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National Forests Act, 1998 (Act No. 84 of 1998)

Chapter 6 : Administration of Act

Part 1 : General powers and duties of Minister

53. Content of regulations

 

(1) For the purposes of this section, "owner" means—
(a) the registered owner; and
(b) where the registered owner has transferred control of the forest management unit in question to another person or organ of State, whether by way of assignment, delegation, contract or otherwise, that person or organ of State.

 

(2) The Minister may make regulations to deal with—
(a) any matter which must be dealt with by regulation in terms of this Act;
(b) the criteria, indicators and standards referred to in section 4(2)(a), including—
(i) their determination and enforcement;
(ii) the creation and promotion of the incentives referred to in section 4(2)(b),
(c) research;
(d) monitoring of the forest resource, including regulations relating to—
(i) the registration of, and collection of data from, owners of forests;
(ii) the registration of, and collection of data from, persons who harvest, saw, process or sell forest produce;
(iii) collection of data from institutions which certify sustainable forest management;
(e) protected trees, including—
(i) the cultivation and grazing of land around any protected tree;
(ii) financial assistance for erecting stock-proof fences;
(iii) the preparing and maintenance of firebreaks for the protection of such a tree;
(iv) the control of the collection, removal, transport, export, purchase, sale or donation of parts or produce of protected trees;
(v) management plans for protected trees;
(f) the management of State forests in general or a particular State forest or part of it, including—
(i) mensuration of forest produce or forest products for the purpose of sale or otherwise; and
(ii) access to State forests for recreation.
(g) licences under section 23, leases under section 27, agreements under section 28 and community forestry agreements under section 30, including—
(i) the appointment and functioning of a person or organ of State outside of the Department to exercise powers and perform duties of the Minister and the Director-General in terms of Chapter 4 and such other sections as relate to that task; and
(ii) procedures for the selection of suitable licensees, lessees, purchasers or offerors;
(h) facilitation, mediation and arbitration before a panel member referred to in section 45;
(i) forest hygiene, including—
(i) the combating of any harmful organism which affects any kind of forest, tree or timber on any land or in any vehicle, building or other place where timber is stored, stacked, seasoned or processed;
(ii) the prevention of the introduction into or the spreading within the Republic of any such harmful organism; and
(j) generally, any other ancillary or incidental administrative or procedural matter which it is necessary or expedient to prescribe for the proper implementation or administration of this Act.

 

(3) The Minister may make different regulations under subsection (2) for different regions of the Republic, different forests or parts or classes of forests and different owners or classes of owners of forests.

 

(4) The Minister may make regulations—
(a) for the inspection of any forest, trees, timber, vehicle, pack-animal or premises by any person or the incumbent of a post designated by the Minister for purposes of enforcing regulations made under this section;
(b) prescribing how samples of any timber for examination or testing must be taken and how and where such timber may or must be graded or marked.

 

(5) The generality of the powers conferred by subsection (2)(j) is not limited by the provisions of the preceding paragraphs.

 

(6)
(a) The Minister may by regulation provide that infringements of certain regulations constitute criminal offences and prescribe maximum penalties for such offences.
(b) The penalties may not exceed those for a second category offence in terms of section 58(2).