Forestry Law of the People's Republic of China, 1984

The Law is enacted for the purpose of:

• Protecting, cultivating and rationally utilizing forest resources.
• Speeding up afforestation of our land.
• Giving full play to the forests' role of conserving water and soil.
• Moderating the climate.
• Improving the environment.
• Providing forest products. 

The law provides that forest resources, with the exception of those owned by collectives as provided for by law, are owned by the State. The forests, trees and forest land owned by the State and by collectives, as well as the trees owned and forest land used by individuals, shall be registered with the local people's governments at or above the county level, which shall issue certificates to confirm such ownership or right of use. 

The Law also contains provisions on Forest Management and Administration, Forest Protection, Tree Planting and Afforestation, Forest Tree Felling, Legal Liabilities and Supplemental Provisions. Among the provisions is a prohibition against use of forest land for prospecting or exploiting mineral resources or for constructing projects. It also directs the people's governments at various levels to work out afforestation plans and, in light of the specific local conditions, set forth targets for increasing the forest coverage of their own areas. On the other hand, the State, acting on the principle that the consumption rate of a timber forest should be lower than its growth rate, imposes strict control on the annual quota for forest felling. 

Translation

• English (external link)