Can we cut or remove trees on our project site?

The Environmental Law prohibits any action that harms vegetation cover lands, including cutting, uprooting or transporting trees, shrubs or plants and moving their soil.^{1Env Law Art. 19(1)}

The Executive Regulation for Logging treats these acts on vegetation cover lands as violations when done without a prior licence or permit from the National Center for Vegetation Cover and Combating Desertification (NCVC).^{2Logging reg. Art. 1 and Art. 5(1)}

The Logging regulation applies the same violations to protected areas under Article 32 of the Environmental Law.^{3Logging reg. Art. 5(3)}

Inside protected areas, the regulation of the National Center for Wildlife Development (NCW) requires a prior permit or licence for any activity. It prohibits cutting, uprooting or moving trees or plants, moving their soil or bulldozing them.^{4Protected areas reg. Art. 7(1) and Art. 9(12)}

A tree is any plant with a woody trunk or aerial roots that rises 1.5 m or more above the soil, whether naturally grown or planted. A shrub is any natural or planted plant from 0.5 m to less than 1.5 m tall.^{5Logging reg. Art. 1}

Harming 'part' of a tree or shrub counts when the part is crucial and its loss leads to the plant's death, in NCVC's judgement.^{6Logging reg. Art. 5(4)}

Vegetation cover lands are all state-owned land that contains wild plants. They include rangelands, forests, parks, wetlands, dunes, mountains, valleys, coastal areas and islands.^{5Logging reg. Art. 1}

Under the vegetation cover regulation, you need an NCVC licence, permit or approval to allocate or use vegetation cover lands for activities that include:^{7Vegetation reg. Art. 10, First (1)}

NCVC decides within 30 working days of registering the application.^{13Vegetation reg. Art. 10, First (2)}

A restoration or levelling application must state the types and amounts of plants affected and the soil to be removed or added, with its destination or source.^{14Vegetation reg. Art. 10, Second (2)(b)}

For an NCEC permit to extract sand, gravel, rock or soil on these lands, the applicant commits to plant the number of local wild trees NCVC sets to compensate for trees affected. NCEC must coordinate with NCVC before granting permits for activities on vegetation cover lands.^{15Vegetation reg. Art. 10, Second (5)}

NCVC also reviews and comments on the EIAs of activities on vegetation cover lands, in coordination with NCEC.^{16Vegetation reg. Art. 3(19)}

NCVC's 2024 permit rules list a separate permit to remove or move local trees on vegetation cover lands. NCVC decides within 30 working days of registering the application. The applicant names the receiving site, gives its coordinates and area, and submits a technical study of the uprooting and transport methods, the number of trees, vehicle routes, equipment and duration.^{17NCVC permit rules, Annex 1}

The special conditions add an environmental impact study for projects, the purpose of the removal, the type and condition of the vegetation cover, soil treatment after uprooting and an undertaking not to uproot or move rare and endangered plants.^{17NCVC permit rules, Annex 1}

The reclamation and levelling licence for vegetation cover lands is also decided within 30 working days of registration. It needs a technical study of the reclamation methods and equipment from an accredited agricultural consultancy office and an undertaking not to plant invasive species.^{17NCVC permit rules, Annex 1}

Each permit or licence lasts for the term set in Annex 4 of the rules and ends when that term expires:^{18NCVC permit rules Art. 5, Third}

The protected areas regulation applies to protected areas managed or supervised by NCW. Every activity inside them needs a prior NCW permit or licence.^{23Protected areas reg. Art. 2 and Art. 7(1)}

NCW decides within 10 working days of a complete application and may extend this by 5 working days.^{24Protected areas reg. Art. 7(5)}

Carrying out an activity inside a protected area without a licence or permit carries 10,000 to 2,000,000 riyals.^{25Protected areas reg. Table (1) (2024) item 3}

The Logging and vegetation cover regulations define vegetation cover lands as state-owned land, and the Logging regulation's tree-cutting violations are tied to those lands or to protected areas. Separately, NCVC's 2024 permit rules include a permit to remove or move local trees from private holdings. NCVC decides within 30 working days, and the permit needs the owner's consent, municipal approval for removal from dwellings, a title deed and a technical report showing the trees obstruct use of the land. It is valid for 10 days.^{26Logging reg. Art. 1 and Art. 5(1) and (3), NCVC permit rules Art. 5, First (11), Annex 1 and Annex 4, item 41}

The definition of a tree does include planted trees. The Logging regulation also requires a licence to chop pruning residues into firewood or charcoal, including residues from private properties.^{27Logging reg. Art. 1 and Art. 4, Third (2)(D)}

NCVC's 2024 permit rules also cover removing local trees from agricultural holdings, public utilities and the urban area. The private holdings permit also needs municipal and Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture branch approval.^{28NCVC permit rules Art. 5, First (11), Annex 1 and Annex 3 (instructions for the private holdings permit, items 3 and 4), Env Law Art. 16(2)}

Logging regulation penalties for the first, second and third offence:^{29Logging reg. Table (1) (2024)}

Penalties double for perennial and rare trees and shrubs, in NCVC's judgement. They also double if the same violation is repeated within one year of the previous penalty becoming final.^{31Logging reg. Table (1) (2024), notes 1 and 3}

A second or later tree or shrub violation within one year goes to the Public Prosecution. The court can impose imprisonment of up to 10 years, a fine of up to 30,000,000 riyals, or either one.^{32Logging reg. Table (2) (2024)}

The protected areas regulation sets its own fines for cutting, uprooting or bulldozing without a licence: 10,000 to 20,000 riyals per tree and 3,000 to 6,000 riyals per shrub.^{33Protected areas reg. Table (1) (2024) items 17 and 18}

Not fully. For the same act inside a protected area, the two regulations give different amounts:^{34Protected areas reg. Table (1) (2024) items 17, 19 and 20}

The third-offence figure for trees in protected areas is 40,000 riyals in the 2024 Logging table. The older English text misprinted it as '40 00'. The sources do not say which table applies where the two overlap.^{36Logging reg. Table (1) (2024) item 23}

These are the usual ways tree removal turns into a violation: