The Minister of Agriculture, Luís Capoulas Santos, said that the Council of Ministers has already dedicated much effort into the eucalyptus problem, as he announced a third for Forest Reform.
Santos pointed out that, as far as forestry and rural development is concerned, two very important diplomas were approved, the first concerning the fight against the illegal planting of eucalyptus trees, with a set of rules being approved which hold producers and nurseries liable.
"Anyone who buys eucalyptus plants from a nursery will have to display a plantation authorisation," said the minister, adding that the second law "since January 1, 2018, makes it forbidden to plant eucalyptus trees in Portugal, except in areas currently occupied by eucalyptus trees."
The minister said that "the area of eucalyptus trees in Portugal will be limited to its current size and may be slightly reduced, taking into account the fact that, for each hectare of eucalyptus trees removed from an inadequate area, half a hectare can be planted in another forest area. This does not damage the national amount of raw material needed to feed the pulp industry that is important to the country and which represents many jobs.”
The latest new rule makes Councils responsible for forestry management plans and forestry standards that respect the maximum allowable areas of eucalyptus.
The Minister stressed that "this is a fundamental component of the Forest Reform" so that "the Portuguese forest mosaic will be different, guided according to the rules of each Regional Programme and each Municipal Master Plan."
The government continues to use its decentralisation programme to distribute unwanted areas of legislation to Councils, with rafts of laws that lack adequate implementation funding attracting a plethora of excuses as why they is not workable at a local level.
Councils also are unwilling to clear scrubland where owners can not be identified as the State will not reimburse them for the work.
The Treasury will charge property owners for the cleaning their land, if this had to be done by the Council.
The National Association of Portuguese Municipalities does not reject the solution out of hand, but doubts its effectiveness, taking into account the absence of a land map that shows 'who owns what.'
If the owner does not pay up, the Tax Authority is to collect the amount in question but if nobody knows who owns the land, debts remains uncollected and the Council is out of pocket.
Paulo Ralha, president of the Union of Tax Workers, says the tax office, "is becoming a debt collection agency that has nothing to do with its primary function of levying taxes and combating tax evasion and fraud."
With eucalyptus, the government is torn between the employment opportunities and tax income from a healthy pulp industry, and the financial and social cost of the inevitable forest fires, many of them set deliberately as fire damaged trees can be bought at a fraction of the price of healthy ones.
The government wants landowners who are not registered, to register, otherwise their properties will pass to the state. This action is covered in a law passed in 1967, but has never been used.
To make this happen, the Council of Ministers decided to exempt unregistered land owners from paying IMI property taxes for ten years.
Deputy Economy Minister, Siza Vieira, said today that a simplified land registry regime is free for property owners and that, "anyone who takes the initiative will be exempt from IMI for ten years."
After the government publicises the land or building in question, the owners then have 180 days to lay claim to the property. "If this does not happen, the building is registered provisionally in favour of the State," and owners have 15 years within which to complain, added Viera.
"It is important to know who the owners are so we can demand compliance with their land management obligations," he added.
