ABBREVIATIONS
State Forestry Agency / SFAForest Seed Control Stations / FSCS
Forestry University / FU
Forest Research Institute at Bulgarian Academy of Science / FRI at BAS
Regional Forestry Directorate / RFD
State Forest Enterprise / SFE
State Hunting Enterprise / SHE
Ministry of Environment and Waters / MOEW
Forest Act / FA
National Plant Protection Service / NPPS
Forest management plan / FMP
Specialized territorial units / STU
Poplar Breeding Station / PBS
European Union / EU
European Commission / EC
Genetically Modified Organisms Act / GMOA
ORDINANCE No..5
of 5 February 2004
on production and marketing of forest reproductive materials
Issued by the State Forestry Agency
Promulgated in State Gazette (SG) No.
Chapter One
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Art. 1. (1) This Ordinance provides:
1. the requirements for production and marketing of forest reproductive materials wholly or partially intended for forestry purposes within the European Union (EU);
2. the official bodies, their rights and responsibilities regarding the implementation of the requirements for production and marketing of forest reproductive materials.
(2) The Republic of Bulgaria shall notify the European Commission (EC) of its official bodies referred to in point 2 of the above paragraph of this Ordinance.
(3) The official body may delegate tasks provided for in this Ordinance for accomplishment to any natural or legal person only if such person has no personal interest in the outcomes.
Art. 2. (1) This Ordinance shall apply to reproductive material of tree species and their artificial hybrids which are important for the forestry of the Republic of Bulgaria and other EU Member States and are listed in Annex No.1 to this Ordinance.
(2) The list referred to in Annex No.1 may be amended on the basis of an EC Decision.
Art. 3. (1) The provisions of this Ordinance shall not apply to:
1. forest reproductive material in the form of planting stock or parts of plants, which is shown to be intended for purposes other than forestry;
2. forest reproductive material, which is shown to be intended for export or re-export to third countries.
3. forest reproductive material, which is produced for own needs, which is shown not to be intended for marketing.
(2) In the case of par. 1 p. 1 according to its purpose the reproductive material shall be accompanied by a label or other document, demonstrating a compliance with the requirements of EU or national legislation.
(3) In the absence of any provisions for the use of the reproductive material under par. 2, where a producer or supplier handles both material intended for forestry purposes and material which is shown to be intended for purposes other than forestry, the latter shall be accompanied by a label bearing the following statement: “Not for forestry purposes”.
Chapter Two
PRODUCTION OF FOREST REPRODUCTIVE MATERIALS
Art. 4. (1) The production of forest reproductive materials of tree species and their artificial hybrids, listed in Annex No.1 to this Ordinance, may be carried out only from basic material, approved and recorded in the Register of the Forest Seed Resource Base (Annex No.2). All basic material shall meet the following minimum requirements:
1. for production of reproductive material of the “source-identified” category - according to Annex No.3;
2. for production of reproductive material of the “selected” category - according to Annex No.4;
3. for production of reproductive material of the “qualified” category - according to Annex No.5;
4. for production of reproductive material of the "tested" category - according to Annex No.6.
(2) The approval or withdrawal of basic materials shall be decided by the Head of NFB on a proposal from Forestry Seed Control Stations (FSCS), forest owners, persons involved in forest management planning, Forestry University (FU) and Forestry Research Institute (FRI) at the Bulgarian Academy of Science (BAS) as follows:
1. the proposals referred to in par. 2 shall be made in the form of a carnet (Annex No.7) for trees and stands, as for seed orchards, parents of a family, clones and clonal mixtures the full documentation required for approval in accordance with the requirements of Annex No.5, shall be submitted;
2. the proposals referred to in par. 2 shall be furnished to NFB by FSCS and considered by a commission, appointed by an order of the Head of NFB or a person authorized by him, including: representatives of the National Commission on Forest Selection and Seed Production (NCFSSP), FSCS, Forest Protection Station, Regional Forestry Board (RFB), State Forestry Unit (SFU) or State Game Breeding Stations (SGBS), the Poplar Breeding Station (PBS), entities involved in forest management planning (in the case of a forestry inspection), and the forest owner; the commission shall be chaired by the representative of FSCS; Protocol (Annex No.8) shall be drawn up by the commission with a proposal to the Head of NFB to take a decision;
3. within 7 days from the date of receiving the Protocol referred to in p. 2 the Head of NFB shall adjudicate on the proposal, as follows:
а) may approve (withdraw) the basic material in the case of a positive statement from the Commission referred to in p.2;
b) may give a motivated rejection in case of a negative statement from the Commission referred to in p.2.
(3) The owner together with FSCS shall, for each unit of approval, draw up a Passport in three copies (Annex No. 9) – one for SFU/SGBS/PBS, one for FSCS and one for the forest owner. Each year the produced reproductive materials and the activities carried out with it shall be entered into the Passport.
(4) The registration of units of approval within the Forest Asset, the national parks, reserves, agricultural lands and settlements, shall be made by the respective FSCS, depending on the region and the administrative unit they belong to.
(5) Basic material of forest reproductive material consisting of genetically modified organisms shall only be approved under par, 2 if it has no adverse effects on human health and the environment and meets the provisions of Genetically Modified Organisms Act (GMOA).
(6) In the case of approval of genetically modified basic material referred to in par. 5 a human health and environmental risk assessment in accordance with the provisions of GMOA shall be conducted.
Art. 5. (1) In the interest of conserving plant genetic resources used in forestry and in the context of the development of conservation “in situ”, on the basis of an EC Decision, certain quantities of reproductive material derived from sources, deviating from the minimum requirements laid down in Annexes No. 3, 4, 5 and 6 may only be produced if their origin is adapted to the regional conditions and threatened by genetic erosion.
(2) Proposals referred to par. 1 may be made by: forest owners; the structures and the specialized territorial units of NFB; SGBS; Ministry of Environment and Waters (MOEW); FRI at BAS and FU.
(3) The Proposals referred to in par. 2 shall be submitted to the respective FSCS. Within 10 days from the date of receiving the proposal, FSCS shall draw up and provide to NFB a written statement on the appropriateness of the proposal.
(4) Within 14 days from the date of receiving the EC Decision referred to in par. 1 the Head of NFB shall furnish a copy of it to:
1. the stakeholder who has submitted the proposal to FSCS for obtaining an EC authorization;
2. the FSCS to which the proposal for obtaining an EC authorization has been submitted.
Art. 6. (1) Each unit of approval shall be identified by a unique register reference, entered into the Register of the Forest Seed Resource Base. The register reference shall include encoded information, as set out in Annex No.10.
(2) Each year, by 31st January, NFB shall draw up a summarized list of all units of approval within the territory of the country in the form provided in Annex No.11. The list shall be available to the public and upon request to EC and the other Member States.
(3) For units of approval, from which reproductive material of the categories “source-identified” and "selected" is derived, the list may be based on regions of provenance.
(4) The list referred to in par. 2 shall include:
1. botanical name of the tree species or hybrid;
2. category of reproductive material, to be derived from the basic material; in the case of basic material intended for production of reproductive material of the "tested" category, it shall be stated whether it is genetically modified;
3. register reference pursuant to the Register of the Forest Seed Resource Base or identity code for region of provenance for categories “source-identified” and “selected”;
4. location: a short name, or common name of the location and any one of the following sets of particulars:
а) for the “source-identified” category - region of provenance and geographical position (latitude and longitude);
b) for the “selected” category - region of provenance and geographical position(s) (latitude and longitude), or latitudinal and longitudinal range;
c) for the “qualified” and “tested” categories - the exact geographical position where the unit of approval is maintained and in the case of material of the "tested" category it shall be indicated whether it is genetically modified;
5. altitude or altitudinal range;
6. type of basic material;
7. area: the size of basic material;
8. origin: autochthonous, non-autochthonous or if the origin is unknown;
9. origin for non-autochthonous basic material, the origin shall be stated if known;
10. purpose;
11. other information.
(5) The information required to draw up the list referred to in par. 2 shall be provided in paper and electronic form to NFB by the Directors of FSCS until 20th January each year.
Art. 7. (1) Subject to a proposal from NCFSSP, basic materials for the production of tested reproductive material,, shall be approved by the Head of NFB for a period of up to ten years from the date of entry into force of this Ordinance where provisional results from the genetic evaluation or comparative testes referred to in Annex No 6 have made it possible to assume that the basic material will, when tests have been concluded, satisfy the requirements for approval.
(2) The owner of the basic material according to par. 1 shall inform the Head of NFB on the results of the genetic evaluation or the comparative test after their conclusion.
(3) For a period of up to ten years from the date of coming into force of this Ordinance, the results of genetic evaluation test and comparative test which are obtained using testing methods not satisfying the requirements set out in Annex No. 6, may be used for the purpose of approving basic material for the production of “tested” forest reproductive material only if such genetic evaluation tests and comparative tests have begun before 1st January 2007 and have shown that the reproductive material derived from the basic material is superior.
(4) On the basis of the EC Decision it may be authorized to use the results of comparative tests and genetic evaluation tests after expiry of the period of ten years referred to in par. 3.
Art. 8. (1) Forest reproductive materials, intended wholly or partially for forestry purposes, shall be produced by:
1. natural persons or traders, entered into the Public Register of NFB referred to in art. 39 par 2 and art. 57a of the Forest Act respectively, for carrying out activities under art. 39, par. 1, p. 2 of the Forest Act;
2. State Game Breeding Stations, SFU and the specialized territorial units of NFB;
3. legal entities financed by the state budget who carry out educational activities or scientific researches with respect to management, maintenance, planning and protection of forests, as well as SGBS “Voden-Irihisar” and “Iskar”.
4. National Parks Directorates under MOEW.
(2) The production of initial reproductive materials - seed units and parts of plants, shall be carried out by the persons listed in par. 1, points 1, 3 and 4 after obtaining an authorization from the director of the respective SFU/SGBS as for the persons referred to in par. 1 point 2 after obtaining an authorization from the Head of the respective RFB. For obtaining an authorization the persons listed in par. 1 points 1, 3 and 4 shall submit a written application to the respective SFU/SGBS as for the persons pursuant to par. 1 point 2 the application shall be submitted to the respective RFB. The application shall include data on the nature of reproductive material; the units of approval intended for production of forest reproductive material as well as the expected quantities to be harvested.
(3) The Head of the respective RFB and/or the director of the respective SFU/SGBS shall grant a written authorization, only if the harvesting is envisaged to be undertaken by approved and registered basic materials. The authorization shall be issued within 10 days from the date of filling in of the application under par. 2.
(4) The numbers of authorizations under par. 3 and their holders shall be entered in a book that shall be kept by an officer, appointed by an order of the Head of the respective RFB and/or of the director of the responsible SFU/SGBS.
(5) Any other stages of production of forest reproductive material, except those referred to in par. 2, are permitted if:
1. the initial reproductive materials - seed units, parts of plants or sets are imported to Bulgaria in accordance with the requirements of art. 12 as well as accompanied by a master certificate or an equal document, issued by the country of origin of the reproductive material. The master certificate shall give the relevant information set out in Annex No.14;