Regulation penalising cutting endangered trees comes into effect

AMMAN — A new regulation listing the names of centennial, rare and wild endangered trees and plants and banning cutting them down has entered into force after being issued in the Official Gazette.

Under Article 3 of the new regulation, published in the Official Gazette on March 31, trees including the Aleppo pine aged over 200 years, deciduous oaks aged over 350 years, oaks aged more than 300 years and pistacias aged over 150 years are all categorised as centennial forest trees whose chopping or uprooting is prohibited whether found in forest, treasury or private lands.

Article 4 of the new regulation also specified Jordan’s rare and endangered forest trees, which include acacia in Wadi Araba and the southern desert, wild cupressus in Talfileh Governorate, platanus in Wadi Rajeb in Ajloun Governorate and the Jordan Valley, maringa in Azzarah area and the Jordan Valley, wild olive in Burma, Jerash and Ajloun, maple in Jerash, Ajloun and Salt, hawthorn, Arak, Euphrates poplar and wild pear.

Director of the forestry department at the Ministry of Agriculture, Eid Zu’bi, said on Monday that the new regulation has been issued as part of Appendix A of Article 34 of the Agriculture Law No. 13 of the year 2015 and its amendments.

Zu’bi underscored that cutting down centennial and endangered trees has always been banned under the law, noting that the new regulation was issued to name and specify the country’s centennial and endangered forest trees and to maximise the penalty against those who cut them down.

Article 5 of the new regulation stipulates that cutting down any rare, centennial or wild plant or tree is penalised in accordance with Appendix D of Article 34 of the Agriculture Law No. 13 for the year 2015 and its amendments.

“The law stipulates that those who cut down rare, centennial or wild plant or tree face six months of imprisonment and are fined thrice the cost of a rare or centennial tree, thrice the cost of every chopped down rare or centennial fruit tree and JD1 for every cut down or damaged wild plant,” Zu’bi noted.