Forestry (Control of Mobile Sawmills) Regulations

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1. Interpretation
In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires

"commercial purposes" means for the purpose of or with the intent of producing sawn timber that will be sold or traded for financial gain;

"harvesting agreement" means an agreement prescribed under section 11(1) of the Act which is in the form of schedule 2 of the Act;

"mobile sawmill" means any type of sawmill or any timber producing machine that is designed to be set up and or moved from one location to another, and includes all portable or "wokabaut" type sawmills and any chainsaw minimills;

"registered holder" means the person registered as owning or having possession or control of a sawmill on the register of mobile sawmills.

2. Application of order
The provisions of this Order shall apply to any person who owns, has in their possession or under their control or operates a mobile sawmill.

3. Register of mobile sawmills
(1) The Director shall keep or cause to be kept a register of all mobile sawmills in Vanuatu.

(2) The register shall contain in relation to each mobile sawmill the manufacturers name, type, model, serial number and the name of the owner or person having possession or control of the mobile sawmill.

*Editor’s note: This Arrangement of Regulations contains links to the body of the Regulations (Control + click)
4. Registration of mobile sawmills
(1) Any person who owns or has in their possession or under their control or intends to import or buy or otherwise acquires a mobile sawmill shall apply for registration in the register of mobile sawmills.

(2) The application for registration in the register of mobile sawmills shall be in the form contained in Schedule 1 of this Order and shall be accompanied by the registration fee calculated in accordance with Schedule 5 of this Order.

(3) Upon completion of registration, the Director shall deliver or cause to be delivered to the applicant a certificate of registration in respect of any mobile sawmill registered, in the form contained in Schedule 2 of this Order.

5. Import and sale of mobile sawmill
(1) No person shall own, operate or have in their possession or under their control a mobile sawmill which has not been registered under the provisions of this Order.

(2). Any person who imports a mobile sawmill into Vanuatu shall notify the Department of the registrable details of the mobile sawmill and the name and address of the person who subsequently purchases the mobile sawmill and shall also inform the purchaser of the requirement to register the sawmill with the Department.

(3) Any person who sells or otherwise disposes of in Vanuatu a registered mobile sawmill shall notify the Department in writing prior to the sale the name and address of the purchaser or person acquiring possession or control and the registrable details of the mobile sawmill and shall surrender their certificate of registration to the Department on completion of the sale.

6. Application to operate a sawmill
(1) Subject to regulation 7(2) and (3) of this Order, any person who wishes to operate a mobile sawmill for commercial purposes must apply to the Director for a mobile sawmill timber license.

(2) An application for a mobile sawmill timber license shall be in the form of Schedule 3 and shall be accompanied by the fee calculated in accordance with Schedule 5 of this Order.

(3) Having considered the application, the Director may grant or refuse to grant a mobile sawmill timber license. The Director shall provide the reasons for his refusal.

(5) Where the Director grants a license under this regulation a copy of that license must be sent to the Local Government Council in whose region the holder of the license is licensed to operate.

7. Not to operate without valid mobile sawmill timber license
(1) No person shall operate a mobile sawmill for commercial purposes without a valid license

(2) This provision shall not apply to the use of a registered mobile sawmill by the registered holder for cutting timber for the registered holders personal use other than commercial purposes on land of which the registered holder is a custom owner and which has not been leased or otherwise let or licensed to any other party.

(3) This provision shall not apply to the use of a registered mobile sawmill by the registered holder if the registered holder is also the holder of a timber license issued under the Act and the mobile sawmill is operated in accordance with the provisions of that timber license.

8. Duration of license
A mobile sawmill timber license shall be issued only for such period as the Director considers appropriate to the applicant's project proposal within the limits prescribed in the license and shall not in any event exceed 2 years in relation to a chainsaw minimill and 5 years in relation to other portable sawmills.

9. Director's consideration on grant or refusal of application
When considering an application for a mobile sawmill timber license the Director shall consider −

(a) evidence of the applicant's ability to fulfill the financial requirements of this Order;

(b) evidence of proper negotiation of a harvesting agreement with landowners on whose land the operations are to take place;

(d) the applicant's training and experience in relation to the Vanuatu Code of Logging Practice or similar codes;

(f) the sustainable level of timber harvesting in Vanuatu generally or in any particular area; and

10. Renewal of mobile sawmill timber license
(1) A person may upon the expiry of the mobile sawmill timber license apply to the Director seeking the renewal of his license.

(2) The application shall be in the form of Schedule 3 of this Order and shall be accompanied by the fee calculated in accordance with Schedule 5 of this Order.

(3) When considering an application to renew a permit, the Director shall take into account −

(a) the applicant's record of compliance with the terms and conditions of his previous license and the Act;

11. Quota of logs allowable
(1) The Director shall ensure that mobile sawmilling operations comply with the principles of sustainable yield forest management by periodically specifying the maximum log quota available for mobile sawmills on each island of Vanuatu.

(2) The Director shall also specify the maximum annual quota of logs or sawn timber which each mobile sawmill license holder may cut.

(3) The maximum annual quota of logs permissible under sub regulation 2 of this regulation shall be 500 m³. Any annual log quota of more than 500 m³ will require a timber licence under section 12 of the Act

12. Annual fees
The holder of a license shall pay an annual fee calculated in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 5 of this Order.

13. Revocation of licence
In the event that any holder of a licence fails to comply with any of the provisions of this Order or the Act the Director may revoke his licence by notice in writing.

14. Offence
Any person who contravenes any provisions of this Order commits an offence and upon conviction, the Court may in addition to awarding a fine of not more than VT 50,000, order the cancellation of the offender's licence and the confiscation of any mobile sawmill.

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(a) Name ..................................................................................................

Address ..............................................................................................

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(b) Name ...................................................................................................

Address ................................................................................................

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Address ......................................................................................................

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(d) Name .......................................................................................................

Address .....................................................................................................

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(e) Name ......................................................................................................

Address ....................................................................................................

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This CERTIFICATE authorizes ......................................................................................
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of ...............................................................................................................................
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..................................................... in the Republic
of Vanuatu to keep, operate or have in his possession or control the following mobile sawmill:

The mobile sawmill is located at ............................(island) .................................(place).

1. If the sawmill is moved to a different island notification of its new location must be provided to the Department of Forests.

2. If the sawmill is sold to another person the previous owner must notify the Department or Forests in writing of the name and address of the new owner and must surrender their certificate of Registration No to the Department of Forests.

3. If the owner of the sawmill intends to sell any timber produced by this, sawmill they must apply to the Department of Forests for a Mobile Timber Licence.

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Director of Forests Date

(A) 1. Name ................................................................................................................

2. Address .............................................................................................................

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3. What is your current work? ...................................................................................

(B) 1. What type of sawmill will you operate? ....................................................................

2. Mobile sawmill registration No. ............................................................................

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6. Name of person who will operate the sawmill .......................................................

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(C) 1. Where do you want to operate the sawmill?
..........................................Local Government Region(s)...........................................
...................................................Island(s)

3. On whose land do you intend to cut trees? Applicant's land/Community land/Other person's land.

4. Indicate names of landowners and places where trees will be cut (include maps).

Name of Landowner Place where trees will be cut
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5. Are there any other sawmills or companies cutting wood on these lands? Yes/No

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3. If sawn timber will not be sold but will be traded in some other manner, describe the trading arrangements.
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4. How much timber do you want to sell each year
.................................m³.

5. What price will you sell sawn timber for ?
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(F) 1. What kind of experience or training do you and the person who will
operate the sawmill have in operating chainsaws or mobile sawmills ?
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2. Have you received any training about the Vanuatu Code of Logging Practice ? Yes/No

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(H) 1. Please provide evidence of your financial resources ie. letter of credit, bank statement and evidence of banker's guarantee.

(I) 1. Please give other details and information about your project plan. (attach to application)

I certify that the above information is correct and I understand that if I am found to have knowingly given false information then the application will not be approved. I understand the basis of the fees that will be charged and I would prefer to pay the reforestation charge on the basis of ...............................................................................................................

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I have received and discussed this application with ........................(applicant's name) on

This Licence is granted to: ......................................................................................................

(Name or Company)
of.........................................................................................................................................
(Address)
to conduct a sawmilling operation to produce sawn timber for sale or trade using the following mobile sawmills:

Make Registration No. ...................................................
Make Registration No. ...................................................
Make Registration No. ...................................................

for a period commencing ..............................and ending on .........................................

The maximum quota of logs which can be cut in any 12 month period is........................m³. The maximum volume or sawn timber which can be produced in any 12 month period is ..................m³.

This licence is valid for operations in ...........................Local Government Council Region(s) on the islands of ...............................................................

(a) Trees can only be cut from the permit holders own land or on land belonging to persons with whom the permit holder has entered into valid Schedule 2 or Schedule 15 agreements under the Forestry Order No. 10 of 1984.

(c) A banker's guarantee of VT20.000/70.000/500.000 must be established within 30 days of the issue of this licence otherwise the licence shall be null I and void.

(d) The licence holder will submit reports to the Department of Forests on a monthly/quarterly/annual basis indicating the volume of logs cut, volume of sawn timer produced, the volume of sawn timber sold, the amount of royalties paid for each landowner and the places where trees have been cut.

(e) Reforestation charge shall be paid to the Department of Forests on the following basis

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(f) The licence holder will ensure that they or any person working for them in timber harvesting operations comply with the relevant sections of the Vanuatu Code of Logging Practice.

(g) The licensee shall ensure that each tree that is cut has a consecutive number hammer marked on to the stump of the tree, as well as on to any log that is removed from the place where it is felled, on the same day that it is cut.

(h) Every tree that is felled shall be utilised to the maximum extent practical. An attempt must be made to produce sawn timber from all logs down to a minimum top diameter of 25 cm provided that the log is straight and contains less than 50% defect.

(i) The Director of Forests may impose penalties for any breaches of the conditions of this licence in accordance with the current penalties for-breaches of a Timber Licence.

................................Official Stamp .............................................
(Signature of Director) (Date)

FEES IN RELATION TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF
THE OPERATION OF MOBILE SAWMILLS

The production fee for a mobile sawmill that produces the volume in column 1 of the tale below is to be calculated by adding the corresponding amounts in columns 2, 3, and 4 of the table.

Licensed log volume (m³) /year	Annual license fees (vatu)	Bankers guarantee (vatu)	Reforestation charge (vatu)
60 – 200	10,000	70,000	60,000
201 – 500	20,000	500,000	30% of log royalty

15 Transitional provision omitted
Sched. 5, para B Substituted by Order 21 of 2004

Vanuatu Consolidated Subsidiary Legislation

Forestry (Control of Mobile Sawmills) Regulations