NATURAL JUSTICE COMMENTS ON THE PRELIMINARY DRAFT FORESTRY BILL: VERSION FOR PUBLIC CONSULTAION (APRIL 2022)

Natural Justice provides a detailed critique of Mozambique's preliminary draft Forestry Bill (April 2022), arguing that the document functions more as an economic instrument for logging and trade than a tool for environmental protection. The organization highlights critical gaps in the bill regarding sustainable forest management, community rights, biodiversity protection, and the prevention of institutional corruption.

• The draft Forestry Bill is criticized for being an economic instrument that prioritizes the legalization of logging and trade over actual forest protection, lacking a framework that recognizes the socio-economic and environmental importance of natural forests.
• The bill fails to distinguish between natural and planted forests in its definitions, which Natural Justice warns could encourage loggers to clear native forests to plant faster-growing species for the carbon market, endangering native tree species and indigenous habitats.
• The document omits the concept of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM), which is essential for balancing socio-economic and environmental needs. Without SFM, the law is seen as a mechanism that legalizes environmental degradation.
• Mozambique's forests face severe threats from illegal logging, with rates reaching 93% in 2013. Natural Justice warns that if current rates continue, first and precious class species could be completely logged out by 2029.
• The bill is criticized for ignoring institutional corruption and providing inadequate sanctions for forest crimes. For example, the one-year sentence or fine for forest fires is deemed insufficient to deter property developers who use fire to change the protection status of land for planning permissions.
• The public consultation process for the bill was flawed, particularly because it was conducted primarily in Portuguese, excluding many local communities who do not speak the language and limiting their ability to participate in decisions affecting their livelihoods.
• The draft law fails to sufficiently recognize the social, cultural, and spiritual functions of forests, including their role as venues for rituals, markers of property rights, and sites for traditional healing.

APA

Natural Justice (2022). NATURAL JUSTICE COMMENTS ON THE PRELIMINARY DRAFT FORESTRY BILL: VERSION FOR PUBLIC CONSULTAION (APRIL 2022). https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Forest-Law-NJ-Commentary-1_english.pdf

Chicago

Natural Justice. NATURAL JUSTICE COMMENTS ON THE PRELIMINARY DRAFT FORESTRY BILL: VERSION FOR PUBLIC CONSULTAION (APRIL 2022). 2022. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Forest-Law-NJ-Commentary-1_english.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Natural Justice |title=NATURAL JUSTICE COMMENTS ON THE PRELIMINARY DRAFT FORESTRY BILL: VERSION FOR PUBLIC CONSULTAION (APRIL 2022) |date=April 2022 |url=https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Forest-Law-NJ-Commentary-1_english.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{naturaljustice2022natural, author = {{Natural Justice}}, title = {{NATURAL JUSTICE COMMENTS ON THE PRELIMINARY DRAFT FORESTRY BILL: VERSION FOR PUBLIC CONSULTAION (APRIL 2022)}}, publisher = {Natural Justice}, year = {2022}, month = apr, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Forest-Law-NJ-Commentary-1_english.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }