National Forests Act, 1998 (Act No. 84 of 1998)Chapter 4 : Use of ForestsPart 2 : Vesting and granting of rights to use State forests24. Requirements for licensing |
| (1) | A licence must be issued for a period— |
| (a) | equal to the period for which the activity is permitted in terms of a servitude, lease, agreement to sell forest produce or community forestry agreement referred to in this Chapter; or |
| (b) | not exceeding ten years in the case of any other activity. |
| (2) | The Minister may attach conditions to the granting of a licence. |
| (3) | A licensee must pay the licence fee, unless— |
| (a) | he or she has entered into a lease agreement under section 27; |
| (b) | he or she is a purchaser in terms of an agreement referred to in section 28(1); |
| (c) | it is a community which has entered into an agreement under section 30; |
| (d) | the licensee is unable to pay and qualifies for exemption i n terms of criteria set by the Ministers; or |
| (e) | the tariff referred to in section 55(a) does not prescribe a licence fee for the activity concerned. |
| (4) | A licensee may only— |
| (a) | transfer a licence; or |
| (b) | contract with another party to carry out the activities authorised by the licence, with the written consent of the Minister. |
| (5) | A licence may only be granted in a protected area if the licensed activity does not frustrate the achievement of the objects for which the protected area was established. |
| (6) |
| (a) | The Minister may exempt persons or classes of persons from the licencing provisions if the intended activity is for domestic, cultural, health or spiritual purposes only. |
| (b) | The exemption becomes effective when it is published in the Gazette. |
| (7) | The Minister and any other organs of State or persons to whom the power to grant licences is delegated must keep registers of all licences granted in terms of this section which are issued for a year or longer. |
| (8) | The holder of a licence must produce it on demand of a forest officer or a police officer. |
| (9) | Nothing in this Act prohibits the grant in terms of any law of a right to prospect for, mine or dispose of any mineral as defined in the Minerals Act, 1991 (Act No. 50 of 1991), or any source material as defined in the Nuclear Energy Act, 1993 (Act No. 131 of 1993), in a State forest but— |
| (a) | the holder of such a right may not do anything which requires a licence in terms of section 23 without a licence; |
| (b) | the grant of any such right after the commencement of the National Forest and Fire Laws Amendment Act, 2001, must be made subject to the principles set out in section 3(3) of this Act. |