The Goals of Forest Protection
The Forest Code names the goals of forest protection precisely: maintaining and improving ecological equilibrium in the forest; preventing erosion, waterlogging, landslides, avalanches and other processes that worsen the condition of the soil; preserving the self-containment of virgin forest; and protecting relict, endemic and other rare species of plants. From these goals follows the list of threats: the forest must be protected from fire, pests and diseases, violations of the established rules of forest use and other measures, illegal felling, worsening of sanitary condition, damage to forest soil, and other negative anthropogenic impact.
Protection Measures
Forest protection is carried out with regard to the forest’s biodiversity and other peculiarities, and embraces silvicultural measures, the use of biological, chemical and mechanical methods, and organizational, legal and other measures of protection from destruction, damage, pollution and other negative impact. The concrete measures are: zoning of the forest with regard to the danger of the spread of pests and diseases — division into zones of low, medium and high risk; pathological examination and monitoring of the forest; where necessary, protection from the spread of pests and diseases by biological, chemical and mechanical methods; prohibition of the removal from the forest of felled diseased, biologically or mechanically unprocessed trees, to prevent the spread of new foci; protection from fire; prevention and suppression of illegal forest use and plunder of forest resources; and other necessary measures caused by a special situation. Chemical means are used only in the cases contemplated by the statute and in compliance with the rules. Forest protection measures are part of the forest management plan.
The Impermissibility of Forest Destruction
An action that causes the destruction of the forest is prohibited. Destruction is deemed to be caused by an action that causes average or greater degradation of forest soil; creates an obvious threat of landslide or erosion processes to the soil; renders timely restoration and reforestation impossible; or makes trees defenceless — hindering their growth because of wind, fire, the use of biological and chemical preparations, the spread of pests and diseases, or any pollution. The procedure for cleaning the forest from household, industrial and other waste and harmful substances is established by statute, and questions of compensation for damage and of liability are regulated by the code and other legislative acts.
Restoration and Reforestation
Restoration and reforestation is a multi-year cycle of silvicultural measures whose goal is the protection of the soil from wind, water and other erosion processes, and the improvement of the species composition, productivity and protective functions of stands of low density and yield. It is carried out in compliance with the requirements of the statute — and through this, protection and restoration close into a single system: a protected forest needs restoration, and a restored one needs protection.
Practical Recommendations
First, assess any planned action on the forest against the destruction criteria — soil degradation, erosion threat, impossibility of restoration. Second, rely on risk zoning and pathological examination for pest danger — the core of protection measures. Third, remember that protection measures are part of the management plan — not a separate document. Fourth, in timber preparation take account of the management organ’s control regime.
Forest conservation law also defines a specific scenario of control: where the winner of a timber-preparation auction prepares timber, the forest management organ is obliged to exercise control over the process — using human resources, technical means and other mechanisms. This control is not a formality: it secures that the felling process corresponds to the established conditions.
The interconnection of protection and restoration is the central principle of conservation law: protection does not mean freezing the forest in time, nor restoration its replacement. The two processes work together: a protected forest maintains its functions, and a restored one acquires them again. Therefore the practitioner should not confine himself to only one.
The liability layer closes the frame: questions of compensation for damage caused to the forest and of the legal liability of the person causing the damage are regulated by this code and other legislative acts of Georgia — the prohibition of destruction is therefore not merely declarative but is backed by restitution. For practice this means that the destruction criteria function simultaneously as the boundary of the prohibited and as the measure of compensation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the goals of forest protection?
Maintaining and improving ecological equilibrium; preventing erosion, waterlogging, landslides, avalanches and other processes that worsen the soil; preserving the self-containment of virgin forest; and protecting relict, endemic and other rare species of plants.
What is forest destruction?
An action causing average or greater degradation of forest soil, creating an obvious threat of landslide or erosion processes, rendering timely restoration impossible or making trees defenceless — such action is prohibited.
What do protection measures include?
Risk-based zoning, pathological examination and monitoring, biological, chemical and mechanical protection, prohibition of the removal of diseased trees, fire protection and prevention of illegal forest use; the measures are part of the management plan.
What is restoration and reforestation?
A multi-year cycle of silvicultural measures protecting the soil from erosion and improving the species composition, productivity and protective functions of stands of low density and yield, under the requirements of the statute.
How We Help on Legal.ge
The Legal.ge team assesses a planned action on the forest against the destruction criteria, verifies the frame of protection measures and helps align it with the management plan. Contact us — a precise reading of the criteria is half of a forest project.