The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has published for public inspection, the draft Forest Regulations (Licenses) – 2022, which are installed by virtue of the Mandatory Forest Ordinance from 1926. The regulations regulate and structure the licensing procedure for felling and copying trees and provide Requests for felling by regional forest officials, who are professionally subordinate to the government forest official in the Ministry of Agriculture and Everything, with an emphasis on increasing transparency and optimal preservation of trees in the public space. In addition, the regulations establish a mechanism for obtaining decisions of regional forest officials in applications for licensing or copying licenses.
Trees in the public space are of great importance and have a decisive impact on the quality of life. Trees play a central and important role in creating a comfortable climate and are home to a variety of animals. Since the establishment of the state until today, forest activity in Israel has been regulated by the Mandatory Forest Ordinance of 1926.
In order to understand the application process for a license to cut or copy uniform and transparent standard trees, which will allow optimal protection of the trees, the Ministry of Agriculture has formulated in recent months the draft regulations now published for public review and comments. The regulations set a new standard in the field and increase its accessibility to the general public. Among other things, the regulations stipulate a new obligation to publish, according to which signs must be placed in a prominent location near the tree that is the subject of the application, for 14 days, and in order to provide the public with an additional notification mechanism that will facilitate submissions. In addition, the existing advertising mechanism on the website of the Ministry of Agriculture will be upgraded in a way that will improve the interfaces with the public and increase its ability to take part in the process.
Moreover, the new regulations define how the value of the tree in its case is to be applied for. This includes stipulating that each tree will receive a score according to four uniform criteria, in the range of 5-0 points for each criterion, including: the species of the tree; The location of the tree; Its environmental contribution; And its condition. This score will serve as the basis for the reasoned decision of the forest official, which will be delivered within 30 days from the date of receipt of all the required documents.
The regulations also stipulate that, as a general rule, a felling license that may be granted will require an alternative planting of a tree, in accordance with the value of the tree determined by the forest official. To the extent that the forest official believes that an alternative planting cannot be carried out, due to environmental conditions or special circumstances, he will determine in the license conditions a monetary levy as advertised in this section.
The regulations create a more rigorous oversight mechanism for the government forest official in relation to the actions of felling or copying trees as part of local authority development plans. This is done through a control mechanism and approval of plans that detail the development activities that are planned to be carried out by the authority and involve the felling or copying of trees. The plans will be submitted for review and approval by the Government Forest Officer and after their approval, it will be possible to issue licenses that comply with what is stated in them, depending on the progress of the implementation of the plan.
The Government Forest Officer at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Erez Barkai: “Felling a tree is an irreversible step, and therefore requires a reasoned and uniform thought process. We are currently in the Forest and Trees Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, leading a broad move to increase transparency throughout the process, in order to expand the public’s ability to take part in it. To date, the Ministry of Agriculture has operated through work procedures, which have established methods of action in the field, and supervisory and audit mechanisms. The new regulations anchor a common and uniform language for forest officials throughout the decision-making process, which will surely streamline their work and standardize in the field, but no less importantly, they regulate effective supervision of regional forest officials, ease the bureaucratic burden on the public, and maximize public shoulders. The value of protecting trees. ”
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