Law No. 48/2016 amending and supplementing Law No. 9385 on forests and the forestry service.

Law 48/2016 amends and supplements several provisions of Law 9385 including the exclusion of protected areas, wild fauna, and medicinal plants from the scope of law, the amendment of the eligibility requirements for Forestry Police Officers and the structure of the forestry service including the establishment of municipal units for the administration of the forestry funds within municipalities’ territorial borders as well as description of their duties and responsibilities.
The Law further amends article 15 of Law 9385 regarding the composition of the public forestry fund by stipulating that the fund is divided into a) forests and forestry land in ownership of the municipalities that administer their territories; and b) protected areas in ownership of the ministry responsible for forests. The Council of Ministers approves the ownership transfer of the forests to the municipalities within 3 months of proposal.