Council of Ministers Decree No. 117/CCM on the management and use of forests and forested land.

Part I, Management of forests and forested lands: provisions are made on social and community forestry in order to preserve, manage, maintain, rehabilitate forests and forested lands by maen of strategic planning, appointing Directors of Forestry to organize, supervise and implement the plans, encouraging investments in forestry industrial production. Part II, Grant of forests and forested land use: forested land shall be granted by the State to families, cooperatives and villages in order to implement the provisions of this Decree, and those receiving land under this Decree shall be vested with the right of use, inheritance, usufruct and transfer as long as they comply with the aforesaid provisions (manage, maintain, preserve, rehabilitate forests). Part III, Land and Forested Land Use: the destination of forested land to use other than forestry (infrastructure, road building, etc)may be authorized by the competent authority, that shall authorize land clearing to the individual or enterprises only after surveys have been carried out and reforestation shall be resorted to in due time. Families and villages shall be authorized to felling trees for domestic purposes. Restrictions to land clearing are detailed in article 9.