Community Protected Forest Rules, 1990

~tin ~ ~ P RE.lV1:!} .. LE I~ response -::.o :he 80mmand~ of His ~a~esty the King lS:i79 and of and HI exercise of the power co~~er~ad by Sec~io~ 27 of the Bhutan forest Act of 2.969, Royal Gov•?rnment of Bh:.i.tan has framed the following rules: 1. SHOR'r '.J'.TI'.!& AND ~~ 1.1 These =ules can be called Co~mu~ity Protected Forests, ?.u:: es , 1991). Tl".ese rules shall ::one in::o f::irce immediately. 2. DEFINITIQNS. C~less the subjec:: ~r context ot~er~ise req~ires, ~n these Rules: (b) "Co:r.r.-.un:. -r:y l?:?:::itec:ed f0:":"2sts" neans any na t:i.onal fores,::. land locatr;,.d a:r;;;-Jund a village or a group of villages ha:v:ied over to t:r.e benefiting comm 1..;nity :::ir cc:rTT",un:,:ies :or its pr.-otection and rna.na.grne::t 'dith a.n objec-:::ve to protect: :.he sur· rour,dinq en·1i:-onment and to ensure su~.tained supply of basic needs ~~o~ the forests. (c:j 11 ~Jse-.:s 1 Group 11 neJr.s ,;'l g-roup fo:::-rned by the villagers ~o establ:sh Coremuni~y Protected Forests ~!"1 accordance with ::he ComIT,L.:n.2. ':..y Prot.ected Forests S:\.1::.es, : 990. " 3. QesignatiJ2.D 9K !J1g \,;;.~tfil!!l,!,lnjj;y gr:otected Forests 3 .1 f,Jllowing categoc~es of land ca;i :-;;;e designated as Community Protected For.ests: any Government Forests or of rege~erating ~y itself qra2inq 1 fi.:re, ar-d othe::,, biomass; par:: therscf capable if protected against ·,mcontrolled use of ga22e:.ed for-ests along the rivers, roads, and watersheds of the community drinking water and irrigatic, water sources; any gazetted for.'?.sts consist.!.nf standing trees which if managed and pro~ected under sustained yield basis could provide contonuoJs supply of fuel fodder and construc':.i.c;;;n timbe~ to tii.e local corn::nunities. [ Note: Areas ::o be se:: aside for the "Community Protected For ests' 1 preferably should jave a distinct boundary features to diffen:rnt: ate it ft' □ '.!l t!:e ";Jational For:ests 11 e,q s':reams 1 :::-i.Jiqes 1 cultivated :and e':c.] 4. Procedures for the ,&~stablishment of the Community Protected Forests". 4.1 Households willing to establish, protect and ~anage a pote~ tial forests area as a cor:u-:iunit',l prot.r2cted forests under this rule shall for~ an users' group. Five or ~ore households should standard forn as specified i~ Sc~edule l of this Rule. 4. 2 ~ of ~ ~ and ill2tlru.Uit of ~rnruunlty Prot&QJ;.:: ~d ~~.Et. After rev1e~1~g the applicat~an subci:ted by the users' group, Dasho DzoGgda s~all for~ar,i ~~e appl:ca~~on submitted by the users' group co the concerned Ji•rsio~al Fores~ Officer for field verification and tec:1.n ica.: :ce• .. -':.e',v l.'.",C l '..1d ing the ccnf .:x:na tion on the legal status of ~~e proposed area reques~ed for the establishment of the C~rn~unitJ ?r?tected Forest. After field checking and necessary rivLew :f the JFO ii~ds ~hat che dscrpi tion in the applicati~n to ~e consis~ent ~ith R~le J of the CQmmi.mity Pr0tBc:,-•:ed Forest Ru:es s:",.:111 fc•r.v·ard -;:he appl.ica::ion t.o the app~~cation and fcr~a~d it to Dasha Zonal Administrator he shall reco:1nend Mir.:Cstr; of Ag:i:::ult:.:.re Eor fi.1al ap9c,:;iva:. The :~inistry of ;,.gr1cul::u:::e ;;::fr·:all ha'Je tr.e. f~nal autn,::n::1t.y to ap?rove ~he a:lott~e1t of the 9raposed forest for Community Protected Forests. 4, 3 H§ndinq over of the Corruuunj, -t;y Forest tQ After recei•,i~g the approval fr~m t~e ~li~istry of Agri est.s and hand it over. :,o t.he \l,se:::-s' group for t.:'1e mangement 3.;1.d uti.lization by signing a coritract as attached in this Rule, Schedule. 2 of Af~er dexarkating and ~and~~q ~ve~ ot a designaced Community Protected forests to a particu:ar users' group, DFO shall issue a certi!icate of ownership dS presc~ibed in Sctedule J of this Rule. J. 4 ~ion of the ~ glan and JJ:pplementatuj,on 4.4.1 The concerned ~o.nge Office;:..- :3hb.ll pLepct:t"e o. m:''.HiOgeml!:nt plo.11 Eor the proposed Community Protected Fores~ according co the guid~linc3 provided in Schedu!e l of thi3 Rule. T~e Range Officer ,.4.2 This plan shall be reviewed by DFO and he will approve the plan for implementatio~ ~ith a~~endments if necessary. office, the users 1 group shall be respo~sible for the protection them. The repons1b1L:~y among other~hings sha:l inc:ude: savet th2 forest against ~ire; fe:::.ir.g, resin tapping, debarking, or any othe.r im9le;:n.cnt t:".e 9r,2scr!.xian ot :.he management plan fr~m t~e design3ced ~crnxun~:1 protected !orest any other act~vities 3S and when required. S Assistance !;.Q ~ filOV ided hY the ~ of ~ to ~ the ma nag em e fil £Uiill The Department of Forests s~all 9rovide necessa~y seeds and seedl~ngs !ree of costs to the ~sers ;ro~p ~o enricj the commun mity protected forests handed over to the □. Technical assistance shall be provided as a~d When necessary to implemen: ~he ~anage ment prescriptions. The records of t~e Com~unity Protected Forests estabiished unde:::- thE: prov1.sion of thi$ :-:-2gula-::.i.on sr:.a:i :. be maintained by the respective Divisional ?ores~ Officer and ~he Gup/M~ndal. Copies of s:·..i.ch re:cords should be c:opie.d Forests 1 respec~ive Ozcnkhag and the Office of the Zonal Administrator. 6. Prohibited activities inside the .G.Qmmunit.,y Protected Forests The vi:!agers ~nd tha nenbers ~f tte ~sers' gro~p shall not perform or direct the pe:rf::i:rmance of any o:: the following activities inside the Community Protected Forest: us~ tne :and ~n any ~a~ne~ o~her than as ;rescribed in the manage~ent plan; sell, ~crtgage, or otherwise alienate the forest., ~ining, hunting, and unauthorized recrea tional activities; ot~er than t~e protection of :te co~muni :a use la~ds as gardens or orchards or g~owiGg per~anent crops or as shift cu 1 c i '/a-:: : on . 5. -~ecigl j,ncfcntj,Y.!S~ fQ£ ,lli! Lticipating M .9. ~ Qf the use&.§i.~w qro up. l-!oc;.se:holds p:;i.:cticipat~r.g as a :ctem.ber ot: t.'ne \:i.Sers' gro1;.p in the Cotnnunit-y ?rotec~ed Forestry Pr-ogramme will be :::harged only one fourth of the ~s~~blished royalty rate by RGCS of any forest produce required ~0r ~~e1r household c~nsumpcion if their needs can not be net fron '::he Corr.muni ty protected Fcrest. It will be the ~~sponsibility of C-3.sr'.o Ozongda ·'::' . .c::i make ;1e.ce.ssary ar rangement ::h;:-ough :'.'espec:.i·✓e :?ups/McJ.:~dals to penalize. ar,y member of tje users' group or the ~sers' gto~p as a whole 1f ~hey are fcund ~o neglect imp:ernentac~on of the agrsed plans a~d pro grarr,:ties under Community f'::::-otected fo!:'estry pr:::>gramrne ir. their respective village. 'the ::,:,es9ect i 'ie Gups / ;vranda ls ·:<Ji 11 be required to submit a :ne::iorar,dur:i -of undei;st-21nding bet,,;een the :nembers of the users' group t~ Jashc Czongda cu~l1n~~g the detalls o! pena: ties to be exercised to th.cse :ie•:;rlec::..'..ng ::he implene~i:::ati.on of the scheme. 7.1 Forest reources ins de :he Co~~unity ?rotectea ?orescs will be ~he shared pr:perty cE ~he ~enbe=s o~ ~he users' group. The users' group can use these resou.rces en susta:,ned yie.:ct basis as per the p:tesc:::-iption of :he ;nanage:ne~t plan jointly prepared by the u.se::s' ,;p:oup :J.nd :.he staff ,:::it t.he Oepa:rtw i:rnt ,;:if F,:::n::srst:s. Oeparcment of ?orests will not levy any royalty on forest produce so harvested. 7.2 The Oepartr.1.ent of ?c:::-est.s w.i~l :.ot: charge to the. use:::-s'group for all kind of technical assistance and t~e initial incentives provided~ □ them. The me~ber o~ the ~sers' group can use ~he produce f;:-ee of case:. !-"lc, 1.-.:ever 1 the concerned users-' group may sell and 5Upply for-e5t pr-cduc-::s :or ·...:.se ·;:,y ?e.□ple cf the local village who are not the neMber. 7 ' J The users' group nay sell the !orest produce outside their village provided ~~ey are in excess ~f the requirements of the local vi!lagers. Howevar, such sales should be guided by the introduct:'. on a: an aps:;::"cpr:La.:"c: permit sy5t-e.m, maintenance af th~ sales :::-ecoi:ds, opening of i.3. jcint ban}:; ~ccount to est.;ibJ.ish a revolving fund. gro~p shall fi~ the pr~ce of dtfferent kind~ of forest produce fr-om t!"u::: C:omr:mnt":.y P:rot,2sted Forest. rt May priate price. It sha:l also forward particulars of such prices 7. S the er suppl/ o! fsrest products volving fund account of the users' group. 7.6 The concerned users' gro~p can us8 the !~nd mobi~ised from the preaeeds of the s~le in the t'ollow~ng community develop ment activities: enrich:r.ent £Ji,:t:1::at:.on, :encing of t:he critical areas, and any 5the= cast requ~red for the impla mentatior-. oe the. :nan?.ge:ner:t plan and the protec tion of the community protected forests; soil conservation and erosion control works to protect the ii1',nedia.te envi.~anme.nt of t:\e com.muni ty; 2aintenance and protection of ~he local irriga tion channels and wat9r supply schemes; inprovernent infrastruc'.J.tre. of t:cails and other community 7. 7 Dasho Zonal Administrator sh':tll coordinate t'.;e '...1.se of t.he revol'ling funds gene~at:0:d (com the Cor.munit:y prate<::ted forests and make necessary arrargeme~: for tje ~~d~ting of such funds on an annual basis. 7. 3 :f the produccion from the Coc.muc1it·t Protac'ced ,orest far exceeds the local demand, the ~sers'group can exporc the forest products outside the c;cuntry. Eowe,1er I c;;,xport can be done only through 0e.pat'tment. of Fo:ces:.s. DOt ,,,'i ll. 7-,.evy 25 per:certt of -:.he net sell income from the users' grjup, The proced~res fer the ex~ort of such forest 9coduc~s snall =~ guiced cy ~he prevailing ~ules and ~egulation at the 3hut3n forest ~ct. S. Monitoring of the recoras. of ~t. prodqcts and maintenance 3. 1 While selli~g, supp~~·ing, and ~oving forest products trom the comrnunity ~rotected r·cn-est, :he cor.cernect use:rs' group shall prepare four copies of the pe~xit in the fcrm indicated in Schedule J. One copy shall oe 1ssuec ~o the buyer, ~he second copy will be forwarded :o t~e concer~ed OfO, the third copy will be issued to the uzongKhag Adm!n~stration ana the lasc copy sna11 be retained by ~he Gup/Mandal. 8.2 The users' group shall mainta~~ 3ccurate accounts of the sale or suplly of fa.rest pcod'J.Cts ::::o:n t:~.e Comm:..:nity Protected Forest. Users' group shal: jes1gnate ~e~ber secreta~y of the group to assume this ~unction. 3. J ':he checking of the it:reqular1ties of the .'.:,'.Jrest products sold by t:he :.1sers' group :.o a:--i 1n-::;1~11dua ; O!'.' local 1nctust:ry through pecnit obtained under ?.ule 3 5ub-ruleo 8. l ·,.rill be the ble for settling any cases ~f theft or irregularities pertaining to the forest products from the Co~mun:~y ?rotscted Forest. 8. 4 The users' group ,,::: be c.ade cespons1ble tor any irregular it.ies and w::.~l comply ::o 3.ll the :!'.'Ule:s, t:'equla·~ion, and guidance 9' 1. shall prepare an annua::. :'.."epoct on t::hc status of the Community arid s:.ibmi t 1:: to Oasho ~zongda ~ith a =opy ~o c □ ncer~ed DFO wichin one month from the date of expira:ion of each fisc~l year. Dasho Dzongd! Shall d~r~c~ ~he concerned plann~ng officer .1.n the. Ozongkha,;; t.o <::01iduc1: ne.c.e.sse.ry e.nqui:ri.-2.s in c:12. spect to the problems and :ssues racir.g s~ooth i~plementa~ion or the ccmmun1"::.y Protected forestry programme in the dist!'.":.ct. 9.3 Department of Forests reserves the right ~a inspect the Community Frotec~ed Fores~s 35 and when needed. respeccive Divi sional Forest of~icer: shal::. s:.ibmi: inspection re?or~ ~o the D~par:tme.nt of l:or.·r;>.str; cJ.nd tQ Dzongkh2.g (Di5.::.rict P-,dministration Office) at least once in eve.r:y :,,-,ro yea.rs. (Pertaioing APPLICATION FORM EXPRESSING IN'l'EREST TO ESTABLISH C OMM1)NITY Dasha Dzongda, !)zongkhag. Dasha, In acoordance ~1th the notitication promulgated by the Oepartnent ,'.Jf Forests on ~-,,---,-cc---:-cc-' bei::g desir-Ql.J.:;; of esL . .ab~ lishing a Conmunity Fore pU.t'i.:;ose. ::;,f dasel-:::ping forests through protection and a.ffor:estation in the proposed a:.-ea de. scribed Oelow on be.halt of the users 1 group of ····---···~--·-···---..... vi 11 age cons is~ i ;,g of ----,,,-to us :;;holds 1 : am forwarding this application for your cons~ LatL:'.Jn t:'.) allocate following area as per attached 3Ketch ~ap ad1acent to our commu~ nicy to establish Community Forest a) Name of the Slack ··-···--· b\ 'lillaqe: c) Descripr.ion of ~ na-:::1ona ores-.::s 8r com:nunity land .:.ctenti fied for t~e establishment of the Community forest: l. ~ame and location: 2. Boundary desc;:-iptiO-f1: N · s --------- ----------------- -------· " 3 2'.rea: 4. Number of standing ~recs, their size and species. (List of trees a~~ac~ed). d) Is the pLoposed site nside t:Ce :orest de:narcation? e.j Has the co%:v.i..1n:'...t-y pa:.d land t.ax of any 'r:ind? f) Has there been cul~ivation inside t~e pr~posed area during the i ?l:::lt" t"hr~,:, '.[~rt r,:,:? g)Is the users'group willing to follow -i:.1.e prescription of the reveqetation 9lan prepared by the Department of Forests and agreeable ta comply 0t1ith the Carr.IT.uc1.1t::.y 7o"c:"est ?:.ules? Name of che Gup/Manda ·--------------Signat'.lee: llam.e and ~tur.c of ~ regre:sentati.ve of the households I.m,rticipatil]g in the usersrqrQ.!!Q...: S.N Narne. Signature. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 SCH"ZDULB (~~r•~intng ~a ~uh-~~le 4.4) contract between tn !)t'oT Pi-t' ,rnrl m:i i nr ·"' 1 n t"h e CQ.!!Ull!JnLt.Y £J:.::.0tected. }'~est. PanQsK! t.o. them. e::..ock of the DzongJ.:hag have formed a Protected Fores~ in a.cs of la'.'.'.d as peo:: our applLcatian riate.d until aeuch r inv? wh""n m,r rierformance -~-s evaluated by a team of KGOB offic1:1ls, We at'e awa:."e af the. cont'ents of the pub·1 i.she.d by the Detiartro.ent of Forests and agree to follow all the obligation as a member of s . N Mam0 Signature • l 2 J ' 5 6 7 s 9 On behalf of the D@pa~t~ent of roreats, ram handing over the Community Forest mentioned above to the signatories of this con tract for the protection ~nd manage:11ent until such t.ime when the performance is evaluated and a certificate of ownership is award ed. Na □e of the DFO: Forest Division; -----------------------------s iqnature Date SCHED!J:11;; ;;! (Pertaining ~o sub-rule 3.l) ROYAL GOY!,!lNMEN'r OF BffOTAN PEP/\R'I:MEN'l' OF FORESTS ~F~O~RE=S~T DIVISION. £ERTIFICATE OF OWNERSHIP OF THE CO!iffiJ)IITY PROTECTED FORESI. ::n accordance with the rules promulgated by the Department of Forests to establish comreunity Forest on and subject t.o the i.:-ec¼'.rnr«1endot. :v.:,n by ◊>I eve tue.;: ion"-teemforw.ed by RGOB to evaluate the performance of the managernen~ and protection by the users' group headed by yoi.:, I am pleased to inform you that the Depart~ent of Forests nas decided ~o award certificate of joint owner:sh~p o'.'. ::he fore!!-:: produce insicle: the Coin:munity Forest as pe:r attached sketch map and other inforrr.ation a.s :rne:n tioned below A) Knme eii.d loce.tion of the Community Forest: Bl Descrrmtioo··of':hee··scuiidarr1v•-, C) Area: DJ No.me e,,nd .-:i.clJ:i.-es11- ci[ ":he rnembet Name. Address. Of r h:ictl dWdL Ui.uy t.:l::'1. Llf li..:d Le. No1ne., ·.----····-------······-Designat: on Signature: Dct t'::;