(a) |
cut, disturb, damage or destroy any protected tree; or |
(b) |
possess, collect, remove, transport, export, purchase, sell, donate or in any other manner acquire or dispose of any protected tree, or any forest product derived from a protected tree, |
except—
(i) |
under a licence granted by the Minister; or |
(ii) |
in terms of an exemption from the provisions of this subsection published by the Minister in the Gazette on the advice of the Council. |
(2) |
The decision to declare a tree, group of trees, woodland or species protected may not be revoked, nor may the notice referred to in section 13(3) be amended, without the Minister following the procedure set out in section 13. |
(3) |
The Minister must, by notice in the Gazette and in two newspapers circulating nationally, publish— |
[Words preceding section 15(3)(a) substituted by section 6(a) of the National Forests Amendment Act, 2022 (Act No. 1 of 2022), Notice No. 1131, GG46650, dated 1 July 2022 - effective 4 December 2024 per Commencement Proclamation 233 of 2024]
(a) |
a list of all species protected under section 12; and |
(b) |
an appropriate warning of the prohibition referred to in subsection (1) and the consequences of an infringement at least every five years or publish a change that has been effected to the list contemplated in paragraph (a) in the Gazette and in two newspapers circulating nationally. |
[Section 15(3)(b) substituted by section 6(b) of the National Forests Amendment Act, 2022 (Act No. 1 of 2022), Notice No. 1131, GG46650, dated 1 July 2022 - effective 4 December 2024 per Commencement Proclamation 233 of 2024]