Compare Data: Countries
This table presents a summary of the indicators reported by the partners in the seven countries where Making the Forest Sector Transparent is working. It is important to note that the indicators are not directly comparable because of the differing country-specific contexts and assessments by the partners.
Year: 2012
| Freedom of Information Legislation |
Cameroon still does not have a specific law on freedom of informa
Cameroon still does not have a specific law on freedom of information, and the provisions on the right to information in the Constitution and sector specific laws are not effectively applied. Read the report...
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The Right to Information Bill was first tabled in Parliament in F
The Right to Information Bill was first tabled in Parliament in February 2010 but has made no significant progress since then towards being passed into law. Civil society organisations and other stakeholders have raised concerns over the slow progress and amendments to certain restrictive clauses. Read the report...
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The Freedom of Information Act was signed into law in 2010 and is
The Freedom of Information Act was signed into law in 2010 and is publicly available, but progress towards its implementation has been slow. The Independent Information Commissioner was nominated by the President in May 2012, but at the time of this assessment had not yet been confirmed by the Liberian Senate as required in Chapter 5 of the law. Read the report...
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Peru has a Law on Transparency and Access to Public Information a
Peru has a Law on Transparency and Access to Public Information and specific regulations on implementation of transparency websites by public bodies; however, despite having made some progress, several government bodies still do not comply adequately with the stipulated standards, and the information they provide is still insufficient and incomplete. In April 2012, the Public Ombudsman proposed the creation of an Autonomous National Authority on transparency, which would be a great step forward when it is implemented. Read the report...
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The Organic Law on Transparency and Access to Public Information
The Organic Law on Transparency and Access to Public Information (LOTAIP) was approved in 2004. The Public Ombudsman is responsible for promoting the law and ensuring that its requirements are complied with by the public institutions. Some progress has been made, but improving the level of transparency is still a challenge to be met. In 2012, the Ombudsman adopted a number of strategies to improve compliance and disseminate the right of access to public information. Read the report...
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The Law on Access to Public Information seeks to guarantee the tr
The Law on Access to Public Information seeks to guarantee the transparency of the public administration and the right of any person to access public information. There are still obstacles to fulfilment of the law, however it was strengthened by the creation of the Secretariat for Monitoring and Transparency in 2012. Read the report...
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Article 24 sub-paragraph 1 of the constitution of the DRC of 18 F
Article 24 sub-paragraph 1 of the constitution of the DRC of 18 February 2006 states that “All persons have the right to information''. However, there is no law on the right to information. Civil society stakeholders presented a bill to the Senate prior to the November 2011 elections but the process has not been taken forward by the government since then. Read the report...
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| National Forest Policy |
The current forest policy was issued in 1993 and reviewed in 1995
The current forest policy was issued in 1993 and reviewed in 1995 following the adoption of the Forest Law in 1994, but it has not been updated since then. Developments such as the REDD+ initiative and the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA), and issues such as cases of overlapping titles for forest and mining exploitation, mean that it is essential to review and adapt the policy. It is currently being reviewed within the framework of the forestry reform process. Read the report...
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The policy framework, as contained in the 1994 Forest and Wildlif
The policy framework, as contained in the 1994 Forest and Wildlife Policy, is publicly available. A review of this policy was completed with stakeholder participation in 2011 and the Cabinet approved the new policy, but it has not yet been officially published. The policy addresses key issues in the sector. Read the report...
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The National Forest Policy in 2006 sets out to address immediate
The National Forest Policy in 2006 sets out to address immediate rehabilitation and 10 year medium term needs of the nation, and is primarily focused on deriving macro-economic benefits from the forestry sector. As a part of the Government Poverty Reduction Strategy II development process, forest sector stakeholders in June 2012 concluded a roadmap which will inform possible review of the policy. Read the report...
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A third preliminary version of the proposed National Forest Polic
A third preliminary version of the proposed National Forest Policy was updated in June 2010. This document has still not been approved, but it was published and made available on the General Directorate for Forests and Wildlife website. In May 2012 a guide was presented for strengthening of the forest sector, which includes drawing up a policy through a process of participation. Read the report...
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The Under-Secretariat for Natural Heritage at the Ministry of Env
The Under-Secretariat for Natural Heritage at the Ministry of Environment published a document in 2011 explaining and defining the model for forest governance in Ecuador. In 2012, the Secretariat for forest production at the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Aquaculture and Fisheries has been working to create a national forestation and reforestation policy. Read the report...
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Guatemala’s Forest Policy of 1999 forms the general framework f
Guatemala’s Forest Policy of 1999 forms the general framework for planning of the country’s forest resources. A process has begun to update this policy, which looks to contextualise forest actions relating to problems of vulnerability and sustainable development. Read the report...
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The priority agenda drawn up by the World Bank in 2007 serves as
The priority agenda drawn up by the World Bank in 2007 serves as a forestry policy document while the one currently being prepared by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation of Nature and Tourism (MECNT) awaits adoption. The draft document is available to the public but the Ministry has not published it for consultation. The situation has evolved very little since 2011. Read the report...
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| Codified Forest Law and Supporting Norms |
The Forest Law was under review in 2012 through a participative p
The Forest Law was under review in 2012 through a participative process with the support of thematic leaders appointed by the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife (MINFOF), as well as with the input of individuals or associations submitting their proposals for improvement of the law. While this reform of the overall law was still pending, a series of decrees were also being discussed to resolve some of the gaps in implementation of the current law in force since 1994. Read the report...
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There are the several laws that regulate the protection and manag
There are the several laws that regulate the protection and management of the forest. As part of the implementation of the Voluntary Partnership Agreement with the European Union, one new Legislative Instrument was passed in July 2012, to create the Timber Validation Council. A more substantial review and consolidation of the forest law has started but not yet been completed. Read the report...
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The National Forestry Reform Law 2006, Ten Core Regulations 2007
The National Forestry Reform Law 2006, Ten Core Regulations 2007 and Community Rights Law 2009 provide the foundation for forest sector management. An important step forward in 2012 was the approval of the Chain Saw Milling regulation, which aims to support rural livelihoods and mitigate negative environmental impacts. Nonetheless, there are gaps and inconsistencies in the legal and regulatory framework, which most notably have been exploited to grant Private Use Permits. Read the report...
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There is forest sector legislation and lower level regulations wh
There is forest sector legislation and lower level regulations which implementation it into practice. A participative and inclusive process began in February 2012 for developing regulations of the new Forests and Wildlife Law approved in 2011. Read the report...
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There are numerous laws connected with the environment sector whi
There are numerous laws connected with the environment sector which are available to the general public on the Ministry of Environment website. These regulations tend to incorporate principles of sustainability. The need to have an Environmental Code in tune with the principles of the 2008 Constitution has been raised, which would entail a new institutional structure for environmental issues, but to date the government has published no further information on this process. Read the report...
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Guatemala has a specific legal framework for forest issues. There
Guatemala has a specific legal framework for forest issues. There are also a series of laws which strengthen the regulations on forest use, and natural resources in general. The new Forest Law was decreed in 1996 and regulated in 2005. All the environmental legislation is available on various websites of the different environmental bodies, although it has not been translated into indigenous languages. Read the report...
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There is a Forest Code and 37 regulatory measures of the 45 initi
There is a Forest Code and 37 regulatory measures of the 45 initially envisaged, plus around 20 operational guides for forestry management, but the lack of measures to apply this framework at the provincial and local levels means that there are always gaps or even contradictions in its application at the different administrative levels. Read the report...
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| Signed VPAs and Other Agreements on Forest Products |
The VPA between Cameroon and the European Union has been ratified
The VPA between Cameroon and the European Union has been ratified by the two parties. The first session of the joint implementation committee took place on 6 March 2012 and the second session was held on 17 and 19 July 2012. The VPA is a real opportunity to improve forestry governance in Cameroon and to ensure the legality of the timber trade and its by-products. Read the report...
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Ghana ratified a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the E
Ghana ratified a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the European Union on 19 March 2010. The final agreement and supporting documents are publicly available. Implementation has been slow to date. The aide memoire of the Joint Monitoring and Review Mechanism mission in March 2012 anticipated the finalisation of the wood tracking system and legality verification system to support issuance of the first licenses in 2013, but it remains to be seen whether momentum can be maintained. Read the report...
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Liberia and the European Union initialled a Forest Law Enforcemen
Liberia and the European Union initialled a Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) in May 2011. The European Union Parliament ratified the Agreement in April 2012 and the Liberian Government was expected to do so. The VPA has the potential to strengthen governance, reduce corruption and combat illegal logging, but will depend on how effectively it is implemented. Read the report...
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The Free Trade Agreement with the USA, approved in 2006, included
The Free Trade Agreement with the USA, approved in 2006, included an annexe to motivate the process of updating forest legislation. There are also other Free Trade Agreements with Chile and China, and an Agreement was recently signed with the European Union on 26 June 2012. Read the report...
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Ecuador has signed a number of international agreements related t
Ecuador has signed a number of international agreements related to environmental matters, and also has trade agreements with other countries (in particular with Latin American countries). However, it has not signed any agreements which include specific clauses or annexes stipulating requirements for trade in forest products. Ecuador has expressed an interest in signing a Trade Agreement for Development (ACD) with the European Union, but to date there is no specific resolution in this regard. Read the report...
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Guatemala is a signatory to a series of trade agreements with var
Guatemala is a signatory to a series of trade agreements with various countries, notable amongst which is the free trade agreement between the United States, Central America and the Dominican Republic, and the signing of the Association Agreement between the European Union and Central America in June 2012. These agreements do not include specific clauses or annexes related to forest products, but the Association Agreement includes a general commitment to improve the application of laws and forest governance. Read the report...
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The first round of negotiations on a Voluntary Partnership Agreem
The first round of negotiations on a Voluntary Partnership Agreement on forest law enforcement , governance and trade between the European Union and the Government of the DRC took place on 15 February 2011 in Kinshasa. The main activity of the responsible committee during the subsequent six months was the preparation of a legality grid. Negotiations were suspended because of the general election and lack of finance from Belgium, the main funder of the process. Activities were relaunched in 2012 with the appointment of a new focal point in MECNT. Read the report...
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| Provisions for Transparency in Forest Laws and Norms |
Appendix VII of the VPA with the European Union commits the parti
Appendix VII of the VPA with the European Union commits the parties to publish a specific set of documents and data on the forest sector, and to make information available in the event of a specific request by another stakeholder. It also establishes the methods and channels for the publishing information, including official reports, multi-stakeholder platforms, websites, meetings, forums and media. This appendix therefore establishes a framework for greater transparency on the forest sector. Read the report...
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The Forestry Commission New Service Charter 2008 includes commitm
The Forestry Commission New Service Charter 2008 includes commitments to information transparency under its core functions and sets out service standards for public correspondence and reports, but it is not being adhered to fully. The Voluntary Partnership Agreement with the European Union highlights the importance of transparency in the legality assurance system, but unlike other agreements it does not include a specific annex on public information. Read the report...
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Sections of the National Forest Reform Law 2006, Chain of Custody
Sections of the National Forest Reform Law 2006, Chain of Custody regulation 2007 and Community Rights Law include requirements for public information and transparency. These provisions are reinforced by the Voluntary Partnership Agreement with the European Union, which in Annex IX specifies information to be routinely published or provided on request under the Freedom of Information Act. In practice, access to key documents and data is limited. Read the report...
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Regulatory provisions on transparency for the forest sector are d
Regulatory provisions on transparency for the forest sector are directly linked to the Law on Transparency and Access to Public Information, such as the Regulation on Transparency, Access to Public Environmental Information, and Citizen Participation and Consultation on Environmental Matters. Read the report...
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The regulations governing the sector have provisions related to a
The regulations governing the sector have provisions related to access to information, and the forest governance model refers to transparency as a key element. No changes have been recorded in forest regulations in 2012; however, the Ministry of Environment has developed a Unified System of Environmental Information and a new version of the Forest Administration System. Read the report...
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Forest laws and regulations do not refer specifically to access t
Forest laws and regulations do not refer specifically to access to public information in the sector. Rather the Law on Access to Public Information stipulates the obligations of all the public bodies to create Public Information Units. The National System of Statistical Forest Information in Guatemala has been consolidated to disseminate information. Read the report...
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The Forest Code does not contain clear provisions for transparenc
The Forest Code does not contain clear provisions for transparency, although a decree in May 2011 made it compulsory to publish any contract relating to natural resources. Read the report...
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| Recognition of Customary Rights in Forest Laws and Norms |
Customary and traditional rights are partly recognised in the 199
Customary and traditional rights are partly recognised in the 1994 Forest Law but they are restricted to rights to personal consumption of resources and do not include land rights. Furthermore, a decree establishing the terms for exercising customary rights has never been published. Proposals have been made by civil society stakeholders to improve these rights within the framework of the review of the forest law. Read the report...
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In the Constitution, stool forest lands are vested in accordance
In the Constitution, stool forest lands are vested in accordance with customary law and usage, and the institution of chieftaincy together with its traditional councils is guaranteed. However, the state exercises control over all forest resources. Even though the timber resource management regulations require the involvement of traditional councils in the granting of timber operations, this falls short of explicit recognition of customary rights to manage and use forest resources. Read the report...
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The Constitution broadly recognises customary and traditional rig
The Constitution broadly recognises customary and traditional rights, and the definition of customary land in the Community Rights Law (CRL) with Respect to Forest Lands 2009 implies that control of this land is determined by historic right. However, the CRL regulations approved in 2011 do not reflect the intent of the law and there are several challenges relating to how the government limits the ability of community to exercise their customary rights. Read the report...
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Law No. 29763, the new Forest and Wildlife Law (which will come i
Law No. 29763, the new Forest and Wildlife Law (which will come into force when there is a regulation to implement it) incorporates principles not considered before, such as cross-cultural relations and respect for indigenous rights. In addition, article 78 of the Law states that the national authority recognises the concept of indigenous peoples’ forests and respect for their traditional knowledge of forest and wildlife use and management. Read the report...
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Both the Constitution and the environmental and forest regulation
Both the Constitution and the environmental and forest regulations recognise the rights of indigenous peoples and communities in decision-making on activities to be carried out in their territories. Indigenous peoples will have priority in the use of community lands, but the mechanisms for application of these rights are not clear. Read the report...
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Guatemala’s Political Constitution and the Peace Accords signed
Guatemala’s Political Constitution and the Peace Accords signed in 1996 include commitments to recognise, respect and promote the customary and traditional laws of the communities; however, there is no specific recognition of these laws in forest laws and regulations. A number of evaluations have demonstrated the lack of real recognition of customary laws. Read the report...
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The Forest Code broadly recognises customary and traditional righ
The Forest Code broadly recognises customary and traditional rights, mainly through the possibility of creating local community forests and through the usage rights of communities that live inside or outside the concession areas. However, the decree implementing the creation of community forests has still not been signed several years after it was drawn up, despite strong appeals from civil society stakeholders. Read the report...
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| Formal Procedures for Consultation on New Forest Norms |
There is no legally recognised procedure that specifies the metho
There is no legally recognised procedure that specifies the methods of consultation for the development of new norms. Consultation is identified as part of the classification of forests, but the terms and procedures of consultation have not been defined. The forest reform process over recent years has favoured greater participation by stakeholders, and within the framework of the implementation of the VPA a National Monitoring Committee was established in a decree in September 2012. Read the report...
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Although there are directives on consultation on some specific is
Although there are directives on consultation on some specific issues in the forest sector, there is no legally enshrined procedure for consultation on new forest-related norms. There has been considerable consultation on new initiatives such as the VPA and the new policy recognises multi-stakeholder interests, but civil society organisation have called for consultation to be backed by legislation. Read the report...
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The National Forest Reform Law and Regulation 101-07 on public pa
The National Forest Reform Law and Regulation 101-07 on public participation in promulgation of regulations, codes and manuals set out procedures for public consultation, which have been held on newly approved laws and regulations, for example on Benefit Sharing and the Community Rights Law. Read the report...
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Law No. 29785 – the Law on the Right to Prior Consultation of t
Law No. 29785 – the Law on the Right to Prior Consultation of the Indigenous or Native Peoples - requires there to be a consultation process before any legislative or administrative measure which might directly affect the indigenous populations and their collective rights. In addition, the new Forest Law No. 29763 also stipulates recognition and fulfilment of this right. One important area of progress in 2012 was the publication of the Guide to the Methodology for Strengthening of the Forest Sector, which stipulates the procedure for free, prior and informed consultation on the regulation of the new law. Read the report...
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Articles 81 and 82 of the Organic Law on Citizen Participation st
Articles 81 and 82 of the Organic Law on Citizen Participation stipulate the right to prior, free and informed consultation, and there is also a Citizen Participation Council. In May 2012, a draft organic law on pre-legislative consultation to communes, communities, peoples and nationalities was developed, detailing the stages in pre-legislative consultation. Read the report...
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Although there are no mechanisms in forest legislation for consul
Although there are no mechanisms in forest legislation for consultations leading to the development of new regulations, Guatemalan legislation considers norms on how communities should be consulted. The forest organisations have instigated processes for consultation and wider involvement in the creation of new regulations on forest matters. Read the report...
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Some legal texts outline consultation procedures for certain acti
Some legal texts outline consultation procedures for certain activities specific to the forestry sector, for example regarding the classification of forests. Consultation has become increasingly established for the preparation of new norms, but there are no recognised procedures regarding the methods of consultation to be adopted. The points of view of forest communities are often not taken into account by the authorities during the decision-making process. Furthermore, communities do not always receive comprehensive information during the consultations. Read the report...
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| Legal Right to Free Prior and Informed Consent |
The right to free, prior and informed consent of indigenous popul
The right to free, prior and informed consent of indigenous populations and communities that depend on the forests for their living is not recognised in the forest law and its associated regulations. Read the report...
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The Timber Resource Management Regulations Legislative Instrument
The Timber Resource Management Regulations Legislative Instrument 1649 indicates that before timber rights are granted in lands other than existing forest reserves, written consent of the owners is required. Procedures for obtaining consent and processes for resolving conflicting interests over the land are established in the regulations. In practice, these provisions are sometimes not followed and there have been concerns over the granting of administrative permits without any prior notice or consent of communities. Read the report...
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Regulation 102 on Forest Land Use Planning requires that in order
Regulation 102 on Forest Land Use Planning requires that in order to undertake commercial use on customarily held forest land, a Community Forestry Development Committee (CFDC) must grant free, prior and informed consent. Regulation 104 on Major Forest Use Permits also requires that a CFDC gives free, prior and informed consent to negotiate a social agreement. Read the report...
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There is express recognition of the right to free, prior and info
There is express recognition of the right to free, prior and informed consultation to reach agreement or consent in Law No. 29763 – Forest and Wildlife Law (which will come into force when there is a regulation to implement it), and Law No. 29785 – Law on the Right to Prior Consultation of Indigenous or Native Peoples recognised in ILO Convention 169, approved in 2011. Read the report...
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The 2008 Constitution and the Organic Law on Citizen Participatio
The 2008 Constitution and the Organic Law on Citizen Participation establishes the right of indigenous peoples to free, prior and informed consultation, but it is important to note that consultation is not binding and the decision-making does not require consent. Similarly, the regulations applicable to the forest sector do not explicitly recognise the right to consent. 2012 saw the publication of an order on pre-legislative consultation for the purpose of reaching agreement, which will be progress when it is approved as an organic law. Read the report...
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There is a normative framework available to the public on differe
There is a normative framework available to the public on different websites which recognises the right to free, prior and informed consent of communities when formulating policies and for the use of natural resources; however, this right has not been regulated by the State, making it difficult to implement the various laws recognising these rights and thereby generating conditions of polarisation between society and the State. Read the report...
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The concept of free, prior and informed consent is not recognised
The concept of free, prior and informed consent is not recognised in the Forest Code or the wider legal framework of the DRC that applies to the forest sector, even through it is increasingly cited as an essential element in the REDD+ process. Read the report...
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| National Land Tenure Policy |
There is no national policy on land tenure, just a series of text
There is no national policy on land tenure, just a series of texts for organising land tenure and use. With regard to forests, a zoning or land use plan from 1995 sets out the permanent and non-permanent forest domain in southern Cameroon, but it is inaccurate and out of date. Read the report...
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There is a land policy from 1999, which led to projects aimed at
There is a land policy from 1999, which led to projects aimed at addressing the issues of insecure tenure, but on-going disputes have not been resolved and the policy has not been updated. The ownership of forest reserves by traditional authorities is clarified in the gazette, but it is usually not covered with title (and documentation). The state controls all forest resources, but there has been progress on recognising tree tenure in off-reserves Read the report...
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There are long-standing issues over land tenure that remain unres
There are long-standing issues over land tenure that remain unresolved and no current document sets out the national policy, but the Land Commission has been established to coordinate reforms. Over 2012 it made progress towards producing a policy to address different categories of land rights, including recognition of customary rights, which has the potential to develop a system for equitable access to land and secure tenure. Read the report...
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There is no specific policy on land tenure, but there are policie
There is no specific policy on land tenure, but there are policies applied to the agricultural sector and the forest sector. The Constitution states that natural resources are a national asset and the State has sovereign power over their use. Consequently, there is no private ownership of forest resources, but access is granted for their sustainable use. Read the report...
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Despite the fact that there are a variety of legal bodies dealing
Despite the fact that there are a variety of legal bodies dealing with land tenure, the current state of national land policy is still uncertain. It is worth emphasising that the proposed Land Law has been in the pipeline in 2011 and 2012, but at the time of writing the only text available is the final proposal for a preliminary draft, and there are doubts about the process for approving the law. Read the report...
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Guatemala has a National Policy for Integrated Rural Development
Guatemala has a National Policy for Integrated Rural Development (2009) and an Agrarian Policy (2009), designed to democratise and guarantee the legal certainty of land tenure and ownership in Guatemala. Meanwhile, there is a series of legal instruments which guarantees rights over territories and (communal) lands, such as the Political Constitution of the Republic, the Peace Accords and International Labor Organization convention 169. Read the report...
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There is no national policy on land tenure in the DRC. The Land C
There is no national policy on land tenure in the DRC. The Land Code has not been reviewed since 1980 and there are contradictions and conflicts between the subsequent legislation applied to different sectors such as forests, mining, and oil and gas. There were some initial proposals in 2012 to review the Land Code, but it is too early to anticipate their results. Read the report...
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| Consultation before Commercial Logging Allocation |
The law does not oblige the authorities to carry out consultation
The law does not oblige the authorities to carry out consultation with stakeholders before the allocation of commercial forest operations, although there is an Independent Observer with a seat on the commission that allocates titles. Read the report...
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The Timber Resources Management Act and Regulations set out proce
The Timber Resources Management Act and Regulations set out procedures for consultation of local stakeholders prior to the allocation of timber rights, however in practice these requirements are often not adhered to and some groups are unaware of their rights Read the report...
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Part Two Section 22 of Regulation 104 clearly states that “Befo
Part Two Section 22 of Regulation 104 clearly states that “Before seeking a Certificate for Concession with respect to an area, the Authority shall conduct preliminary consultations with Affected Communitiesâ€, but in practice this process has been characterised by poor facilitation and documentation. Read the report...
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To date there is no requirement making it compulsory to consult t
To date there is no requirement making it compulsory to consult the interested parties (other than the forest owner) for the process of awarding forest concessions. Read the report...
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The allocation of licences for forest operations originate in the
The allocation of licences for forest operations originate in the right of the owner to use, enjoy and dispose of the elements of his/her property, including forests, and if the forest is privately owned, no consultation of other stakeholders is required before allocating it to commercial logging. In cases where the forest belongs to the community, the communities themselves may carry out internal consultations. Read the report...
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The forest law does not consider consulting interested parties or
The forest law does not consider consulting interested parties or those affected before granting forest use licences. The Management Plan is the principal requirement requested by the INAB. However, in Protected Areas there is a requirement for an Environmental Impact Study to be carried out, involving public participation, as stipulated by the Regulation for Evaluation, Monitoring and Environmental Tracking (Article 72). Read the report...
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The Forest Code and its implementing decrees refer to prior consu
The Forest Code and its implementing decrees refer to prior consultation, especially in the case of the classification of forests and the preparation of forest management plans. Concession contracts are also meant to only be signed after the negotiation of social agreements with the communities. In practice, the government has signed contracts that do not fulfil all the required conditions, and relaxed the regulations relating to the management plans. Artisanal logging permits have also increased spectacularly in number without being subject to any consultation. Read the report...
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| Regulation of Environmental Services |
There is no national law or regulations that govern the use of en
There is no national law or regulations that govern the use of environmental services. Civil society organisations have developed proposals to take new initiatives such as REDD+ and payments for environmental services into account in the forest reform process. Read the report...
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The Environmental Protection Agency is working on plans for regul
The Environmental Protection Agency is working on plans for regulating environmental services, but no formal system has been proposed yet. The emergence of initiatives for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation has resulted in discussion on ownership of carbon stored in forests, but there is currently no clear basis for reforms Read the report...
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There is neither applicable legislation nor policies for environm
There is neither applicable legislation nor policies for environmental services. The government has established a National Climate Change Steering Committee to develop a policy on climate change, but to date it has not yet produced one. Read the report...
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There is currently a draft law for regulation of environmental se
There is currently a draft law for regulation of environmental services: the Law on Provision of Environmental Services, which was brought back onto the Congress Agenda in the first months of 2012, but which has seen no further progress to date. However, there are other laws which complement it. Read the report...
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The subject of article 74 of the Constitution of Ecuador, which s
The subject of article 74 of the Constitution of Ecuador, which states that “Environmental services may not be appropriated; their production, provision, use and operation shall be regulated by the State†continues to be on the public agenda; however, there have been no changes in the rules on how to regulate these services and share the benefits. Read the report...
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There is no specific law regulating the use and operation of fore
There is no specific law regulating the use and operation of forest environmental services. However, national environmental legislation, together with the international instruments ratified by the country, contains relevant regulations. There are public policies and legal initiatives focussed on improving environmental regulations, such as the climate change bill promoted initially by the MARN, and now backed by the country’s social and environmentalist organisations. Read the report...
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The Forest Code mentions environmental services as a guiding fact
The Forest Code mentions environmental services as a guiding factor for management of the sector, but there are no further details or supporting regulations. The REDD+ process, which could value the carbon stored provided by the forests, has not made real progress in terms of the clarifying key legal questions such as the ownership of carbon. Read the report...
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| Strategic Environmental Assessment |
There is no formal process for strategic environmental evaluation
There is no formal process for strategic environmental evaluation and planning aimed at identifying the priorities for land use between different options such as forestry and mining operations, large-scale agriculture, and infrastructure development. Read the report...
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The Environmental Protection Agency has developed a Strategic Env
The Environmental Protection Agency has developed a Strategic Environmental Assessment manual for the development of district plans and for different sector policies. However, the legal status of this process is unclear and to date the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has not published an assessment on land use priorities. In practice, there is no transparency in decision-making process on competing demands, such as between forestry and mining. Read the report...
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The Government has not established a formal process for evaluatin
The Government has not established a formal process for evaluating environmental impacts and determining future priorities. In recent years, concessions and permits for forestry, mining, agriculture and other land uses have been granted with little apparent regard for the environment and communities; notably it came to light in 2012 that Private Use Permits had been agreed on over two million hectares without any strategic oversight of this major change in land use. Read the report...
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Peru has approved the National Environmental Action Plan 2011 to
Peru has approved the National Environmental Action Plan 2011 to 2021, which contains provisions for actions and specific targets to strengthen the planning process through Territorial Planning and Economic and Ecological Zoning. The Law for the Environmental Impact Evaluation System makes it compulsory to use Strategic Environmental Assessment, and there is a proposal for a draft Ministerial Ruling which seeks to approve criteria and mechanisms for its formulation, implementation and tracking. Read the report...
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The National Planning Secretariat (SENPLADES) has one document sp
The National Planning Secretariat (SENPLADES) has one document specifying the procedures for carrying out impact studies for projects and programmes, another which provides information and facilitates understanding of the methodology for prioritisation of public investment projects, and recently published a guide for the formulation of sectoral public policies. Read the report...
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The existing legislation is accompanied by political instruments
The existing legislation is accompanied by political instruments on the development priorities, but none of them constitutes a strategic environmental assessment to provide information on the priorities between different uses of land and natural resources. Read the report...
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Environmental impact studies have been written into the law since
Environmental impact studies have been written into the law since July 2011, although there are still no texts to implement them. A process of strategic environmental assessment has not been applied to the forest sector to date. Read the report...
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| Forest Ownership and Resource Use Maps |
Official maps indicating current types of forest property and the
Official maps indicating current types of forest property and the use of forest resources exist, but only cover certain types of property. They are available on the website, although not for all the titles. There has been an improvement in the production of the maps covering logging operations and associated activities. Read the report...
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There are no maps showing ownership of forest land and holders of
There are no maps showing ownership of forest land and holders of resource rights, such as the areas of timber utilisation contracts. Maps of forest reserves and off-reserves areas can be accessed at district Forest Services Division offices; however they do not contain these details. Read the report...
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Maps for Forest Management Contracts and Timber Sales Contracts a
Maps for Forest Management Contracts and Timber Sales Contracts are available in contract documents, and the Forestry Development Authority has produced maps of these concessions and protected areas, which are made available to the public on request. There are no maps that show current forest ownership. Only some Private Use Permits (PUPs) with maps have been made publicly available, but in 2012 it became apparent that there was no map showing the full extent of agreed PUPs for timber extraction. Read the report...
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The General Directorate for Forests and Wildlife has published an
The General Directorate for Forests and Wildlife has published and made available to the public technical maps on rights granted, but this information is still not complete, generating uncertainty in the officially published information. However, the availability of thematic maps has improved in 2012. Read the report...
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There are various maps of the forested areas that form part of th
There are various maps of the forested areas that form part of the National System of Protected Areas and the Socio Bosque programme, which are available on the Ministry of Environment website. The SIGTIERRAS programme of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Aquaculture and Fisheries (MAGAP) programme has also made slight progress in creating land registers for some of Ecuador’s municipalities. However, there are no complete maps showing the types of ownership apart from those held in the title deed directorate of land under-secretariat of MAGAP, which can be accessed by means of an request for information specifying the reason why these maps are required. Read the report...
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Guatemala does not have maps specifically showing forest tenure n
Guatemala does not have maps specifically showing forest tenure nationwide. Institutions such as CONAP and INAB, together with other organisations (Universities and study centres), have made efforts to map forest licences, areas of forest incentives, as well as communal lands, which indicate tenure of forest lands. The land information register law presents an opportunity to register ownership and property information. Read the report...
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Only general maps on forest concession areas are publicly availab
Only general maps on forest concession areas are publicly available, whereas specific maps remain in the hands of the concessionaires. A map of the forest estate including concession areas has also been produced by the World Resources Institute. Maps of artisanal logging permits are not publicly available. Although lacking in detail, the available information shows that there are overlaps in land uses, such as conservation, logging and mining. Read the report...
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| Legal Documents for Commercial Logging Operations |
Some legal documents on commercial forest operations are made ava
Some legal documents on commercial forest operations are made available to the public. Nevertheless, other key documents such as five-year plans and annual operating plans, terms of social agreements, and environmental impact studies are not published on a regular basis. Read the report...
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The legal documents for timber utilisation contracts and permits
The legal documents for timber utilisation contracts and permits can be obtained on request from Forest Services Division offices, but they are not published online and it is difficult to gather comprehensive data on existing timber rights. Exposés by civil society of the number and extent of 'administrative' salvage felling permits allocated without following any due procedures led to them finally being suspended in 2012. Read the report...
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The forestry law and regulations and the Public Procurement and C
The forestry law and regulations and the Public Procurement and Concession Act require transparent processes for allocating forest use permits, including publication of the final contract. Documents for most Forest Management Contracts and Timber Sales Contracts are publicly available, but documents for only a subset of Private Use Permits were released in 2012 and information about these permits has been grossly inadequate. Read the report...
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There is a formal regulated system of operating permits, which ar
There is a formal regulated system of operating permits, which are differentiated in law according to the method of access to the forest under: a. Authorisations; b. Permits; and c. Forest Concessions. The permits granted can only be accessed with a request for the information. Although the General Directorate for Forests and Wildlife does not publish these documents, in 2012 it made available Registers of Forest Concessions, which will help to identify the contracts. Read the report...
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Licences and transportation manuals are required for forestry act
Licences and transportation manuals are required for forestry activities, which are granted to landowners of forested areas as part of their right of usufruct, but under the surveillance of the forest authority and after presentation of a number of requirements set out in the forest regulations. The forest regulations are available on the MAE website; however, copies of the licences and transportation manuals are only available to the public following a request for information with the necessary justification. Read the report...
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Forest licences, which involve a Management Plan, certificates an
Forest licences, which involve a Management Plan, certificates and other requirements established by the forest law, are not available on the website of the National Forests Institute (INAB). However, they can be consulted by interested parties if requested in the respective directorates general of the INAB. Read the report...
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A list of forest concession contracts that have been converted an
A list of forest concession contracts that have been converted and signed was made available on the MECNT website in February 2012. This represents a major advance in terms of transparency, but it remains incomplete. Details of artisanal logging permits were also published in the third quarter of 2011, but they did not reflect the real situation in terms of permits granted by different authorities. Central, provincial and local administrations each issue their own logging permits, which has contributed to the proliferation of the illegal and artisanal exploitation of timber throughout the country. Read the report...
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| Reports on the Verification Process of Eligibility of Commercial Operators |
Reports are drawn up by the Independent Observer after checks on
Reports are drawn up by the Independent Observer after checks on the eligibility, suitability and capacity of applicants for forest titles, but these reports are not systematically made public. However, the MINFOF regularly publishes results through official boards in its central services and on its website. The recruitment process for a new observer was launched in May 2012. Read the report...
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The Timber Rights Evaluation Committee validates pre-qualificatio
The Timber Rights Evaluation Committee validates pre-qualification and bids of companies for allocation of timber rights. Some summary reports are available online and documents on the winners of the auctions can be accessed on request, but in practice due processes have not been consistently followed. Read the report...
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Public procurement and forestry law include requirements for veri
Public procurement and forestry law include requirements for verification of applicants, but not all of the due diligence reports conducted on companies awarded timber concessions have been made public. However, they can be obtained from the Forestry Development Authority on request as these reports are listed as documents that should be available to the public. No formal due diligence procedures have applied to the agreement of Private Use Permits, which represents a major gap in forest sector management. Read the report...
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There is currently no process, nor is one planned by law, to veri
There is currently no process, nor is one planned by law, to verify the technical and financial capacity of applicants for forestry permits; the only assessment carried out is whether the applicant meets the minimum conditions to enter into a contract with the State (having a Tax Identification Number; authorised representatives; a Management Plan; and others). Read the report...
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Before forest use can be undertaken in the country, a forest use
Before forest use can be undertaken in the country, a forest use licence is required. The requirements for this are stipulated in the Unified Text on Secondary Environmental Legislation and Ministerial Agreement 139, which detail the procedures for authorisation of the use and logging of wood. However, there is no detail in these regulations of a verification process for applicants. Read the report...
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Licences or permits for commercialisation of timber are stipulate
Licences or permits for commercialisation of timber are stipulated in the Law on Protected Areas, and in Guatemala’s Forest Law. These requirements involve compliance with a series of technical specifications, and verification processes for the respective Management Plans. However, they do not equate to a process of "due diligence" as proposed by the international initiatives, and the authorities do not publish the results. Read the report...
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An inter-ministerial committee published the results in 2008 of t
An inter-ministerial committee published the results in 2008 of the legal review to convert old forest titles into new concession contracts. However, no due diligence process applies to artisanal logging permits, which have exploited in large numbers. Read the report...
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| Forest Management Plans |
Most of the forestry management plans and some five-year plans ha
Most of the forestry management plans and some five-year plans have been published, and some others are available on request. Read the report...
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Forest Management Plans are produced but they are not available o
Forest Management Plans are produced but they are not available on the Forestry Commission website. Since 2010, strategic management plans for forest reserves have been updated or developed to reflect their socio-economic, cultural and environmental values, but operational plans for timber activities bear little reference to them in practice. In some cases, copies have been made available by district offices when requested, but there is no obligation on the authorities to provide them. Read the report...
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The forestry law requires that concession holders should not be i
The forestry law requires that concession holders should not be issued a harvesting certificate until the holder has an approved forest management plan. In practice, these plans have typically not been published on the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) website or made available to local communities. However, the Info Shop for the FDA in Monrovia had copies for two of the existing seven Forest Management Contracts, which represented a small step forward in public information. Read the report...
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Despite the fact that each operating permit holder must draw up a
Despite the fact that each operating permit holder must draw up a final forest management plan, these are normally not complied with, and if they are then they are not made available to the public. Read the report...
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The Ministry of Environment has developed a Forest Administration
The Ministry of Environment has developed a Forest Administration and Monitoring System (SAF) through which it monitors forest use plans and licences, and automatically grants timber transportation manuals. The management plans are available through requests for information. Read the report...
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There is no legal requirement to publish Forest Management Plans;
There is no legal requirement to publish Forest Management Plans; however, they are available to any interested parties who request them at the corresponding central or regional offices of the INAB. Read the report...
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Forestry management plans are available on request, and some have
Forestry management plans are available on request, and some have been published on the internet, which represents an improvement since 2011. In practice, local communities often still do not have access to plans that affect them. Read the report...
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| Reports from Independent Forest Monitoring |
There is an Independent Observer (IO) to inspect forest activitie
There is an Independent Observer (IO) to inspect forest activities and infractions, whose reports are made public only after they are cleared by the Ministry of Forests and Wildlife. Despite this monitoring in Cameroon for more than 10 years, illegal logging and general problems of governance still persist. Read the report...
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A process to recruit an Independent Monitor, in compliance with t
A process to recruit an Independent Monitor, in compliance with the Voluntary Partnership Agreement, was initiated by the Forestry Commission in 2011 and bids were invited from organisations, but none has been appointed to date. Read the report...
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Regulation 108-07 on Chain of Custody states that the Forest Deve
Regulation 108-07 on Chain of Custody states that the Forest Development Authority will move over time toward a formal system of Independent Forest Monitoring. There has been little progress in establishing this body, but the Voluntary Partnership Agreement with the European Union includes scope for civil society monitoring and over 2011 and 2012 several Liberian NGOs have received funding to participate in capacity-building and monitoring work. Read the report...
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The Public Ombudsman is an autonomous body with decentralised off
The Public Ombudsman is an autonomous body with decentralised offices nationwide which oversee the public administration’s compliance with its duties. Despite its work, as with OSINFOR, this is not an independent body, but an organisation depending on the State. Read the report...
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There is no organisation in Ecuador contracted to carry out Indep
There is no organisation in Ecuador contracted to carry out Independent Forest Monitoring. The model of forest governance published by the Ministry of Environment (MAE) in 2011 considers monitoring and assessment as a key element in forest governance. In 2012, the MAE published terms of reference for contracting a consultancy firm to implement a System of Independent Verification of Legal Origin and Forest Management Compliance, which is a step forward. Read the report...
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In Guatemala there are no specific initiatives for independent fo
In Guatemala there are no specific initiatives for independent forest monitoring, although there are initiatives with an environmental approach. However, there are officially recognised bodies which evaluate and monitor actions in the forest sector, including the National Forest Programme and, to a lesser degree, the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman, but these do not specifically oversee forest operations. Read the report...
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Resource Extraction Monitoring (REM) was appointed as the Indepen
Resource Extraction Monitoring (REM) was appointed as the Independent Observer in the DRC to contribute to the application of principles of good governance in the forestry sector. REM has published its first report covering the priod December 2010–November 2011 and another report on infringements of forest law, but it has not published its mission reports due to difficulties in setting up a review committee. Read the report...
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| Data on the Distribution of Forestry Royalties and Incentives |
Data on the distribution of revenues from forest operations are p
Data on the distribution of revenues from forest operations are published on a regular basis by the Forestry Revenue Securement Programme and the national daily newspaper (Cameroon Tribune). However, information on the sums collected and distributed is not systematically made available to the communities. A new Order regulating the management and redistribution of revenues from forestry operations was signed in June 2012. Read the report...
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The Forestry Commission publishes data on collection and distribu
The Forestry Commission publishes data on collection and distribution of royalties and land revenue to stool chiefs, District Assemblies and traditional councils. In accordance with the law, reports are published online for six month periods. Read the report...
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The National Forest Reform Law set out the entitlement of affecte
The National Forest Reform Law set out the entitlement of affected communities to a proportion of taxes and fees from logging operations, and data on their collection and distribution is circulated in monthly updates from the chain of custody contractor Société Générale de Surveillance. The National Benefit Sharing Trust regulations approved in 2011 set out the responsibilities of the Trust Board in managing the distribution and ensuring that affected communities benefit, but to date it has not commenced this work. Read the report...
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The redistribution of taxes and royalties – a system called the
The redistribution of taxes and royalties – a system called the Forest Levy – in favour of the regional and local governments is developed in Levy Law No. 27506. Figures for the amounts collected and distributed are partially available on the websites of the Ministry of Agriculture, the National Institute of Statistics and Computerised Information and the Ministry of Economy and Finances. Read the report...
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The closest to a redistribution programme is the Socio Bosque pro
The closest to a redistribution programme is the Socio Bosque programme, which provides an incentive to landowners for forest conservation. Information relating to this programme is available online. There is tax exemption for natural forest lands which has been in force since 2010. Read the report...
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There is a system for collecting taxes and redistributing royalti
There is a system for collecting taxes and redistributing royalties from forest operations, and a system of incentives to support landowners in forestry activities. Information on the incentives is available, but there is insufficient information to assess who the beneficiaries are. This lack of detailed information does not allow a detailed analysis of how much support is really needed by smallholders, including the poorest among them, as it is limited to the project area and only consider ownership. Read the report...
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Since early 2011 the government has started to put quarterly repo
Since early 2011 the government has started to put quarterly reports on line, indicating the taxes collected from the mining, forestry and oil sectors. These reports have been very succint and do not provide information on the redistribution of tax revenue. Furthermore, this initiative has ended in 2012, which represents another step backwards in terms of transparency. Read the report...
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| Information on Forest Law Infractions |
Data on infractions of forest law are regularly published. Three
Data on infractions of forest law are regularly published. Three summaries have been published in the national daily newspaper (Cameroon Tribune) and on the MINFOF website since the start of 2012 (January, May and July). This is a step forwards in the regular publication of information on infractions in the forestry sector in Cameroon. Read the report...
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There is no official publication of data on forest offenders and
There is no official publication of data on forest offenders and fines. Some cases of those who are arrested and/or prosecuted appear in the newspapers, but these tend to focus on small-scale illicit chainsaw operations. Information on enforcement activities to combat corruption in the forest sector is not published, and there have been no action on large-scale tax avoidance. Read the report...
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There is no official or systematic publication of infractions, ev
There is no official or systematic publication of infractions, even though publishing a list of infractors and progress on penalties is a requirement of the National Forest Reform Law 2006. The Voluntary Partnership Agreement with the European Union is expected to improve law compliance, but this will depend on how effectively it is implemented Read the report...
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Compared to previous years, directorial rulings indicating penalt
Compared to previous years, directorial rulings indicating penalties and corresponding fines have been published. However, the list of offenders is still not published, which makes it difficult for citizens to identify individual offenders. Read the report...
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It is possible to access a list of offenders through requests for
It is possible to access a list of offenders through requests for information. The Ministry of Environment website only publishes news of offences such as illegal logging, but the guilty parties are not identified publicly. Read the report...
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Guatemala’s Forest legislation and its regulations set out the
Guatemala’s Forest legislation and its regulations set out the offences and penalties applicable to forest matters, but there are no regulations on the compulsory publication of details of those guilty of offences. The websites of the Ministry of the Interior and the Public Prosecutor’s Office do not publish details of forest offenders. Information on cases can be requested from the Public Prosecutor’s Office, but this is covered by the stipulations of the Civil Code and may be restricted for cases currently being tried. Read the report...
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The Forest Inspections Unit under of the Department of Supervisio
The Forest Inspections Unit under of the Department of Supervision and Verification in MECNT is the charged with detecting forest infractions and communicating its finding to the appropriate ministry official. However, this service is under-equipped and no information on infractions and the sanctions applied is published. Read the report...
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| Annual Forest Authority Report |
The forestry authorities do not publish annual reports on forest
The forestry authorities do not publish annual reports on forest activities but the terms of the Voluntary Partnership Agreement will oblige them to do so in the future. Read the report...
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The Forestry Commission (FC) is required in its Service Charter t
The Forestry Commission (FC) is required in its Service Charter to publish an annual report and present it to parliament through the Minister. The last annual report was produced in 2006, but more recent reports from sub-divisions of the FC such as the National Forest Plantation Development Programme have been published annually. Read the report...
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The National Forest Reform Law, Section 20.11, sets out the requi
The National Forest Reform Law, Section 20.11, sets out the requirement for the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) to produce an annual report. Only a draft 2008 report is available on the FDA website, but in 2012 it provided hard copies of 2009, 2010 and 2011 reports to the Sustainable Development Institute. This is an improvement, but the reports are still only summaries with little detail on forest activities. Read the report...
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Despite the fact that the law requires the presentation of an Ann
Despite the fact that the law requires the presentation of an Annual Report, the General Directorate for Forests and Wildlife only presents a statistical yearbook, which cannot be considered a complete report. Read the report...
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The Ministry of Environment publishes an annual report of activit
The Ministry of Environment publishes an annual report of activities on its website. The report for 2011 presents a section on Forest Governance. In addition, through the Forest Administration and Monitoring System (SAF), the MAE publishes annual forest reports. Read the report...
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INAB is supposed to produce an annual report on its work, includi
INAB is supposed to produce an annual report on its work, including activities carried out and how its budget is used; however, the last annual report published was in 2009. With the organizational restructuring of INAB and the updating of its website in 2012, neither this report nor the previous ones can be located. The failure to publish a report for 2011 indicates a certain degree of non-compliance with the Law on Access to Public information. Read the report...
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Annual reports on the forest sector are not published by the auth
Annual reports on the forest sector are not published by the authorities, nor are they required. This does not appear to be a priority for the government. Read the report...
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