Forest Code.

This Code shall regulate relations connected with sustainable forest management - guarding (Forstwart), protection (Forstschutz), rehabilitation, afforestation and rational use of forests and forest lands of the Republic of Armenia as well as with forest stock-taking, monitoring, control and forest lands. Forests and forest lands shall be classified by ownership as public, community and private. State forests and forest lands shall not be subject to alienation to communities, legal persons and citizens. The forest established on the lands owned by communities, legal persons and citizens by their owners shall be regarded as their property. The Act establishes the rights and duties of forest owners, the competence of the Government, authorized institutions and local self-government in the sphere of sustainable forest management. The forests shall be classified by purposeful use as follows: (a) protection forests; (b) special use forests (protected areas, urban forests); and (c) productive forests used for timber extraction. Sustainable forest management shall be carried out in accordance with forest management plans and it shall be based on forest monitoring data. Forest owners, forest managers and forest users shall have the right to guard forests from unauthorized occupation, illegal loggings, illegal grazing, pollution, waste dumping and other activities prohibited by legislation and causing damage to forest biodiversity as well as infringements of forest legislation. Forest guarding and protection shall be implemented by the State Forest Service. The owners of the forests and forest lands shall allocate forests or forest lands for free of charge or on lease, as well as for other purposes envisaged by this Code. State forests or forest lands shall be allocated for free of charge use in the cases envisaged by the law and other normative-legal acts. The following types of forest use shall be authorized: (a) timber extraction; (b) collecting of secondary timber products; (c) collecting of non-timber products; (d) fauna reproduction and use; (e) scientific research; and (f) recreation and tourism. Citizens shall have the right of free access, stay and collection of non-timber forest products for personal consumption in public and community forests.