorised officer may grant such permit on such terms and conditions as may be necessary in all the circumstances. (3) The Minister may by Order amend the Second Schedule. Section 7 repealed and replaced “Prohibition of the felling of trees No. 23 Forests (Amendment) 1999 231 6. The Act is amended by inserting after section 7 the following sections: 7A. (1) No person shall remove any timber from any land by any means whatever, without a Removal Permit granted in accordance with this section. (2) An application for a permit shall be made by the owner or occupier of such lands. (3) Where an application is being made to remove timber from private land and the applicant is the owner of such land, he shall make a declaration of ownership in the prescribed form. (4) An applicant who is not himself the owner, shall make a declaration to the effect that the timber for which the permit is required is bona fide private property which has come from private land, with the consent of the owner of such land. (5) A person who contravenes subsection (1), commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of twenty thousand dollars. 7B. Where an application is made under section 7B(3) or (4) and the applicant makes a false declaration, he is liable on summary conviction to a fine of fifty thousand dollars and imprisonment for two years. 7C. (1) A permit to remove timber from private land shall be valid for a period of thirty days. (2) Where a permit has been granted under this Act the holder of the permit may apply to the Director for an extension, prior to the expiry of such permit. “Removal Permit Sections 7A to 7H inserted Validity of Permit 232 No. 23 Forests (Amendment) 1999 Fine for false declaration (3) The Director shall grant an extension of the permit for a period not exceeding two weeks and the fee payable shall be ten dollars per week. 7D. The grounds for the refusal of a permit shall be— (a) prior revocation of any permit granted under this Act; (b) conviction for a forest offence; or (c) any other ground prescribed by the Minister from time to time by way of Order. 7E. (1) A non-refundable/non-transferable fee of thirty dollars, shall be charged for any permit issued under this Act, but the fee for the Bulk Timber Removal Permit shall be fifty dollars. (2) The Minister may by Order prescribe such fees for the grant of the Bulk Timber Removal Permit in relation to the quantity of timber to be removed as he may think fit. 7F. (1) Subject to this section, a maximum of fifteen cubic metres (416 hoppers cubic feet) of timber shall be released on each Removal Permit and a separate permit shall be required for every additional ten cubic metres of timber or any part thereof. (2) A special Bulk Timber Removal Permit shall be required only in respect of removal of State owned timber of a single species. (3) All timber to be removed under the Removal Permit and the Bulk Timber Removal Permit shall be stamped by the Conservator with the prescribed registered property and removal mark prior to the grant of such permit. Grounds for refusal of permit Fees for permit Maximum allowance for Removal Permit No. 23 Forests (Amendment) 1999 233 (4) A person who contravenes this section is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of ten thousand dollars. 7G. Notwithstanding section 7F, a limit on the quantity of logs that may be carried at any time, to be referred to as a load limit, may be established by— (a) the Conservator of Forests in the case of access roads through a Forest Reserve and other state lands; (b) an officer designated by the Minister with responsibility for agriculture, in the case of agricultural access roads; or (c) the relevant Regional Corporation in the case of secondary roads. 7H. (1) Where an application for any permit is refused by the Authorised Officer, the aggrieved applicant may appeal to the Minister for a review of the decision, not later than one month after the refusal of the application stating the grounds for the appeal. (2) The Minister shall consider an application for review of the refusal, within a reasonable time after the receipt of the application. (3) Nothing in this section shall be construed as restricting the right of an aggrieved person to apply to the High Court for redress in accordance with section 14 of the Constitution.”. 234 No. 23 Forests (Amendment) 1999 Load limits Appeal to the Minister Chap. 1:01 7. Section 8 of the Act is amended by— (a) deleting the word “two” occurring in the line following paragraph “(f)” and substituting the word “twenty”; (b) including the words “or state lands” immediately after the words “Forest Reserve” in line fifteen and by deleting all the words commencing with the word “and” and ending with the words “Forest Reserve” in line sixteen. 8. Section 10 of the Act is amended by deleting the penultimate and last lines, and by substituting the following words “is liable on summary conviction to a fine of fifty thousand dollars or to imprisonment for two years”. 9. Section 14(1) of the Act is amended by— (a) deleting the words “felling” and “removing”; and (b) deleting the word “forty” in line six and substituting the words “five hundred”. 10. Section 18 of the Act is amended in subsection (2), by deleting the words “one” and “six months” in the last line and by substituting the words “one hundred” and “five years” respectively. 11. Section 21(1) of the Act is amended— (a) by deleting the words “a Forest Officer” and substituting the words “the Director of Forestry ”; and (b) in paragraph (a), by deleting the words “not exceeding four hundred dollars” and substituting the words “not less than five hundred dollars but not more than twenty five thousand dollars”. Section 10 amended Section 8 amended Section 18 amended Section 21 amended No. 23 Forests (Amendment) 1999 235 Section 14 amended 12. The Act is amended by repealing the Second Schedule and substituting the following new Schedule: SECOND SCHEDULE SPECIES OF TREES Common Name Botanical Name 1. Acacia Acacia mangium 2. Acoma Sideroxylon quadriloculare 3. Acurel Trichilia smithii 4. Angelin Andira inermis 5. Balata Manilkara bidentata 6. Balsam Copaifera officinalis 7. Blackheart Clathrotropis brachypetala 8. Black Mangrove Avicennia nitida 9. Bloodwood (a) Pterocarpus rohrii (b) Croton gossypifolius 10. Bois d’orme Guazuma ulmifolia 11. Bois Lissette Mouriri marshalii 12. Bois mulatre Pentachlethra macroloba 13. Bosoo Zanthoxylum trinitense 14. Cajuca Virola surinamensis 15. Caribbean Pine Pinus caribaea 16. Cedar Cedrela odorata 17. Chenet Melicoccus bijugatus 18. Crappo Carapa guianensis 19. Cypre Cordia alliodora 20. Fustic Chlorophora tinctoria 21. Black Fiddlewood Vitex divaricata 22. White Fiddlewood Vitex capitata 23. Figuier Ficus yoponensis 24. Galba Calophyllum lucidum 25. Gommier (a) Protium insigne (b) Tapirira guianensis 26. Guatecare Eschweilera subglandulosa 27. Hogplum Spondias mombin 28. Mahogany (a) Swietenia macrophylla (b) Swietenia mahogoni 236 No. 23 Forests (Amendment) 1999 Second Schedule repealed and replaced Common Name Botanical Name 29. Immortelle (a) Erythrina poeppigiana (b) Erythrina glauca 30. Jereton Didymopanax morototoni 31. Jiggerwood Bravaisia integerrima 32. Juniper Genipa americana 33. Lagoon Cedar Licania sp. 34. Laurier Cannelle Aniba firmula 35. Laurier Cypre Ocotea oblonga 36. Laurier Mattack Ocotea eggersiana 37. Laurier Zaboca Ocotea glomerata 38. L’Epinet Zanthoxylum martinicense 39. Locust Hymenaea courbaril 40. Mahoe Sterculia caribaea 41. Marouba Simarouba amara 42. Milkwood Sapium glandulosum 43. Mora Mora excelsa 44. Moussara Brosimum alicastrum 45. Olivier Yellow Buchenavia capitata (Yellow Sanders) 46. Olivier White Terminalia obovata 47. Pink Poui Tabebuia rosea 48. Pois doux (a) Inga laurina (b) Inga venosa 49. Puni Pithecellobium jupunba 50. Purpleheart Peltogyne porphyrocardia 51. Red Mangrove Rhizophora mangle 52. Redwood Guarea guara 53. Roble Platymiscium trinitatis 54. Ryania Ryania speciosa 55. Samaan Samanea saman 56. Sandbox Hura crepitans 57. Sardine (a) Laetia procera (b) Zuelania guidonia 58. Serrette Brysonima coriacea 59. Silk Cotton Ceiba pentandra 60. Tantakayo Albizzia caribaea 61. Tapana Hieronyma laxifolia 62. Teak Tectona grandis 63. Toporite Hernandia sonora 64. White Mangrove Languncularia racemosa 65. Yellow Mangue Symphonia globulifera 66. Yellow Poui Tabebuia serratifolia No. 23 Forests (Amendment) 1999 237 Passed in the Senate this 17th day of November, 1998. N. COX Clerk of the Senate Passed in the House of Representatives this 26th day of July, 1999. J. SAMPSON-JACENT Clerk of the House House of Representatives amendments agreed to by the Senate this 10th day of August, 1999. N. COX Clerk of the Senate Senate amendments agreed to by the House of Representatives this 3rd day of September, 1999. J. SAMPSON-JACENT Clerk of the House 238 No. 23 Forests (Amendment) 1999 PRINTED BY THE GOVERNMENT PRINTER, PORT-OF-SPAIN REPUBLIC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO—1999