The vision of conservation of the forest resource: a perspective based on the forestry and environmental legislation of Nicaragua

Abstract

This paper is an abstract based on environmental and forest Nicaraguan legislation. The objective was deliver a perspective of the approach and efficiency of these laws to improve the forest ecosystems conservation. The methodology to prepare it consisted in the critical review of three laws (Law 647: General law of environment and natural resources, law 462: Law of conservation, promotion and sustainable development of forest activities; and law 585: Law of restriction to cut, logging and commercialization of forest resource) thus complementary legal instruments of these laws takin account the legal elements that consider a general approach (ecosystem level) as well as particular (species level) useful to forest conservation strategies. Based on per se conservation point of view, the law 647 has many legal elements relate with forest resource conservation, emphasizing in institutional role to confer, to observe and to assess forest activities with negative potential impact, and conservation proposals of ecosystems forest, normative to forest soil protection and some elements to create the orientation to taxes incentives. The regulation of protected areas, is an important point of the law 462 being the approach to restrict the use and management of the ecosystems, contrary to needed of conserve ecosystems or species with ecological importance or representative. The analysis of the law 462 suggest that the normative emphasize in the definition of ecosystem to wood production and forest management; the restriction of logging in municipal protected areas and border zone, which is found in law 585 (also known as close law) that pretend to protect six forest species with undocumented threat, and unrestricting y some areas. The conservation perspective of Nicaraguan legislation content restrictive elements, while some regulations pretend sustainable use, but without orientation to application and assessment.