Get Your Forest Harvesting Licence Within 48 Hours

Forty-eight hours is all it takes now to get a Forest Harvest­ing Licence in Fiji.

The cut in processing time from one week to 48 hours was made possible through the Ministry of Forestry’s Forestry Harvesting Li­cence Online System.

The system was officially launched by Prime Minister and Minister for Forestry Voreqe Bain­imarama on Monday while offici­ating at the International Day of Forests celebrations.

Timber Utilisation Division di­rector Tevita Bulai said digitising the procedure ensured there was ease of doing business with their stakeholders which would normal­ly take a week in the past.

Speaking at the event, Mr Baini­marama urged Fijians to celebrate the vital contributions that forests make to our everyday lives and take some pride in what we are do­ing in Fiji to conserve and sustain­ably manage the important natu­ral resource.

“Certainly, forests have been har­vested and used to build homes and make many products we have come to depend on,” Mr Bainima­rama said.

“Our forests have brought in foreign exchange, spurred indus­trial development, created jobs and helped develop our rural in­frastructure.”

The role of natural forests is changing significantly, he said, adding that we were clearly see­ing how forests could generate revenue and create jobs and small businesses when we do not exploit them for timber.

“Natural forests attract eco-tour­ism, which creates the potential for a wide range of products and services that directly benefit rural and forest-dwelling communities,” he said.

“Fiji may be best known for its beautiful ocean, but more and more domestic travellers and for­eign visitors are showing an inter­est in enjoying our forests.”

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