Law of the Forests.

This Law provides for the settlement of the relations in connection with the ownership and tenure-management, the reproduction, the use and protection of the forests in the Republic of Bulgaria.
The forests are divided into lands with basic lumber production and environment forming functions, protective and recreational forests in protected territories (art. 4). The right of ownership of the forests and the lands of the forest fund, as specified in articles 6 to 11, belongs to corporate bodies and physical persons, to the state and municipalities. The state-owned right to the forests and lands of forest fund is certified by the National Department of Forests in compliance with the Law in the state ownership. The Department shall also manage the state forest fund and shall have the control over all forests and lands of the forest fund. Private forests and the lands of forest fund cannot be acquired by prescription from the state or municipality. A national council for forests shall be established to discuss basic issues of the management of forests. The forests and the lands of the forest fund shall be constructed, managed and used according to forest development projects, plans and programs (arts. 25 to 28). Chapter III deals with the following matters: creation of new forests which shall include the activities of collecting, obtaining and producing forest reproduction material, afforestation, soil conservation, etc.; management and control of the fight against erosion; carrying out of growth, sanitary and restoration felling. Chapter IV sets out provisions on the following: timber extraction, felling and hauling of timber, quotas and felling periods, etc.; offering on the market of unprocessed timber described as "classified according to the rules of the European economic community"; export and import. The protection of forests and lands shall include the protection of forests against diseases, insects, weeds, parasitic plants, rodents and other pests, fires, etc. Any construction in forests and lands of the forest fund need a permit.