Political patchwork instead of state action: After SNP MPs, PES MPs also propose amendments to the Forest Law

Instead of being implemented on the ground, the Forest Law is becoming a subject of political rewriting. After the Government and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management failed to implement it for months, even though it entered into force last August, the parliamentary majority is trying to patch it up - in stages and through parallel proposals.

The amendments were first proposed on July 8 by Socialist People's Party (SNP) MPs, demanding that the Forestry Administration temporarily take over the allocation of trees in private forests, as the envisaged state-owned enterprise does not yet exist. Just a few days later, on July 18, far more extensive amendments were also proposed by MPs from the Europe Now Movement (PES) - envisaging as many as 38 interventions that would give the Administration almost all key competencies in the sector by the end of 2025.

MPs of PES Milan Zecevic i Dane Markovic Among other things, they are demanding that part of the authority be temporarily assigned to the Administration in order to prevent the collapse of the forestry sector and implement the already concluded logging contracts, while at the beginning of next year the authority would return to the hands of the still non-existent state forestry company.

The Parliament adopted the Forest Law at the end of July last year, while its full implementation was supposed to begin on January 1st of this year. This did not happen because the new company planned by this Law, which would take over the management of the forest fund, has not yet been established, no money has been allocated in this year's budget for its work, nor has the necessary machinery and workforce been provided.

"The government will establish a forest management company by September 30, 2025. Forest use contracts concluded by the administrative body (Administration) by December 31, 2025, will continue to be implemented until the expiration of these contracts, with the proviso that after January 1, 2026, their implementation will be handled by a company. Regarding forest management, amendments are being made so that the work under previously assumed contracts can be implemented, so that there are no errors and the impossibility of adopting the Forest Management Program, which are necessary for forestry operations to proceed smoothly and so that there is no complete standstill in the forestry sector. This law establishes a dual legal regime until December 31, in order to ensure its implementation," the amendments submitted by PES on July 18 state, noting that they will enter into force eight days after their publication in the Official Gazette.

The amendments also plan to adopt bylaws for this Law within six months of its entry into force. The Law has so far stipulated that the new company will manage forests, forest land and trees outside forests and bare areas in state ownership, while now they are demanding that this company take over the exploitation of state-owned forests.

They also propose that the decision on adopting a construction project instead of a new company be implemented by the Forestry Administration. The construction project determines the forest department, data on the allocation, develops a management plan, revenues and costs...

Among the changes is the responsibility of the person who will carry out the rehabilitation of the felled forests, that is, the work that was supposed to be done by the new company - now the Administration will also do it.

"The person who has carried out the felling or degradation of the forest and forest land is obliged to carry out the rehabilitation of the forest and forest land within the period specified in the implementation project. If the rehabilitation is not carried out by the person, the rehabilitation will be carried out by the administrative authority at the expense of that person. If the person referred to in paragraph 1 of this article is unknown, the rehabilitation shall be provided by the administrative authority," the amendments state.

A similar provision is made in cases of large-scale occurrence of harmful organisms, whereby the Ministry of Agriculture may order special protection measures. Here too, the authority is placed in the hands of the Administration instead of the new company, so they are responsible for the protection measures.

The same is planned in the case of a fire ban and fire risk, where the job is also placed in the hands of the Administration, so they will have to provide permanent fire monitors and duty officers. The same model is followed by remittances, which will be made by authorized employees of the Administration with a VII-a qualification level in forestry, one year of experience and a volume of 240 credits. In the case of export from the cutting site, forest users will have to notify the Administration within three days, instead of the new company, and they will also have jurisdiction over the commercial use of non-timber forest products.

Permits for the use of forest roads for commercial purposes, organizing mass gatherings, parking and camping, and installing fences will now be issued by the Administration, but it will not receive any income on this basis, but the money will be paid into the budget.

"For forests and forest land in state ownership, the approval is issued by the administrative authority. A fee is paid for issuing the approval, which is budget revenue. The amount and method of calculating the fee is prescribed by the Government. For the marking of trees, surveying and stamping of wood assortments, and the preparation of construction projects, forest owners and users pay a fee. The fee is budget revenue. The amount and method of calculating the fee is prescribed by the Government," it says among the amendments.

They passed a bad law in a "rush"

Minister of Agriculture Vladimir Joković told "Vijesti" in March this year that the Forest Law, although already adopted, was difficult to implement and that no one from the Forest Management Administration wanted to move to a new company, and that there was currently no money for equipment, machinery and other resources.

He confirmed last week in the Parliament that there were mistakes in this process, when he said that the biggest mistake was made by those who worked on the law - because they excluded experts and the Forestry Administration.

This, however, contradicts the claims he made in March during a guest appearance on Radio Television of Montenegro.

"The law was passed in a great hurry and came into force on January 1, when the state-owned company was supposed to be formed. The law was rushed to be adopted because one of the conditions for the World Bank loan of 80 million euros was its adoption. There were no funds in the Montenegrin budget to allocate about 20 million euros. We have no space or funds to form a company. Even if we had all the funds and formed a company, we would still be in trouble," Joković said at the time, emphasizing that the World Bank money certainly could not be used to purchase any equipment for a new company.