Community Forest Rules, 1993 (Revised Edition)

REVISED COYl},fCNITY FOREST RULES, 1993 Preamble In response to the commands of His MaJeSty the King dated 1979 and 1984 to the RGOB, and in exercise of the power conferred by Section 16 of the Forest and h'ature Conservation Act of 1993, lhe Mlnbtry of f\gricullure lias framed i:he i'ollowing rules: 1. [The draft Act provides for the Ministry to issue rules, while the earher draft nf tht''<-~ rnlrs s:1.irl thev were marle hv the RGOB.J . SHORT TITLE AND C:O~l];NCJ;;MENT 1.1 These rules may be called tf'.e Community Forest Rules, 1993. 1.2 These rules shall come into :·orce i111rnediately. [The Bhutan Forest Act 1969 and the new draft Act both state that they extend to the whole of Bhutan, although I do not know that is necessary. Even if it is usual to mention national application, it should not be done in this case since these rules can only be applied gradually.] 1. D];:FlN1TlQc':S Unless the subject or context otherwise requires, in these rules: (a) "Act" means the Forest and Nature Conservation Act, 1993. (b) [def1nitio11 of "Communi[y Forest": delere] [It is better to put the requirements or <1t least the desirable qualities of the community forest in the borly of th.e ni!1:s ::ind not iJ1 thl:' rfpfir,itinn..:: Tn ;, sense, the whole Rules are a definition of comnnmity forest. Jf a specific definition is necessary, I woL1id suggest putting lt in Secnon 2 of the dtd.h J\ct as follows: "Community Forest" means a community forest established under rules niad,~ under section 16,] (c) "Users' Group" means the group of households constituted m accordance with Rule 4. l for the management of a communily forest established under these rules. [You can say either "users group" or "users' group", but not "user's group" in this context. The definition will be 1nore useful if it relates the group to a particular community forest. J (d) ["Agreed Plan" means a forest management plan approved by the Department of Forests.] [delete - not used] 3. DESIGNATION OF COM.lvfUNITY FOREST AREAS (Any Government forest (degraded, production, protection) seems to be eligible for community forestry, depending on the needs and capabilities of the community. Now that there is a single category of community forest applicable to all areas, it would be clearer to put th{.. rules in those terrns. It does not seem appropriate to call an area "community forest" until a users' group has come forward, so l suggest renaming the preliminary designation "community forest area".] 3.1 Any area of Government Reserved Forest that is suited to management by :i local community may be designated as a community forest area. 3,2 Suitability for community management may be indicated by one or more of the following factors: potential to supply forest produce for local consumption and sale; role in protecting local soil and \.vater resources; suitability for community~rnanaged regeneration; traditional use and management by rD'.':mben; of the community; willingness and ability of members of the community to manage the forest in accordance with these rules. 4. PROCEDURES FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF COlVfMUNITY FORESTS 4.1 Households willing to establish, protect and manage a community forest area as a community forest under this rule shall form a users' group. As far as possible all households traditionally usin2 a particular forest land unit should constitute such users· group. The group should elect the represenrative of one household as the chairman of the group, It should apply for the establishment of the community forest by submitting the form in Schedule 1 through the Gup of the gewog to the Divisional Forest Officer. [One copy of the form should be :mffioicnt. The form could be on self carbon paper or the DFO could help the group by making more copies if he needs them,] 4.2 After reviewing the application submitted by the users' group, the Diviswnal Forest Officer will ask the responsible forest extension agent to evaluate che area applied for and the qualifications of the group to manage it. After field c!1t:ck..iug a.ml 11e<..:e.'i:-.a.iy n;view, if Ll!t: exlt:11:;iv11 agi.:11L Jim.ls t!Jt: avµlit:a.Liun LU be consistent with Rule 3, he shall recommend its acceptance to the Divisional Fcn~~t Offa:er. (The extension agent needs to do something much more complicated than verify the legal status of the area, He has to evaluate the area and the group (to make sure it properly represents at least present users, that it is not a cover for a land-grab, that it 1s not requesting an area that more properly should go to another group) in terms of suitability for community forestry.] 4 '1 ff the Divisional Forest Officer :accepts the application, he shall demarcate th~ community forest and hand it over to the users' group for its management arid utilization subject to a contract in the form set out in Schedule 2. The Divisional Forest Officer will forward one copy of the contract to the Ministry through the Department and another copy to the Dzongda. [Unless the DFO is just a rubber stamp, the Rules must provide for him to decide to turn the forc:,t over to the group, so rule 4, 3 :5hould operate only if he docs so decide. It must be decided if the "comimm:ty forest area'' should become a "community forest'' at this stage or only after the management plan is approved. Ministry and Department are defined in the draft Act, so they should be referred to in as Ministry and Department in the rules, I am not clear on the terminology: is the Dzongda the same as the Dzongkhag or the Dzongdag? All three are used for what seems to be the same purpose,] 5. ];'.REPARAT!ON OF THE MANA§.EMENT ('LAN [Prnp::1r::1ticm Clf thP. m:,.nagP.mf':nr pl:rn i ~ ri1.1lte a difff".rP.nt ",nhjt"rt fmm th1:1 m::1n::1gl"m0nt responsibilities of the l!Sers' group, "":'he two should be placed in separate sections,] 5.1 The users' group shall prepare a management plan for the commllnity forest before the certificate of ownership of the forest may be granted to the group, The concerned forest extension agent will assist the l!Sers' group to prepare the management plan. The forest extension agent shall ensure the pnrticipution of the Gup in the preparation of the management plan. [There are no guidelines in Schedule l, so it is suggested that the reference to the 6. schedule be deleted from rule 5 .1 J 5.2 The plan- shall be reviewed by the Divisional Forest Officer, who shall approve it if satisfactory or, if it is not, return it to the users' group for rr':.•mhmii:;1,inn with the- nf'rf'~<::iry ~mf"nrlm?nt<. 5.2A If the t1sers' group fails to sutrnit a satisfactory management plan within such time as may be specified in the contract under Rule 4.3, Lhe Divisional Forest Officer may cancel the contract and resume the communny torest without payment of compensation, [There seem to be too many steps here. It is risky tu declare an area community forest 1 hand it over to a group and Lien be forced to take it back again because, the plan is not satisfactory. From the wo:kshop I cannot tell whether it would be equally acceptable to require the plan before the forest is "handed over",] CERTIFICATE OF CO!v!M1}NITY FORESTS Upon approval of a satisfactory m:i.nage.ment plan for a community forest to a particular users' group, the Divisional Forest Officer shall issue a certificate of ownership to the forest in the form set out in Schedule 3. [I have trouble discovering what category of land this area might be under the Land Act; it is not clear whether the land, the forest or the forest produce are being transferred to the users' group's owncrsllip. Tl1e draft Act is ambiguous on this poim also and needs to be corrected, Section 16(b) provides for the transfer of ownership of "forest resources" to user groups, \.vhereas section 16(c) refers to the transfer of "r.ommnnity forP.'-t,;,:" S:f'>r.ticrn l h(h,l ~hcmld n~acl ::i.~ fnllows: (b) The rules for commcnity forests may provide for the transfer of' ownership of a community forest to appropriate groups of inhabitants of communities adjoining the forest.] 6A. ~IANi\GEMENT RESPONSIBILITY OF THE ],!SERS' CROUP [former rule 5.3] Under the overall supervision of the Divisional Forest Officer, the users' group shall be responsible for the protection and management of the community forests handed over to them. The responsibility among orher things shall mclude: carrying out rehabilitation plantation in barren areas; protecting and tending the young seedling:s; saving the forest against fire; protecting the trees against uncontrolled lopping 1 felling, resin tapping, rlf'.h:nking, nr :my nther 11ct th:'lt ct;:imazes them; implementing the prescription of the management plan prepared for the area; prohibiting the mining of sand, stones and soil; [The purpose of the reference to "designated community protected forest areas" is not clear, nor who would designate such areas.] authorizing utilization of the forest in accordance with Rule 10; {The power to authorize use is the counterpart of the power to prohlbit it and should be mentioned.J any other activities required for proper management. 7. ASSISTANCE TO BE PROVIDED BY THE 12EPARThIBNTTQ!MPLEMEJiI THE 111ANAGEMENT PLAN The Department shall provide necessary seeds and seedlings free of cost to the 1;sers' group to enrich the community forest handed over to them. Technical assistance shall be provided ns o.nd when necessary to implement the mnnngement prescriptions. 8. RECORD KEEPC':!GQJ'(;QM~1JJN1Ti'.IQRESTS The users' group shall maintain records of the community forest, including records and financial accounts of planting, silvicu!ture, harvesting and sales. The group shal' Je.'iigudtC a mcmbi:1 a.s .'iC1,,1ct..uy fu1 tlli.'i furn.:tiuu. Cupic.s o f such records should be made available to the Divisional Forest Officer imd the Dzortgkhag. [The users' group 1tself must be responsible for keepinI: its own records. otherwise it cannot really exercise the responsibilities of management. The Gup would only act as record·•keeper if he were the head of the group, and the workshop has already recommende,d that he not be. Copies of the records should be available to others, but the group should not have the ctmy ot prepanng duplicate sets ot everythmg . .Kule 11 mentions appointment of a secretary. That would be equally relevant here.J 9. PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES OF GROUP MEMBERS [This rule should only apply to the users' group, since they have bmh special rights and a special responsibility in the community forest. Non-members of the group "vould be covered by ;;ection 17 of the Draft Act as for us forest produce is concerned. If that is not sufficient, section 12.2 of the Land Act seems to cover unauthorized use of land.] No member of the users' group sha:l perform or permit the performance of any of the following activities inside a community forest: u~ill!b tln;: larnJ ill a,ny lllallllt:l Vlllt:1 LliaJJ d.:) J)lt:')L:Iilit:U iu tilt: llldlldE',t:lllt:lll JJldll, selling, mortgaging, or otherwise alienating the forest; (This could be amb1g uous, since forest produce can dearly be alienated under rule 10. See the comment on Rule 6] mining, hunting, and unauthorized recreational activities; building houses or huts for purposes other than the protection or tlle community forest; using the land as gardens or orchards or for growing permanent crops or as shifting cultivation. 10. ROYALTY AND BENEFIT Sl!ARING FROM COMMUNITY .. FORl';,TS 10. l Forest produce inside the community forests will be the shared property of the members of the users' group. The users' group can use these resources on '.luztn.incd yield bnsis us per the prescription of the mnnngcmcnt plan. The Depanment will not levy any royalty on forest produce so harvested. 10.2 The users' group may without pavment of royalty sell the produce or the community forest for local 11se to inhabitants of the village who are not members of the group. [Much of this sub rule may not be necessary and rhe resr needs to be clarified. The matter of charging or not charging for technical assistance belongs in rule 7, although it may be left unspecified as at present. Use by members of the group 1s already prnvirlf'J1 fM in ~11h~rnlP in 1 .<;;11pply rt1 nnnMme>.mhf'r~ nf'f'rl<; tn hf' ~tnte>c! mmf' clearly; is it subject to royalty? rs it subject to permits as sales to outsiders is? In both cases I would suggest the answer is no, as incorporated in the revised subsection above.] 10.3 The users' group may sell forest produce in excess of local requirements for use outside the village ['without payment of royalty - tlus needs to be decided]. Such so.Jes should be subject to the introduction of nn uppropriute permit system, maintenance of sales records, opening of a joint bank accoLint to establish a revolvmg fund. 10.4 The users' group shall fix the price of different kinds of forest produce from the community forest. It may seek advise from the Divisional Forest Office to determine appropriate prices. It shall also forward particulars of such prices to the concerned Divisional Forest Office. 10.5 The proceeds from the sale or supply of forest products from the community forest shall be credited to a revolving fund account of the users' group. 10.6 The concerned users' group can use the fund mobilised from the proceeds of the sale for implementation of the ma11agement plan and protection of the community forest. It may use any excess amount for any community purpose. [I do not see why the users' group should be limited to the community aclivities listed, It is important that it be required to maintain the forest, and this should be more clearly stated. After that, however, it <;hould be able to use the profits for any purpose it wishes. in deference to the original draft, I have retained the mention of "community" purpose, but I am not sure that this is a wise limitation.] 10.7 lf the productrnn from the community torest tar exceeds the tocat demand, II1c users' group can export the forest products outside the country. However, export can be done only through Department. The Department will levy 25 percent of the net sale income from the users' group. The procedures for the export of such forest products shall be guided by the prevailing rules and regulation of the Act. (This ts a very high tax if "net sale income" means what T think it does. There was, however, considerable confusion when I was in Bhutan over whether 1t meant the proceeds of sale received by the group, with or without logging and transport costs, or whether it meant profit (:m.lc price kJs all costs including forc:3r management costs). This must be clarified and the subsection redrafted accordingJy,1 11 PERMITS [The purpose of this rule is not very clear in part because Schedule 3 to which it refers ctoes not deal with forest produce. In accordance with comments above, the "permit" should not be required for local sale and supply. Sale outside the village could be made the object of a permit and this section could be limited to that. Rtcord­ k,,.~ping is already dealt with by Rule 8; if more needs. to be said 1t should be sa1d there. I suspect that sub rule 11.3 is intended to give law-enforcement authority to the group and the Gup, but I doubt that it is authorized by the draft Act. Sub-section 11 A is not necessary since the rules that must be complied are themselves sufficient to make the users' group responsible for compllance.J 11.1 All sales of forest product from a community forest for use outside the village shall be subject to a permit issued by the group. The group shall prepare follr copies of the permit in the form indicated in Schedule f l. One copy shall be issued to the buyer, the sewnd copy will be forwarded to the concerned Divisional Forest Officer, the third copy '>vill be issued to the Dzongkhag Adminstration and the last copy shall be retained by the users' group. (The users' group, not the Gup, should be responsible for keeping a copy of the permit. A new Schedule 4 is recommended to i.ncl.ude a form for the permit. Do you have one that is alre:::idy in use?J 12. REPORTING AND MON!TORJ'(G 12.1 Every users' group shall prepare an annual report on the status of the community forest [as outline[ in the Schedule: delete - there 1s no Schedule] and submit it to Divisional Forest Offic~r with a copy to Dzongdag within one month from the date of expiration of each fiscal year. 12.2 The Divisional Forest Officer shall direct the concerned forestry extenslon agent in the dzongkhag to conduct necessary enquiries in respect ro the problems and issues facing smooth unplementation of the community forestry programme in the dzongkhag 12,3 The Divisional Forest Officer has the right to inspect the community forests as and when needed. He shall submit mspection reports to the Depanrnent and to Dzon gkliag at least once le every two years. SCHEDULE I (Pr-11:1ining to r•1le 4 1) APPLICATION FOR;\,! EXPRESSING INTEREST TO ESTABLISH COMJVIUNITY FOREST Dzongda, Dwngkhng. Dasho, In accordance with the notification proinulgated by the Deparrment of Forestry on ~-· being desirous of establishing a community forest for the purpose o:' developing forests through protection and afforestation in the proposed area described below on bdialf of the: us(;;rs' i.,;.roup of ~----~~vlllagi:: con:si:sLiu~ uf !iou:icllold.s, I am forward1ng, this apl)lkatlon for 'jOlt( c:an~\.de.rat\.an ta allocate follovH\\g, oxe.i. ?.$ ~r attached sketch map adjacent to our commJnity to establish community forest. a) Gewog: b) Village; c) Description of the national forests o:- community land identified for the estab!ishmem of the community forest l. Name and location: --~ 2. 'Rounda.ry des.cription: N s E 3. Area: ~----~~---~ 4. Number of standing trees, (heir size and species: (List of trees attached). [It is not reasonable to ask a users' group to list the trees in a forest.] d) Is the proposed site inside the forest demarcation? .... e) Has the community paid land tax of any kind?- t) Has there been cultivation inside the proposed area during the last three years? g) rs the users' group willlng to follow [he prescripliom of che managemem pla11 tu l>t: prepared with the assistance of the Department and agreeable to comply with the Community Forest Rules? [The management (not revegeta.tion) plan is prepared by the group, not by the Department.] Name of the Chairman of the Group: Date: ···~ Name and sii;:nature of till; repre~entativ~.o.f.th.LhousehQI!Js involved in the users' eroup: SL No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Name Signature SCHEDULE 2 (Pertaining to sub-rule 4.4) CONTRACT BETWEEN Tl.iEUSJ;.RS' GROUP AND THE DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY TO PROTECT AND MAINTAIN A COJVIMUNITY FOREST [The term "handing over" does not have a very precise legal meaning, so it is better to avoid it where possible.] We the undersigned of village Gewog of the ····----n7ongkhag have formed a users' grrrnp ;inrl ;:igrrr- t0 prntf'i'.'t ;inci m.;1.nage the community forest in acres of land as per our application dated . We are aware of the contents of the Community Forest Rules published by the Depanment of Forestry and agree to follow all the obligations as a member of the users' group. SI. No. Name Signature l 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 On behalf of the Department of Forestry. I am handing over the community forest mentioned above to the signatories of this contrnct for the protection and management until sllch time as I have approved a management plan tor the Forest in accordance with Kule '.'>.2. lf a satisfactory management plan is not submit:ed by the area community forest shall revert to the Department Name of the DFO: Forest Division: Signature: Date: SCHEDULE 3 (Pcr·laiuing tu ~ul.J-l'ul~ 8.1) RQYAL GOVE!li'I/MENT OF BHUTAN DEPARTMENT OF FORES.TS FOREST DIVISION CERTll1CATE OF OWNERSHIP OF THE COMMUNITY FOREST PRODUCE [If the produce is owned and not the forest, as indicated below, the title should be modified, 1f it is otherwise, the certificate s'nout0 De modified.} MrJ Mrs. Gup, Gewog Dzongkhag In accordru1ce with the Community Forest Rules, I am pleased to award this certificate of joint ownership of the community forest as per attached sketch map and other information as mentioned below: (a) Narnt: antl lucaLion uf Utt: t:ummunity fure~L (b) Description of the boundary: CJ Area: D) Name and acklrn:-" of the memher(~) of the users' group: Name Address QJficiu I a war ljjJ1i,J:J,~rtiticate: Name: Designation: Signature: Date: Discussion Points