Rwandans will be prohibited from cutting immature trees once a Bill governing forests and trees passed by the lower Chamber of Parliament on 25 March, is published in the official gazette. An allAfrica report notes that among other provisions, the Bill outlaws the harvesting, use, and sale of ‘immature trees’ referred to as poles, unless approved by the Ministry in charge of Environment for ‘particular reasons.’ Pole means an immature tree, with a diameter of less than 20 cm measured at 1.30 cm from the ground, as per interpretation in the Bill. While residents are not required to have a licence to harvest forests having less than two ha under the existing law, they will be mandated to have a permit prior to being eligible to harvest any tree as per the new Bill.
