1008 A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 



BELGIUM s 



Nearly 60 percent of the forest area of Belgium is privately owned. 

 Most of the holdings are small. Under the law enacted in 1931, 

 which takes the place of a similar provisional law of 1921, the Minister 

 of Agriculture may forbid abnormal or excessive cutting of any wood- 

 land which is of special public importance because it serves to protect 

 the soil on mountains and slopes, to prevent erosion by streams, to 

 regularize the flow of streams and springs, to stabilize dunes and 

 coasts, or because it is necessary for purposes of the national defense 

 or nublic health. Cutting that removes more than half the volume 

 of timber in high forest, or that leaves less than 75 cubic meters per 

 hectare (about 1,000 cubic feet per acre), and cutting that removes 

 more than 60 percent or leaves less than 25 cubic meters in coppice 

 with-standards, is considered excessive. Broad-leaved forests of less 

 than 10 hectares (25 acres) and coniferous forests of less than 25 

 hectares, as well as coppice, and coppice- with-standards where the 

 overstory contains less than 25 cubic meters per hectare, are exempt 

 from control. 



The Belgian law differs from the French law in that a forest owner 

 is not required to give advance notice of an intended cutting, and the 

 restriction is not limited to clear cutting but also covers abusive 

 cutting that is likely to lead to the same result. The Belgian law 

 also provides that the minister may authorize excessive cutting, 

 provided the owner will agree to undertake certain measures, such as 

 replanting the same or an equivalent area within a specified time. 



A forest owner may appeal from a decision by the minister to a 

 commission consisting of a magistrate appointed by the King and 

 two persons named by the Superior Forestry Council. 



Another law provides for prohibiting the destruction of forests of 

 special historic or scenic significance. 



BRAZIL 6 



Owners of forest land in Brazil may apply to have their forests 

 classified, especially in case of protection forests which serve to 

 regularize streams, prevent erosion, promote the public health or 

 national defense, or which are natural beauty spots or wild-life pre- 

 serves. These forests must be managed in a manner approved by 

 the forest service, as regards both timber exploitation and grazing. 

 The Federal Government, in cooperation with local governments, 

 is to grant special favors to compensate for the restriction. These 

 favors may include assistance in building roads, police protection, 

 and subsidies for planting. 



BULGARIA 



Less than one fifth of the forest land of Bulgaria is in private 

 ownership. The private forest is largely coppice, and is in small 

 units, with an average of only about 2 hectares (5 acres) for each 



5 Bulletin Societg Centrale Forestiere de Belgique 28: 49-51, 342-344 (1921); 39: 81-96, 140-168 (1932). 

 Geneau, G., in Revue des Eaux et des ForPts 70: 349-353 (1932). 



6 Decreto que da regulamento ao Service Florestal do Brasil, 16 Sept. 1925. Translated in International 

 Yearbook of Agricultural Legislation, 1925, p. 379-390. International Inst. Agr., Rome, 1926. 



7 Law on forests, 21 July 1925. Translated in International Yearbook of Agricultural Legislation, 1925, 

 p. 390-454. Internat, Inst. Agr., Rome, 1926. 



