Research Report
A Study on Amendment to Framework Act On Forestry
Ⅰ. Background & Purpose
▶ 「Framework Act on Forestry」 came to have a structure that can't have basic legal effectiveness as its basic legal system was constituted based on declarative regulations instead of containing tangible regulation since it was established in the process that 「the Forest Law」, which is a parent law of forestry related laws, is enacted and divided.
▶ This study is intended to present legislation improvement proposal that improves the system, contents and form of 「Framework Act on Forestry」 and to establish institutional framework for effective future forestry policy establishment in order to enhance the convergence of 「Framework Act on Forestry」 with other forestry related laws and to clarify the status as basic legal system.
Ⅱ. Main Contents
▶ In consideration with the systemicity with forestry related laws, the matter that needs legislative improvement in the long term is to enact a provision of basic terminology about forestry in 「Framework Act on Forestry」.
○ As the basic concepts about forestry that were commonly used were regulated not by 「Framework Act on Forestry」 but by individual forestry related laws in the process of division of the Forest Law, even the concepts of terminology in 「Framework Act on Forestry」 were understood through relevant forestry related laws.
○ It is necessary to regulate ‘forestry’, ‘forest resource’, ‘forest industry’, ‘mountain village’, ‘forest product’ and ‘classification of forestry’, which are already conceptually defined in the forestry related legislation field and are applied to this field as basic concepts, in the definition provision of 「Framework Act on Forestry」.
○ The legal system of 「Framework Act on Forestry」 is clarified and the understandability of subjects can be enhanced when the most basic terms applied to forestry are organized into the basic law system.
▶ In the long term, it is necessary to establish applicable provisions about policy deliberation committee related to basic plan of forest.
○ Although it is hard to hold regular committee for the basic plan of forest since it takes 20 years, it is necessary to establish applicable provisions about committee organization and its authority because the plan or coherence with sub-plans that forest basic plan covers can be changed, and the transparency and democracy of plan establishment can be reinforced through careful consideration process about forest policies by cooperation of various experts, local governments and central government.
○ There is a need to add matters about mountain village promotion and forestry development to the basic plan for the coherence of 「Framework Act on Forestry」 with the basic plan. In addition, regulating matters about 「Forest Technology Law」 and 「Forest Education Law」 in the system of 「Framework Act on Forestry」 should also be a long term improvement.
▶ If a term that is constantly repeated in 「Framework Act on Forestry」 is defined differently in specific regulations, this needs to be uniformed to be one term.
○ A repeated concept ‘Conservation and Utilization of Forest’ in 「Framework Act on Forestry」 is expressed as ‘Conservation and Protection of Forest’ in the Article 11 of the basic plan of forest. This should be revised to one term of ‘Conservation and Utilization of Forest’.
○ ‘Protection of Forester’ regulates ‘Matters about plan and restoration from forest disasters such as landslide, wild fire and forest diseaseㆍfest’, which is Article 11 Clause 5 of basic plan of forest in 「Framework Act on Forestry」, which presents an alternative to revise Section 1 of 「Framework Act on Forestry」. There is also a need to revise Article 19 of 「Framework Act on Forestry」 ‘Matters about protection and promotion of arboretum’ into ‘Establishment, operation and promotion of arboretum’ in consideration of coherence of 「Framework Act on Forestry」 with 「Law of arboretum and garden」.
▶ It is necessary to establish applicable provisions about statistical surveys to identify goal achievement of basic plan of forest and to generate forest policies based on empirical data.
○ More effective policies can be implemented if various research results with high accuracy and high-density information cohesiveness through surveys about basic plan of forest and satellite networks regarding forest and forestry information are accumulated, and forest data base is established and managed.
▶ It is necessary to establish basis about enactment of ‘Mountain Day’, which is celebrated for global cooperation of forest, and operation of celebration activities.
○ There is no applicable provision for national memorial day for forest except Arbor Day.
○ Because Korea Forest Service established ‘Mountain Day’ on October 18 of each year in consideration of season and solar term and implements celebration events in order to expand people's awareness on establishment and protection of forest and to reinforce international cooperation for maintaining sustainable forest ecosystem.
Ⅲ. Expected Effect
○ To heighten effectiveness of 「Framework Act on Forestry」and to be used as a basic resource for future revision.
○ To present long term perspective legislation alternative of the forest legislation field for sustainable forest management.