Draft Forest Law of FBiH, proposed by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Water Management, and Forestry, contains issues regarding definitions, designated implementation measures, forest ownership, and inconsistencies in the terminology used in the Draft text. These are the comments submitted by the Center for Environment during the public review of the Draft law.
“The initiation of the process to adopt the Forest Law of FBiH is a step forward in regulating this matter, considering there is currently no law governing it. However, the text available for public review is problematic, especially concerning forest ownership on the territory of FBiH. Efforts to present forests as the property of the state of BiH, while regulating them through entity regulations, create confusion in reading the text and will create confusion in the application of the Law if such a text is adopted as final,” explained Sonja Kosanović, a lawyer at the Center for Environment.
She stated that if forests and forest land are the property of BiH, FBiH does not have the authority it claims, making such a law unconstitutional: “Furthermore, the Draft text stipulates that FBiH concludes contracts with forest users for the transfer of forest management duties. If forests are treated as the property of BiH, such a contract, without approval from the competent authority at the BiH level, which is not provided for in the Draft text, would be null and void since no one can transfer more rights than they themselves have. If it remains that entity regulations, with the competencies of federal or cantonal authorities, regulate this matter, it is necessary to change the term ‘state-owned forests’ to ‘Federation-owned forests.’ Only then will FBiH de jure be able to regulate forest and forest land matters and transfer authority, conclude contracts with economic entities, and perform other actions.”
Ownership issues, however, are not the only contentious point in the Draft Forest Law. “The absence of a Forest Law at the FBiH level, over the years of forestry sector operation, has created numerous additional problems that burden an important economic sector of our country, but also nature itself – forest ecosystems. We welcome the efforts to pass the Law but are surprised by the Draft text, which has many ambiguities and technical deficiencies that should have been addressed before the Draft was presented to the public,” said Aleksandra-Anja Dragomirović, vice president of the Center for Environment, and added: “It seems that this Draft will not ‘untangle’ the biggest forestry issues, such as investing in forest conservation and enhancement through clearly defined obligations and financing. From the perspective of forest and forest ecosystem protection and conservation, the Draft does not offer new, modern insights and solutions but partly degrades existing traditional practices and solutions. We believe that through open dialogue and a participatory approach in creating such an important act, the forestry sector in FBiH can be regulated. Public hearings organized for both the expert and wider public are a necessary step in this process.”
In the upcoming period, it remains to be seen what the text of the Proposal of the Forest Law of FBiH will look like and whether the competent ministry will be receptive to the expressed need for holding public hearings. The Center for Environment will continue to monitor the process of adopting this Law, pointing out irregularities and obstacles that may arise both during its adoption and application.