FAO Forestry country profiles - harvesting practicies

Administrative framework

The logging licence is granted by the Ministère des Eaux et Forêts (MEF), if the area concerned is bigger than 100 hectares; otherwise local authorities may give the permission. For areas between 100 and 150 ha, the president of the province may grant the licence (after acceptance from MEF) for three to five years. For areas bigger than 150 ha, the licence is granted by MEF. The average age of a concession is four years, and the annually logged area (assiette de coupe) shall not exceed 15 000 hectares. In principal, every licencee is obliged to reforestate, but the obligation depends on the surface exploited (FAO 1996, FAO 1997).