Document: Forest Law
Type of document: Law
Date of issue: 21/07/1998
Number of Legal Instrument: Law No 85
Broadcaster: National Assembly of People's Power
Date of entry to the repository: 18/05/2016
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RICARDO ALARCON DE QUESADA , President of the National Assembly of the People's Power of the Republic of Cuba.
I DO KNOW: That the National Assembly of People's Power, in its session of the twenty-first day of July of a thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight, corresponding First Ordinary Period of Sessions of the Fifth Legislature, has approved the following:
AS REGARDS : The Constitution of the Republic in its article 15 (a) establishes that they are the socialist state property of all the people, among other natural resources, the forests.
AS FOR: The protection of forest heritage is an interest of our socialist state.
AS FOR: The forest is a natural renewable resource of the nation that provides goods and services, of economic, environmental, social and cultural type, capable of being used rationally, without detriment to its regulatory and protective qualities of the environment. environment.
AS FOR: The Decree-Law No. 136 "of the Forest Heritage and Wildlife" of March 3, 1993, represented an important advance in the forest legal system, but currently does not conform to the structural changes that have occurred in the country.
AS FOR: The definitions that in relation to the environmental policy of the country, the approval of the Law of the Environment and the need to promote on the basis of modern conceptions the sustainable development of the forests, advise the promulgation of new forest legislation.
BY TANT: The National Assembly of People's Power, in use of the powers conferred on it in Article 75 (b) of the Constitution of the Republic, agrees:
ACT 85
FORESTRY LAW
CHAPTER I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
ARTICLE 1. This Law is called the Forest Law and aims to:
a) Establish general principles and regulations for the protection, increase and sustainable development of the nation's forest heritage.
(b) to control forest heritage resources by means of established regulations and competent bodies and bodies.
(c) Promote and encourage reforestation for economic, protection or social purposes, as well as forest management in plantations and natural forests.
(d) to conserve the biological diversity resources associated with forest ecosystems.
(e) Protect forests against dismounts, irrational felling, forest fires, free grazing, pests and diseases, as well as other actions that may affect them.
f) Regulate the multiple and sustainable use of forest heritage and promote the rational use of non-timber forest products.
ARTICLE 2.-For the purposes of this Law and its supplementary regulations, the following definitions shall apply:
Agroforestry: a set of techniques and procedures by which agricultural or livestock crops or livestock of different types are managed in a rational and sustainable manner in association with forests, thereby pursuing multiple use and yield maximum of the forest land.
Tree: plant of generally woody fuste, with the presence of a single dominant stem in the base, which in its adult state and under normal conditions of habitat can reach, not less than 5 meters of height, or a minor in environmental conditions Negative ones that limit their development.
Forest area: areas within the forest and on land destined for forest activity unfit for the growth of the forest, such as rangelands, cienagas, rivers, creeks, reservoirs, rocky asomes, vials, nurseries, areas destined for the forest self-catering, animal breeding and facilities.
Protected areas: certain parts of the national territory declared in accordance with current legislation, of ecological, social or historical-cultural relevance to the nation, and in some cases of international relevance, especially consecrated, through effective management, protection and maintenance of biological diversity and associated natural, historical and cultural resources in order to achieve specific conservation objectives.
Forest: natural formations (natural forests) or artificial (plantations) integrated by trees, shrubs and other species of higher and lower plants and animals, which constitute an ecosystem of economic and social relevance for the functions that it performs.
Short: it is the action of cutting or cutting trees.
Short of improvement: those that are done in the forest in order to stimulate or to promote their development and to improve their composition and structure.
Hydrographic basin: drainage area of a water course that has an outlet for surface runoff and limited by a water-point that is the line that separates adjacent basins.
Afforestation: the action of populating with tree species land where there were never forests, natural or artificial, or where they have long since disappeared.
Inhabitants of the forest: people who live permanently in communities, small settlements or in isolated form in the forest.
Habitat: is the set of specific ecological conditions where organisms develop their vital activities more successfully.
Environmental impact: positive or negative changes in ecosystems, caused by human activity or by natural phenomena.
Silvicultural management: technical, manual or mechanical interventions aimed at establishing, improving, protecting and harnessing the forest.
Forest management: activity comprising operations of an administrative, economic, legal, social, technical and scientific nature that is carried out for the proper establishment, management, conservation and sustainable use of forests.
Management plan: a plan that regulates the use and sustainable use of forest resources in a specific area.
Non-timber forest products: all plant and animal products as well as goods and services derived from forests, other forest land and trees outside the forest, excluding wood.
Forest reconstruction: forest management aimed at improving degraded forests.
Reforestation: the action of popular with tree species areas that have been the object of previous or destroyed by fires or other causes.
Silvicultural treatment: silvicultural management aimed at obtaining plantations and highly productive and economically valuable natural forests, consisting in the periodic extraction of part of the trees of the forest.
Article 3.-The forest heritage is integrated by natural and artificial forests, land destined for this activity, deforested areas with conditions for forest activity, as well as trees of forest species that develop in isolation or in groups, whatever their location and tenure.
The forest heritage is also part of the forest heritage. In these areas, the Ministry of Agriculture exercises the powers granted to it by law, except in cases that fall within the jurisdiction of other bodies.
ARTICLE 4.-The real palm tree, national tree of Cuba, integrates the forest heritage and its promotion and conservation enjoys special attention
ARTICLE 5.-The forests according to the terms defined in the current legislation regarding land tenure, may be located on land owned by the state, cooperative or small farmers.
CHAPTER II
INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK
ARTICLE 6.-The Ministry of Agriculture is responsible for directing, executing on the responsibility and controlling the policy of the State and the Government in terms of the protection, increase and sustainable development of the resources of the forest heritage and the activities of collection, benefit and forestry industry.
ARTICLE 7.-The Ministry of Agriculture is responsible, in coordination with the competent bodies and agencies, and without prejudice to the functions and functions of the following:
(a) to direct and monitor compliance with the provisions relating to forest heritage and to take the necessary measures for their protection, increase, sustainable development and the activity of collection, benefit and forestry industry.
(b) to direct, approve and update the inventory and forest management work;
(c) participate in the prevention and extinction of forest fires in coordination with the Ministry of the Interior and other competent bodies and agencies, execute on the responsibility and supervise the rehabilitation actions of the areas affected by those or other natural disasters;
(d) to establish control measures, in coordination with the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment and the National Institute of Water Resources, for the protection of river basins, through conservation, improvement or the establishment of forests;
(e) to regulate, in coordination with the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, management in terms of the protection of mangroves or other coastal vegetation in the cays, canalizos, cove, caletas and coastal areas on the shores of the sea and other places which may serve as a refuge for marine and fishery resources and for the protection of other natural resources;
(f) to participate in the determination of endangered or endangered forest species in accordance with the results of studies and research carried out and to direct and control work for their recovery;
(g) to propose and, once approved, to implement plans for the management of existing forest heritage resources in the territories declared as Protected Areas under their administration;
(h) promote and encourage the participation of communities, in coordination with the local organs of the People's Power, in the protection, exploitation and development of forests and ensure that they benefit in a regulated manner that they provide;
(i) represent the Government in international forest-related organizations and organizations; implement the necessary measures to comply with international conventions and agreements in this field; and
(j) coordinate with the ministries of education, higher education, culture and the mass media, the implementation of the actions that correspond to them in accordance with their powers, to support the application, knowledge and dissemination of the provisions of this Law.
ARTICLE 8.-The Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment in its guiding character exercises the following functions in terms of forest heritage:
(a) participate, evaluate and monitor the implementation, development and implementation of environmental protection, conservation and sustainable development of forest heritage;
(b) carry out actions for the integration and coordination of the introduction of environmental protection requirements in forest ecosystems, for which purpose it may request and obtain the relevant information from the Ministry of the Agriculture and the formulation of the relevant recommendations to that body or to the Council of Ministers as appropriate;
c) control that the activities related to the forest heritage in Protected Areas take place in accordance with the approved category and management plan for the area; and
(d) to direct and monitor the implementation of regulations and other measures on the protection and sustainable use of biological diversity in forest ecosystems.
ARTICLE 9.-The Ministry of the Interior exercises the following functions and functions in relation to the forest heritage:
(a) organise and direct the Ranger Corps;
(b) to implement within the framework of its competence, the protection of forest resources and to lay down regulations for the provision of the surveillance service; and
(c) to organise and direct the forest fire protection system and to issue, in coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture, the preventive measures of a specialised nature.
CHAPTER III
FOREST MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL
SECTION FIRST
FOREST STATE SERVICE
ARTICLE 10.-The State Forest Service is the authority responsible for exercising state control over compliance with forest heritage regulations and other measures adopted for their conservation, management and sustainable development. of natural and legal persons obliged to do so.
The Ministry of Agriculture organizes and directs the State Forestry Service, which is structured in provinces and municipalities in accordance with the needs that the level of forest activity demands in each territory.
ARTICLE 11-The State Forestry Service exercises the following functions and functions as regards the forest heritage:
(a) monitor the implementation of sustainable forest development plans and programmes in the short, medium and long term;
(b) exercise control over the dynamics of the forest heritage;
(c) evaluate and propose forest management projects and monitor their implementation and updating;
(d) approve the technical projects for the management of the forest heritage, as well as afforestation and reforestation projects and certify their implementation;
(e) to issue the corresponding guides and authorizations for the performance of any kind of short, control of the whole with the Corps of Ranger its execution and to provide to the Tax Administration the information that it requires for the cash monitoring compliance with the payment of taxes by the persons obliged to do so;
(f) grant permits and authorizations for the use of forest lands for agroforestry, tourism or recreational purposes, which do not imply any definitive changes in their use and do not require environmental licensing, as well as to remove them when they do so it is appropriate to require and monitor the rehabilitation of the affected areas;
(g) approve, in coordination with the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, proposals for the categorization of forests as well as changes which for justified reasons must be carried out;
(h) organise and direct the National Forest Register;
(i) advising and assisting natural and legal persons who administer or possess forest areas in compliance with the regulations they are required to comply with;
(j) declare, regulate and control areas under special protection regimes; and
(k) the others granted to him by this Law.
SECTION 2
FOREST FUND
Article 12.-It is created, with the aim of promoting the sustainable development of forest resources, the National Fund for Forest Development (FONADEF).
The main objective of the Fund is the promotion and financing of projects and activities dedicated to conserving and developing these resources, especially with regard to inventories, management, protection and research.
ARTICLE 13.-The Ministry of Finance and Prices, together with the Ministry of Economy and Planning and hearing the opinion of the Ministry of Agriculture and other competent bodies and bodies, shall adopt the rules for the establishment and Operation of the National Forest Development Fund.
SECTION III
OF THE INCENTIVES FOR FORESTRY
ARTICLE 14.-The Ministry of Agriculture, in order to stimulate sustainable forest development, on the basis of policies and provisions to be established, will propose on the occasions corresponding to the Ministry of Finance and adoption of the following measures, inter alia:
(a) bonus to natural or legal persons who run forest plantations and silvicultural manejos;
(b) reduction or exemption of import duties on technologies, equipment or parts and inputs dedicated to forest development in the country;
(c) reduction or exemption of taxes on forest products from plantations; and
(d) exceptional granting of tax or financial benefits to businesses, cooperatives, small landowners and land and communities to stimulate the attention of forest plantations, afforestation and reforestation.
CHAPTER IV
OF FORESTS AND THEIR CLASSIFICATION
Article 15. The forests are administered according to their functions and geographical location and are classified on the basis of a set of physical, biological, ecological, social and economic elements, in:
(a) production forests: those whose main function is to meet the needs of the national economy in wood and non-timber forest products, through their use and rational use;
(b) protection forests: those whose surface must be permanently preserved to protect the renewable resources to which they are associated, but which, without prejudice, may be the object of productive activities, always prevailing in their protective function.
(c) conservation forests: those which, by virtue of their characteristics and location, serve primarily to conserve and protect natural resources and those intended for scientific research, the ornato and the protective action of the environment in general. These forests must be kept permanently and in them they are not allowed to be used but only short of improvement oriented to the reinforcement of their main function and to the obtaining of secondary products of the forest.
Article 16.-The procedure for the categorization of forests is determined in the regulation of this Law and in it the requirements for the presentation of the proposal, the cartographic representation, are specified the functions of the forest, its limits and, as the case may be, its main use and the corresponding protection and conservation measures.
Article 17.-In the production forests, all types of short, according to the technical regulations and regulations that the State Forest Service will establish; the management plans are determined according to the final objective of the The production of wood products, which is expected to be achieved and must be made possible in addition to the use of wood, that of non-timber forest products.
ARTICLE 18.-The protective forests, according to their essential functions, are categorized into: Forest Protectors of the Waters and the Soil and Forest Protectors of the Litoral.
ARTICLE 19.-The Protected Forests of the Waters and the Soils are those located in the headwaters of the river basins, the forest belts of the areas of protection of reservoirs, rivers and streams, as well as all the ones located in larger slopes 45% or in areas susceptible to the development of water or wind erosion; those that prevent soil erosion and contribute to their rehabilitation. The width of the forest belts in the areas of protection of reservoirs and waterways shall be established jointly by the Ministry of Agriculture and the corresponding entities.
In these forests, individual selective exploitation sizes are allowed, or in groups and total sizes in strips. The main purpose of the silvicultural handles shall be to strengthen their role as protectors of the soil and the waters.
ARTICLE 20.-The Protected Forests of the Litoral are located along the coasts of the Island of Cuba, the Isle of Youth and in the adjacent keys throughout its extension; its main function is the protection against the wind, floods coastal by penetrations of the sea, salt intrusion, for the defense of the country and those that contribute in general to the conservation of coastal ecosystems. They also have great importance as a refuge and reservoir of species of terrestrial and marine fauna.
In these forests, individual and group selective operating sizes are allowed in bands perpendicular to the prevailing winds in the established width. The silvicultural handles will be oriented to strengthen the important role of stabilization of the coasts and the protection of the vegetation and fauna associated to this category.
ARTICLE 21.-In areas declared protective forests, activities that cause permanent removal of vegetation cannot be carried out.
ARTICLE 22.-Conservation forests are categorized into: Forests of Special Management, Forests for the Protection and Conservation of Animals, Recreational Forests and Educational Forests and Scientists.
ARTICLE 23.-The Special Management Forests are those that occupy most of the territories declared as Natural Reserve or National Park, even if they are also present within other categories of management of Protected Areas.
These forests do not allow them to be exploited. Only short improvements can be made, which reaffirm the main functions of these forests, in strict correspondence with the management plan developed and approved.
ARTICLE 24.-The Forests for the Protection and Conservation of Animals are those that are intended to maintain a favorable habitat for the reproduction and development of the wild fauna that they possess or in which favorable conditions can be created for their food and shelter, as well as the forests and forest lands located within the Cotos de Caza, Jardines or Zoological Parks, as well as the territories declared legally as Protected Areas that they need for their handling of this category.
These forests do not allow the exploitation of these forests. The silvicultural handles will be carried out with the aim of improving the habitat of the wild fauna, according to the plan approved for each area.
ARTICLE 25-Recreational Forests are those located in cities, towns, industrial complexes, resorts and tourist facilities and their peripheries, the fringes along highways and roads and the areas belonging to the ornato public. Its main function is recreational and environmental sanitation. In these forests only short improvements are allowed to help increase their function.
ARTICLE 26.-The Educational and Scientific Forests are the ones in the Botanical Gardens and Arboreta. Its main function is educational and scientific.
ARTICLE 27.-No holding sizes may be performed, regardless of the category to which they belong, and the following areas shall be subject to a special protection regime:
-forests and forest belts of the protection zones of reservoirs and natural channels, which surround springs and along the caravas and ravines;
-forests on slopes greater than 60% and on the places where their presence prevents the release of land, fasten or fasten the soils;
-forest belts from the coast line and the forests of the cays;
-the areas declared as specialised sources for seed production; and
-the areas considered to be of interest to the defense of the country.
The width of the forest belts will be established in the law.
Article 28. The management of the forests in the Protected Areas shall be carried out in accordance with the management plan established for each of them.
Article 29.-Scientific research and educational activities, according to the interests and the object of study, may be carried out in any of the categories of forests, respecting their standards of management.
CHAPTER V
FOREST MANAGEMENT
SECTION FIRST
FOREST MANAGEMENT
Article 30.-Forest Management projects are the primary basis for sustainable forest development and for planning, organizing and monitoring the management of forest heritage areas; literal and graphic of the extent, distribution and state of the estate, the proposed management for each area and the calculation of the volumes of the short ones, which are planned for a given period.
Article 31. The Forest Management projects are approved by the Minister of Agriculture in consultation, where appropriate, with the competent bodies and agencies and are mandatory.
Changes which, for justified reasons, must be carried out for approved projects, are authorised by this authority, after evaluation by the State Forestry Service.
Article 32.-The actions of afforestation and reforestation, silvicultural treatments and the reconstruction of forests, as well as the use of wood products or non-wood products, must be endorsed by the specific technical projects, be in line with the Forest Management project and shall indicate among other aspects, the objectives, the form and the time limits for implementation.
The regulation of the Law, regulates the elaboration, execution and control of the technical projects.
ARTICLE 33.-Forestry and technical projects are prepared in accordance with the provisions of the relevant legislation on environmental protection.
SECTION 2
AFFORESTATION AND REFORESTATION
Article 34.-The afforestation and reforestation throughout the national territory are of social interest, so the Ministry of Agriculture will coordinate these activities with the competent bodies and entities, whose effects will be dictated by the techniques to proceed.
Article 35. The afforestation or afforestation shall be compulsory in the following areas:
(a) zones for the protection of reservoirs, natural channels and canals, in the width and with the characteristics provided for in the supplementary regulations of this Law.
(b) land of the forest heritage in which the use has been made.
(c) land where the extraction of open-pit minerals has been carried out.
(d) land intended to meet the economic needs of the country in forest products.
(e) land in which the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces is interested in and in need of the defense.
(f) land destined for this activity in urban and rural areas which are partially or totally deforged;
(g) groundwater recharging zones, with priority in any case to those relating to water supply sources to the population and those surrounding cavities and carsic depressions;
(h) land to help contain the process of desertification or other types of environmental degradation;
(i) land forming the coastal strip;
(j) land which, due to its degree of inclination or other factors, is susceptible to any form of erosion; and
(k) slots for afforestation along motorways and highways.
Article 36.-In forests that are the object of total logging or reconstruction, in girdles or in groups, the measures will be taken to ensure the restoration of the tree cover, either by the management of reshoots or by the natural regeneration.
Where the refund cannot be ensured by any of the above methods, afforestation shall be carried out within the time limits laid down by the State Forestry Service.
ARTICLE 37.-In the work of afforestation, reforestation and reconstruction of forests, species will be used to facilitate an adequate ecological balance and economic benefit in accordance with the provisions, technical regulations and Forest State Service recommendations.
SECTION III
USE AND FORESTRY INDUSTRY
Article 38. The use of forest heritage resources shall be carried out in compliance with established technical regulations, in such a way as to maintain the most favourable conditions for the equilibrium of the ecosystem in relation to its relationship with the soil, the water, the flora and the wild fauna.
Article 39.-For the use of forest resources or the performance of any other type of short, the prior authorization of the State Forestry Service is required to be issued by means of the documents and in compliance with the requirements that are set out in the regulation of this Law.
The use and marketing of forest products by individual entities and producers will be regulated in the regulation itself, taking into account its national balance.
Article 40.-The National Forest Registry is created by the Ministry of Agriculture for the purposes of the organization and control of the activities of storage, profit and forestry industry, which has as a fundamental objective that the centres dedicated to these activities are duly registered and authorised and which meet security requirements in the processing of forest products.
ARTICLE 41.-Natural and legal persons who operate storage, profit and forestry industries in accordance with the provisions to be determined in their regulations and others are required to register in the Register provisions which are to be dictated by the Ministry of Agriculture.
ARTICLE 42.-The natural and legal persons responsible for the primary production of the wood, are obliged to comply with the technical conservation standards that guarantee their most adequate employment and the substantial increase of their useful life.
SECTION 4
CONTRACTS AND OTHER LEGAL ACTS ON FOREST HERITAGE
Article 43.-On the forest heritage, contracts may be concluded and other legal acts may be carried out, the object of which is afforestation, reforestation, reconstruction, silvicultural treatments and the use of forested areas in correspondence with forest management projects and specific technical projects, by natural or legal persons who provide sufficient technical and financial guarantees for the sustainable management of forest resources.
Contracts and other legal acts shall be established in accordance with the laws in force for each of them and shall be authorised by the competent State authorities.
Article 44.-These contracts and legal acts shall, in their content and implementation, comply with the rules of compulsory application laid down by the legislation on the protection and conservation of forests, wild fauna and flora.
CHAPTER VI
RIGHTS AND DUTIES IN RESPECT OF THE FOREST
ARTICLE 45.-All persons are entitled to the enjoyment of the forest and the duty to contribute to their care and conservation.
ARTICLE 46.-The inhabitants of the forest have the right, in addition, to their use in activities that do not affect their integrity, nor to the resources of the biological diversity associated with them.
The right to be recognized consists in the collection of fruits, dead natures, dry wood, food, ornamental and medicinal plants, as well as to carry out agroforestry with animals of their property without causing damage to the trees, shrubs, soils or natural regeneration. All this according to the regulations that are established for each type of forest.
Article 47.-They may use or take advantage of other resources of the forest to satisfy their needs, prior to the authorization of the State Forestry Service, in the volumes to be determined in the regulatory provisions.
ARTICLE 48. The products collected may not be marketed and their value is limited to the individual and family needs of the beneficiaries.
Article 49. Where there are non-economically usable or impaired forest products, the State Forestry Service, in coordination with the relevant agencies, shall allocate them for the satisfaction of the needs of the community.
Article 50.-All persons have the duty to avoid and denounce acts of depredation of forest areas, to prevent and to combat with the means at their disposal pests and forest fires, to collaborate with the activities of reforestation and in the rehabilitation of fire-affected areas and other natural disasters.
CHAPTER VII
CONSERVATION AND PROTECTION
SECTION FIRST
GENERAL
Article 51-The conservation and protection of forests is a set of activities aimed at ensuring the monitoring, control and sustainable development of the forest heritage, the obligation of the entire society, in which the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment and the Ministry of the Interior, in accordance with the powers conferred upon them by this Law and the legislation in force.
Article 52. The phytosanitary protection of forests is governed by the legislation in force in the field of plant health and by the provisions applicable to them established by the State Plant Protection Service.
Entities and natural persons who administer or possess forest heritage areas are required to comply with the phytosanitary technical standards to prevent and combat pests and diseases, to take the pathological inventory and to take the relevant measures in the areas concerned to prevent its spread.
ARTICLE 53.-In the forests, the short health of the burned, plagued or sick trees by their tenents, prior to authorization of the competent phytosanitary authority in the cases, as well as the extraction of products derived from those products.
ARTICLE 54.-In the forests determined are established areas dedicated to the preservation of the forest genetic funds.
The Ministry of Agriculture in coordination with the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment dictates the regulations for the reproduction, management and conservation of the species, origins, individuals or genes included in the resources Forest genetics in the country.
ARTICLE 55.-In the areas of forest heritage, the introduction of forest species, wildlife and wildlife from abroad or other localities of the country must be previously endorsed by the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment and its implementation and control will be regulated by the State Forest Service, in coordination with the entities that correspond.
Article 56. The use of forest heritage areas for non-forest activities that do not imply any definitive changes in their use and do not require the environmental licensing process may be authorized by the State Forestry Service, prior to the use of the presentation of the technical project for its operation and in accordance with modalities that cause the least damage to the ecosystem, in accordance with the regulations to be established, in particular as regards its extension and duration, to the categories of activities, financial conditions and restoration of the area.
The beneficiaries of the aforementioned authorization will carry out the work according to the technical project and are obliged to restore the damaged areas within the established deadlines or to pay the costs of the restoration.
Article.-For the execution of any investment, works and activities likely to harm the forest heritage or to affect the habitat or the living and reproduction conditions of the forest species, the evaluation of the Ministry of Agriculture, prior to the process of granting any permit or authorization.
Article 58. The destination and use of timber and non-timber forest products that are confiscated in compliance with the existing provisions will be determined by the State Forestry Service, in coordination with the local authorities of the The People's Power in the cases in which it corresponds. The authorities empowered to dispose of the seizures are obliged to put it to the immediate knowledge of the said Service.
ARTICLE 59.-The functions of surveillance and protection in the areas of the forest heritage are met by the Corps of Rangers in accordance with the regulations that the Ministry of the Interior will dictate to such effects.
SECTION 2
PROTECTION AGAINST FOREST FIRES
ARTICLE 60.-The system of protection against forest fires, includes the activities of prevention, control and extinction as well as research and training in this field.
These activities are regulated through a national program, which is developed by the Ministry of the Interior, in coordination with the Ministries of Agriculture and Science, Technology and the Environment and the National General Staff of Civil Defense. is approved by the Executive Committee of the Council of Ministers.
Article 61. The fire extinguishing service in the areas of the forest heritage is provided within the limits of its competence by the Ranger Corps for which the entities that administer it are subordinate.
ARTICLE 62.-The use of fire in the areas of forests and their colindances is prohibited. Exceptional authorisations shall be made after coordination with the Ranger Body at the level to be established, in compliance with the relevant safety measures.
ARTICLE 63.-Administrators and tenents of forest heritage areas are required to comply with the preventive and fire-extinguishing measures in accordance with the established rules and regulations and the instructions issued by them. authorities responsible for the extinction.
They are also required to carry out the corresponding management in the areas affected by fire or for its effects, on the recommendation of the competent authorities.
Article 64.-In periods of high danger of forest fires, the competent authorities may prohibit or limit the movement and parking of persons and vehicles within the forests or their colindances.
SECTION III
DESMONTES
Article 65.-Dismounts are prohibited in order to avoid the reduction of forests, except for the authorization of the Council of Ministers or its Executive Committee, known as the Ministry of Agriculture in accordance with the rules to be established.
CHAPTER VIII
ADMINISTRATIVE SANCTIONS, CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LIABILITY
SECTION FIRST
ADMINISTRATIVE SANCTIONS
Article 66. The regime of administrative sanctions in the subject matter of this Law includes natural and legal persons who incur the contraventions established in the legislation complementary to this Law.
Article 67. Infringements shall be punishable by fines, the amounts of which shall be fixed in each case, without prejudice to other ancillary penalties applicable in accordance with the laws in force.
ARTICLE 68.-The person who is aware of the commission of any of the contraventions established in the legislation complementary to this Law shall put it to the knowledge of the competent authority, which shall be in the obligation to inform on the measures and their compliance.
SECTION 2
CIVIL LIABILITY
ARTICLE 69.-Any natural or legal person who, by reason of his or her act or omission, damages the forest patrimony, is obliged to cease his conduct and to repair the damages caused by him.
ARTICLE 70.-They are entitled to claim compensation for damages or damages:
(a) the Office of the Prosecutor General,
(b) the Ministry of Agriculture,
(c) who has personally suffered the damage or injury.
The subjects expressed in points (a) and (b) of this Article may act in defence of the social interest in the protection of the forest heritage.
Article 71. In the compensation of the corresponding civil liability, the actions aimed at the rehabilitation of the forest heritage shall be sought in a preferential manner.
SECTION III
CRIMINAL LIABILITY
ARTICLE 72.-The socially dangerous actions or omissions prohibited by the law under the conmination of a criminal sanction, which shall bind against the protection of the forest heritage, shall be classified and sanctioned in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal law in force.
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
UNICA.- Ranger Corps members, as forest authority agents, are authorized to carry and use firearms and wear uniforms during service compliance.
The Ministry of the Interior lays down regulations for the use and control of firearms by the Ranger Corps and on the uniform, insignia and distinctive of said body.
FINAL PROVISIONS
FIRST: The Ministry of Agriculture will dictate in a term of one hundred and eighty days the Regulations of this Law and the Regulations of the Forest Registry.
SECOND: The Ministry of Agriculture, within the 60-day term, will propose to the Council of Ministers the replacement and adequacy of the contraventions set out in Decree 180 of 4 March 1993 in accordance with the provisions of this Law.
THIRD: The Ministers of Agriculture, Science, Technology and the Environment and the Interior are empowered to dictate to each of them how many complementary provisions are necessary for the implementation of this Law.
FOURTH: Decree No 136 of the Forestry and Wildlife Heritage Act of 3 March 1993, with the exception of provisions relating to Wild Fauna, is repealed, as well as the provisions of the provisions of this Regulation. Law.
QUINTA: This Law shall begin to apply from the sixty days of its publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Cuba.
DADA In the session hall of the National Assembly of People's Power, the Convention Palace, in the city of Havana, at the twenty-one day of the month of July of a thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight.
