Landowners to have greater authority over forest licensing as Parliament unanimously passes Forestry Bill

Landowners will now have stronger authority over who operates on their land, as the Forestry Bill has been unanimously passed by Parliament which requires that a licence issued under the Act, must not be transferred except with the prior written approval of the landowner, iTaukei Land Trust Board or Land Use Unit and the Conservator.

According to the Act, if someone harvests without approval or in a protected area, the fine is not less than $25,000 and they may face up to 5 years jail or both.

If they harvest without a certified forest practices plan, individuals can be fined up to $50,000 for a first offence and up to $100,000 for repeat offences, while companies face fines starting from $80,000 and up to $160,000.

Fine for transferring a licence without required written approvals is a minimum of $25,000, up to 2 years imprisonment, or both while failure to comply with a compliance notice attracts a fine of $10,000, up to 2 years imprisonment, or both.

While tabling the Bill, Minister for Fisheries and Forestry Alitia Bainivalu says improved landowner engagement, benefits and safeguards strengthen the role of landowners in decision making, ensure communities are consulted in planning and harvesting, improve benefit-sharing transparency, and enhance protection of customary rights and traditional forest uses.

She also says the Bill also provides for modernised licensing, compliance and enforcement provisions that streamline permit and licence applications, introduce clear compliance responsibilities, strengthen penalties for illegal harvesting, enhance monitoring and enforcement powers, and ensure consistency across native forests, plantations and mahogany operations.

Bainivalu the Bill introduces the Forestry Advisory Council which serves as a formal platform for consultation with landowners, industry, conservation groups and communities, and ensures participatory and transparent decision making.

The Minister also says the Forestry Tribunal is an independent appeals and dispute resolution mechanism that provides timely expert-based decisions on technical and regulatory matters and reduces delays and inconsistencies that affect investments and operations.

Bainivalu says the integration of climate change, biodiversity and sustainable forest management, which for the first time will explicitly mandate sustainable forest management practices, requires the protection of biodiversity in all forestry operations, modernises codes of forest practices, introduces resilience measures aligned with international commitments, and supports carbon market opportunities, including REDD Plus participation.

She says the provisions ensure that the forest management aligns with the Paris Agreement and Fiji’s national climate strategies.

The Minister says the Bill also clarifies roles of the Ministry, operators, contractors and relevant agencies while also introducing clear processes for reforestation, rehabilitation and forest fire management, and it resolves long-standing ambiguities in the 1992 Act.

While speaking in support of the Bill, Leader of the Opposition Inia Seruiratu highlighted that the landslide in Tukuraki Village in Ba during Cyclone Evan in 2012 was mainly due to the loss of canopy on the surrounding hills.

He says we need to look after our native forest ecosystems, and Tukuraki is a typical example of why this Bill is so important to all of us.

Seruiratu says he is confident the Bill will address licensing issues, particularly when it comes to environmental issues, forest management practices, and governance as well.

He also says Fiji could get into the niche markets of mahogany if we had that certification process but unfortunately, because of the non-existence of data, and because of the non-existence of records, apart from sustainable practices and environmental practices, Fiji was struggling to have that certification process.

Seruiratu says that denied Fiji a lot of opportunities when it comes to economic benefits out of our mahogany plantation.

He has also stressed that although Fiji has strong forestry laws, enforcement remains weak and must be strengthened, noting past cases where officials were implicated in wrongdoing.

The Leader of the Opposition adds there is a need for stricter action on forest and agricultural fires, warning that irresponsible burning is damaging ecosystems and must be addressed with accountability.