| LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL ASPECTS | Cameroon | Gabon | Republic of Congo | Democratic Republic of Congo | Central African Republic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of forestry law | 1994 | 2001 | 2000 | 2002 | 2000 |
| Land allocation plan, by zone | Yes, in southern part of the country | In preparation | Non | First tests underway[a] | Planned |
| Permanent Forest (legally established, not established) | 38 FMUs gazetted (at 30 June 2005, gazetting process underway for 57 others. | No, (few gazetted forests) | No, gazetting process planned | Plans for « permanent production forests » | No (no gazetted forests) |
| Concession allocation system (over-the-counter/public tender/ public tender with financial component | Public tender with technical pre-selection then technical offers (30%) and financial offers (70%) | Over-the-counter 45% of area is « farmed out » | In principle: public tender. Technical criteria incl. industrialisation plan. « financial offer » | Moratorium on new allocations pending finalisation of a public tender procedure that combines technical and financial criteria | Since May 2015, public tender (same as Cameroon) but 40% for technical criteria and 60% for financial criteria |
| Duration of concessions | 15 years | Renewable rotation (usually 30 years) | 15 or 25 years, renewable | 25 years | For the company’s lifetime |
| Mandatory concession management plan (MP) | Yes. The MP should be prepared during provisional 3-year agreement but several such agreements have largely exceeded the planned 3-year period | Yes (partly applied). Additional charge provided for but not applied | Yes. Process making headway in the north but not applied in the south | Yes (since new code). Will take several years | Yes. The only country with joint implementation of plans between public service (PARPAF project) and concession holders. |
| National management standards | Since 2002. Order 222/A/MINEF of 25 May 2002 | Since 2003, pending decree to make it official | No, but have operational guidelines | No | Technically validated and applied since 2001. Regulations currently being drafted. |
| Percentage of logs to be processed within the country | 100% local processing for category 1 species and exports authorised, subject to additional charge for category 2 and 3 species. Annual export quotas planned but not applied for certain species (Ayous and Azobé) | No mandatory reporting but aim is to increase local processing | As a « transition » : 85% of each company's output; rule applied very unevenly. Total prohibition according to the code. Graduated additional charges beyond the 15% logs exported | 70% of each company's output since the new Code. Application in the short term is difficult. | 60% per permit holder (Code of 2000). A finance law in 2000 raised this threshold to 77%. |
| Area being prepared for management | 48 FMUs (i.e. 42 concessions) already have a management plan validated by the administration, representing an area of more than 3 million hectares | Process underway on 3.6 million hectares | Two plans completed awaiting approval. Process underway on 5.5 million hectares | Three companies have started work on preparation of management plan (total 6.7 million hectares) | A management unit (PARPAF project) is preparing plans for 6 of the country’s concession holders. Process involves 2.8 million hectares. |
| Certified concessions | 1 concession FSC-certified (Dec. 2005) | 2 concessions certified under Dutch Keurhout system; 2 companies ISO 14000 certified | 1 concession certified under Dutch Keurhout system; FSC certification process underway for this same company | 0 | Origin & legality standard (OLB-EUROCERTIFOR) certification process underway for 1 concession |
| Cap on cumulative area | 200,000 ha per company (several large groups have up to 600,000 ha) | 600,000 ha, but three companies have close to 700,000 ha of their own. | No limit | 500.000ha (sauf droits acquis, certain groupes ou sociétés ont près de 3 M ha) | No limit |
| Community or local forestry | Community forests (5,000 ha max): 59 approved, 225,615 ha. Communal forests (1 up to now): 16,250 ha, but planned for more than 600.000 ha (FMUs applied for by communities) | Community forests provided for by law adopted in 2001. Nothing tangible yet. | Nothing planned | « Local community forests » recognised. No limit to surface area. Order to be issued on terms and conditions | Six pilot communal forests (supported by projects) but nothing stipulated in existing law. Draft law being prepared. |
| LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL ASPECTS | Equatorial Guinea | Burundi | Rwanda | Sao Tomé and Principe | Chad |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of forestry law | 1997 | 1985 | 2013 | 2001 | 2008 |
| Land allocation plan, by zone | Map of gazetted lands published in 1999 by CUREF project, and validated | ||||
| Permanent Forest (legally established, not established) | No | ||||
| Concession allocation system (over-the-counter/public tender/ public tender with financial component | Over-the-counter | ||||
| Duration of concessions | 15 years, renewable | ||||
| Mandatory concession management plan (MP) | Yes (not enforced) | ||||
| National management standards | No | ||||
| Percentage of logs to be processed within the country | 60% local processing required. Beyond this percentage, exporter pays fiscal penalty. Apparently seldom enforced. | ||||
| Area being prepared for management | Pilot management inventory, by CUREF project, on 50,000 ha concession | ||||
| Certified concessions | 0 | ||||
| Cap on cumulative area | 50,000 ha (Shimmer International, a Malaysian company, holds close to 500,000 ha.) | ||||
| Bosques communales | « Bosques communales » communal forest land where State recognises rural communities’ permanent user rights |
Table 8.7. Comparison of legislation on forest sector in Central African countries
| FISCAL REGIME | Cameroon | Gabon | Congo | DRC | CAR | Equatorial Guinea |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Approximate estimate of average fiscal pressure per m3 product (FCFA/m3) | 30,000 (exported Ayous logs), i.e. 28.5% of FOB 36,500 per m3 raw timber, i.e. 14% of FOB | About 26,000 for exported logs (28% of FOB) under managed concession permit; 27,000 under non-managed concession permit (29% of FOB). Veneer: 12,700 managed concession permit i.e. 5.4% of FOB, at 14,400 non- managed concession permit, i.e. 6.1% du FOB | 21,618 (South) to 23,137 (North), i.e. 11.6 to 14.6% FOB value “export basket” per zone. Sapelli log exports North: from 19,300 to 34,350 (depending on additional tax) Okoumé log exports South: 18,240 to 29,800 | 39 $/m3 (2004), i.e. 14.4% of FOB value of an “export basket” composed of 70% export logs and 30% sawn timber. 33,8$ for 1 m3 Sapelli exported, i.e. between 12 and 19% of FOB 41.7 $ for 1 m3 sawn Sapelli i.e. 8-10% of FOB | About 26,500 for exported Sapelli logs i.e. 17.6% of FOB and 34,900 for 1 m3 sawn timber i.e. 11.8% of FOB | 41,000 per m3 sawn Okoume logs exported i.e. 39% of FOB. 31,000 per m3 veneer (about 15%) |
| Amount of concession area fee | Minimum: 1000 FCFA/ha Average observed since 1996: about 2700 FCFA/ha | 600 FCFA/ha in 2000, 300 FCFA/ha only for companies working on management process | 350 FCFA/ha (North) 500 FCFA/ha (South) 20% average reduction considering useable area | 0,0014 $/ha until 2002 0,067$/ha in 2003 0.10$/ha in 2004 0,20$/ha in 2005 0,50$/ha in 2007 Fee on annual logging permit: 2$ in 2004, 10$ in 2005 | 500 FCFA/ha/yr | Between 2500 and 3000 FCFA/ha depending on the zone |
| Felling tax | 2.5 de FOB LM minus 20% | 3%, 5% or 9% (depending on the zone) of market value (typical value range) | 3% FOB LM value | 1.25% ExWorks value (EXW: FOB minus average transport cost 50 or 80$) | 7% of market value (FOB LM minus 40%) | 80% of « stand value » defined as 8% of FOB |
| Exit tax on logs | 17.5% FOB value + additional tax depending on species | 17% of FOB value | Depending on the zone (4), between 8.5% and 10% of administrative FOB value, fairly close to real prices | 6% market value (rather far from real prices) + reforestation tax of 4% of EXW value (FOB minus average transport cost) | 10.5% value of FOT (reduced FOB) + reforestation tax: 11% on market value | 30% official FOB value |
| Exit tax on processed products | Replaced by tax on logs entering sawmill (2.25% of FOB value of logs entering) | No | Between 0.5 and 4.5% of administrative FOB, poor reflection of real prices | In 2005 (expected): 1% unseasoned wood, 0% seasoned. In 2006 (intended): 2% unseasoned wood | 4.5% FOT value for certain species only | 10 official FOT values |
| Incentives and specific measures | None | Reduced concession fee for managed concession permits. No export tax on processed products | Concession fee on estimated « useable » area only | Concession fees only on production batches (after management introduced). Lower reforestation and felling tax for more remote areas (EXW). Export tax reduced to 50% for “promotional” species such as Tola. No export taxes on seasoned sawn timber | Concession fee levied on estimated « useable » Lower export tax on more remote areas | None |
| Tax Department and Forest Fund revenues (billions FCFA) | 25 (2000-2001) | 19,8 (2001) | 12 (2003) | 2 million $ (2002) (c. 1.2 billion FCFA) | 8,335 (2001) | Unavailable |
| FISCAL REGIME | Equatorial Guinea | Burundi | Rwanda | Sao Tomé and Principe | Chad |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Approximate estimate of average fiscal pressure per m3 product (FCFA/m3) | 41,000 per m3 of Okoume log exported, i.e. 39% of FOB. 31,000 per m3 of veneer (about 15%) | ||||
| Amount of concession area fee | Between 2500 and 3000 FCFA/ha depending on the zone | ||||
| Felling tax | 80% of « standing value » defined as 8% of FOB | ||||
| Log exit leviess | 30% of official FOB value | ||||
| Exit levies on processed products | 10% of official FOB value1 | ||||
| Incentives and special measures | None | ||||
| Tax Department and Forest Fund revenues (billions FCFA) | Unavailable |
Table 8.8 Comparison of fiscal regimes for forestry in the countries of Central Africa
- [a] I see that there is an operational guide to Land Use Standards, but not a plan