Announcement of a further step to regulate reforestation and forest harvesting in Nicaragua  

September 28, 2023

On 30 August 2023, the following Ministerial Resolutions issued by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources ("MARENA") were published in La Gaceta Diario Oficial:

(i) Ministerial Resolution No. 197-2023 to approve the administrative procedure for the establishment of forest cover with the objective of strengthening and improving environmental and socio-economic goods and services in Nicaragua. 197-2023 to approve the administrative procedure for the establishment of forest cover with the objective of strengthening and improving the environmental and socioeconomic goods and services in the National System of Protected Areas ("SINAP"); and (ii) Ministerial Resolution No. 198-2023 to obtain environmental authorization to harvest forest plantations established in Buffer Zones of SINAP (together referred to as the "Ministerial Resolutions").

In these Ministerial Resolutions, MARENA implemented new administrative procedures and a list of requirements to apply for environmental authorisations, to which any natural or legal person can apply to this authority, through its territorial delegations, with the objective of obtaining the corresponding Environmental Authorisation for the establishment of forest cover for environmental restoration and, on the other hand, to take advantage of the forest plantations established in the Buffer Zones of SINAP. On the other hand, to take advantage of the forest plantations established before 2023 in buffer zones of the SINAP, in both cases after a technical inspection to verify in situ the environmental management and current state of the forest plantations.

Finally, both Ministerial Resolutions establish that non-compliance would be subject to the application of the corresponding sanctions established in the current environmental framework.



Authors: Rodrigo Ibarra and Kevin Humberto Castro

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