Forests (Community Forest Management) Regulations, 2018 (S.I. No. 11 of 2018).

These Regulations concern management of specifies forest areas by local communities and related matters. Community forest management may be applied in (a) open areas; (b) local Forests; and (c) Game Management Areas. The Director of Forestry, in consultation with the Minister, may consider community forest management in any other type of forest. A local authority (as defined by the Local Government Act) shall, for forests within the jurisdiction of that local authority, identify local communities, and support and encourage them to apply to the Director for control, use and management of areas of forests for purposes of social, cultural and economic needs. An area proposed for community forest management shall be free of a forest concession or sawmilling licence.
The Regulations set out conditions for application to the Director to be recognized as a community forest management group. The community forest management area shall be for the exclusive use of the local community represented by the community forest management group unless an application for recognition is rejected by the Director. The Regulations set out obligations of a community forest management group in respect of its community forest area, and a community forest management group shall carry out field appraisals and socio-economic survey in the targeted community forest in order to conduct an assessment on the potential user rights by the community and other users of the targeted community forest. A recognised community forest management group must within 90 days of recognition enter into a community forest agreement in Form IV set out in the Schedule, otherwise recognition may be withdrawn. The community forest management groups shall assist the Director in controlling restricted activities (not defined) within an established community forest area. The group may assign some or all of its rights under an agreement to any other person or group. The group and the persons to be assigned rights shall specify the benefits sharing arrangements between them. The person or group being assigned the rights shall be subjected to requirements of the approved community forest agreement and additional conditions specified in the Schedule to these Regulations. the Schedule also sets out various forms.