Regulation on Exploitation Permits for Non-Concession Public Forest Land (FDA Regulation No. 6)

REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA FORESTRY DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY P. O. BOX 3010 MONROVIA, LIBERIA "CONSERVING THE NATION'S FOREST RESOURCES IS OUR BUSINESS" FDA NEWSLETTER Vol. 2 No. 5 September 4, 1979 MAIN ITEM FORESTRY DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY REGULATION NO.6 ON EXPLOITATION PERMITS FOR NON-CONCESSION PUBLIC FOREST LAND FORESTRY DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY REGULATION NO.6 REGULATION ON FOREST EXPLOITATION FOR NON-CONCESSION PUBLIC FOREST LAND WHEREAS, the Liberian publicly ~wned forest land since 1959 having been almost totally granted to forest concessions so that only small areas, usually less than 100,000 acres remain free for new granting and new investment; and WHEREAS, the present model Liberian Concession Agreement, applied since 1973, its management rules, investment and processing require ments as well as its investment incentives having been designed for forest concessions of 100,000 or more acres is evidently not being applicable for the special circumstances of the remaining small-sized parcels of publicly owned forest land; and WHEREAS, the Forestry Development Authority according' to the Act creating the Forestry Development Authority, approved November 1, 1976, published December 20, 1976, is charged, according to Section 3 (b), to devote ALL publ icly owned forest lands to thei r most productive use for the permanent good of the whole people considering both direct and indirect values; and WHEREAS, said FDA Act has conferred upon the Forestry Development Authority the power to prescribe the form of all licenses, permits, agreements and other instruments dealing with the use of forest resour ces, as well as the power to control the issuance of such instruments, and determine the conditions under which they may be granted, exercis ed, produced, revoked, or returned through rules and regulations (Sec tions 4 (f) (j) and (n); NOW, THEREFORE, the Forestry Development Authority does hereby rule and regulate: PART I DEFINITIONS Section I. Definitions: (a) FDA - Forestry Development Authority; (b) FOrest Exploitation Area - publicly owned forest land of 100,000 or less acres. PART II. APPLICATION Section 2. Application for FDA Forest Exploitation· Permit: Anyone desiring and able to invest in Forest Exploitation Area may apply in writing to the FDA, Sinkor Old Road, P. O. Box 3010, Monrovia, Liberia, for the granting of an FDA Forest Exploitation Permit. Section 3. Attachments: The application according to Section 2 above shall be accompanied by: 25 (d) d r-ough xko t.oh zmnp of t.ho onv i saq(~d dn~a; ( b ) d rouqh fCdsibi liLy sLudy bnxod on sustained y i o l d management of t.ho an~d; (c) d deser" i p L i on 0 f t.ho t.orihn i ca I know-how, the (~qu i pmen t. and financial n~soun~ns of t.he app l Lc.mt. including bank references. Section 4. ~;va I un t. i on : VDA shall have the right and duty, if necessary, Lo (a) request clarification as well as further information regarding Section 3 above from the applicant; and (b) make a field investigation of the requested area. PART III. FDA'S RESERVATIONS Section 5. Reservations: Upon receipt of an application for FDA Forest Exploitation Permit, FDA reserves the right to refuse the application if one of the follow ing forms of management of the requested area promise a more productive use of the parcel of publicly owned forest land in question: (a) offer the area publicly for competitive bidding, (b) grant it to an existing neighboring concession with proven technical know-how, superior equipment, management and financial resources, (c) manage the are itself, as a principal or in conjunction wi th others, as provided for in said FDA-Act, Section 4 (0) and (p). PART IV. FDA FOREST SURVEY PERMIT Section 6. FDA Survey Permit: In the event that FDA is satisfied that application and applicant meet the requirements and standards according to Section 3 and 4, FDA shall first issue an FDA Forest Survey Permit. Section 7. Contents of FDA Forest Survey Permit: The FDA Forest Survey Permit shall require, including bot not limit ed to, the following: (a) surveying and drawing of precise maps, (b) demarcate the boundaries on the ground, (c) a 5% sample enumeration of the survey area, (d) the term of the FDA Survey Permit which shall be 6 months PART IV. FDA FOREST EXPLOITATION PERMIT Section 8. Grant of FDA Forest Exploitation Permit: In the event that the conditions of the FDA Forest Survov Per-m i L have been met on time, FDA shall issue an FDA Fores L Exp I 0 i Lilt i on Permit to the Applicant. 26 Section 9. Contents of FDA Forest Exploitation Permit: The FDA Forest Exploitation Permit shall require including, but not limited to, (a) the deposit of a sum of money, the amount to be determined by FDA, as an advance payment of the anticipated forest fees and taxes, (b) the payment of land rental at the regular rate in force, (c) the elaboration and determination with FDA of the number of years of the felling cycle and consequently of the annual coupe considering the special size of the specific forest area, (d) the submission of an operational plan, based on the result of renumeration (Section 7 c) and the felling cycle plus annual coupe (above c), (e) the determination of the percentages/quotas of logs that shall be sold on the local market for local processing and the percen tage/quota of logs that may be exported, (f) the term of the Exploitation Permit which shall not be less than 5 years and not be more than 10 years depending on the size of the Forest Exploitation Area. Section 10. Incentives: The FDA Forest Exploitation Permit does not grant any exemptions from the Liberian laws of general application (Investment Incentives) but the FDA mayor may not recommend the granting of Investment Incen tives by the proper authority under the law depending on the circum stances of the individual FDA Forest Exploitation Permit. PART V. EFFECTIVE DATE Section 11. Effective Date: This Regulation shall become effective on September 4, 1979 and shall be announced in the public media and be published in the FDA Newsletter. Monrovia, Liberia, September 1, 1979. John T. Woods John T. Woods MANAGING DIRECTOR 27