"biological diversity"

means genetic diversity, species diversity and ecosystem diversity;

"Committee for Sustainable Forest Management"

means the committee established in terms of section 36(3)(a);

"Committee on Forest Access"

means the committee established in terms of section 36(3)(b);

"community"

means a coherent, social group of persons with interests or rights in a particular area of land which the members have or exercise communally in terms of an agreement, custom or law;

"community forestry"

means forestry by a community in terms of an agreement referred to in sections 30 and 31;

"Council"

means the National Forests Advisory Council, established by section 33;

"Department"

means the national Department which has responsibility for forests;

"Director-General"

means the Director-General of the Department;

"ecosystem"

means a system made up of a group of living organisms, the relationship between them and their physical environment;

"forest"

includes—

"forest management unit"

means an area of land on all or on part of which there is forest and which is managed as an integrated unit;

"forest officer"

means a person designated or appointed as a forest officer under section 65;

"forest produce"

means anything which appears or grows in a forest, including—

"forest product"

means an object or substance made from forest produce by a mechanical or chemical process;

"forestry"

means the management of forests, including the management of land which is not treed but which forms part of a forest management unit;

"habitat"

means the place where a plant or animal naturally grows or lives;

"indigenous"

means indigenous to South Africa;

"Minister"

means the Minister to whom the President assigns responsibility for forests in terms of section 91(2) of the Constitution;

"municipality"

means a local council, a metropolitan council, a metropolitan local council, a representative council, a rural council or a district council as defined in section 10B of the Local Government Transition Act, 1993 (Act No. 209 of 1993), and any successor to such a council;

"natural forest"

means a group of indigenous trees—

"organ of State"

means—

but excluding a court or judicial officer;

"person"

includes a juristic person and a community;

"plantation"

means a group of trees cultivated for exploitation of the wood, bark, leaves or essential oils in the trees;

"prescribe"

means prescribe by regulation;

"previous forest legislation"

means—

"protected area"

means an area set aside by the Minister as a protected area in one of the categories referred to in section 8(1);

"protected tree"

means a tree declared to be protected, or belonging to a group of trees, woodland or species declared to be protected, under section 12(1) or 14(2);

"province"

means the premier of the province exercising his or her executive authority together with the other members of the executive council referred to in section 132 of the Constitution;

"registered owner"

means an owner as defined in section 102 of the Deeds Registries Act, 1937 (Act No. 47 of 1937);

"State forest"

"State land"

means land which vests in the national or a provincial government—

"the Act" or "this Act"

means the National Forests Act, 1998, and includes the regulations made in terms of the Act;

"the Trust"

means the National Forest Recreation and Access Trust, established by section 41;

"the Trust funds"

means the funds referred to in section 41(5) together with any money subsequently received by the Trust;

"timber"

means—

"tree"

includes any tree seedling, sapling, transplant or coppice shoot of any age and any root, branch or other part of it;

"trust forest"

means State land which—

despite any subsequent ,withdrawal, retraction or amendment of the status of the forest as reserved or demarcated, the boundaries being those which were most recently surveyed or otherwise accurately described in terms of any law;

"vehicle"

includes any vessel or aircraft;

"woodland"

means a group of indigenous trees which are not a natural forest, but whose crowns cover more than five per cent of the area bounded by the trees forming the perimeter of the group.

in this Act exempts the official or authority exercising a power or performing a duty from the duty to proceed fairly in respect of all persons entitled to be heard.