(Adopted at the Seventh Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Sixth National People's Congress on September 20, 1984 and amended in accordance with the Decision on the Revision of the Forest Law of the People's Republic of China of the Second Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress on April 29, 1998)

　　Contents

　　Chapter I General Provisions

　　Chapter II Forest Management and Administration

　　Chapter III Forest Protection

　　Chapter IV Tree Planting and Afforestation

　　Chapter V Forest Felling

　　Chapter VI Legal Liability

　　Chapter VII Supplementary Provisions

Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 This Law is enacted with a view to protecting, cultivating and rationally exploiting forest resources, accelerating territorial afforestation and making use of forests in water storage and soil conservation, climate regulation, environmental improvement and supply of forest products to meet the requirements of socialist construction and people's livelihood.
Article 2 Engagement in activities of growing of saplings and planting, felling and exploitation of woods and forests, forests, woods and forest land management and administration within the territory of the People's Republic of China must abide by this Law.
Article 3 Forest resources belong to state ownership, excluding those specified under law belonging to collective ownership.
　　State-owned and collective-owned forests, woods and forest lands, individual-owned woods and individual-used forest lands shall be registered by local people's governments at or above the county level and rosters compiled and certificates issued confirming the ownership or right to use. The State Council may authorize the competent department of forestry under the State Council to register and compile rosters of forests, woods and forest lands of the key state-owned forest regions determined by the State Council, issue certificates and notify the local people's governments concerned.
　　Legitimate rights and interests of owners and users of forests, woods and forest lands are protected by law upon which no unit or individual shall infringe.
Article 4 Forests are classified into the following five categories:
　　(1) Shelter forests: forests, woods and clusters of bushes with protection as the main aim including water source conservation forests, water and soil conservation forests, shelter forests against wind and for fixing sand, farmland and cattle farm shelter forests, embankment protection forests and highway/railway protection forests;
　　(2) Timber forests: forests and woods with timber production as the main aim including bamboo groves with production of bamboo materials as the main aim;
　　(3) Economic forests: woods with the production of fruits, edible oils, drinks, flavorings, industrial raw materials and medicinal materials as the main aim;
　  (4) Fuel forests: woods with the production of fuel as the main aim;
　　(5) Special-purpose forests: forests and woods with national defence, environmental protection and scientific experiments as the main aim including national defence forests, experimental forests, mother tree forests, environmental protection forests, ornamental forests, woods at ancient and historical sites and revolutionary memorial places and forests in nature reserves.
Article 5 Forestry construction pursues the policy of universal forest protection, afforestation in a big way, combination of felling and cultivation and sustainable exploitation with afforestation as the basis.
Article 6 The State encourages scientific research in forestry, popularizes advanced forestry technology in upgrading the scientific and technical level of forestry.
Article 7 The State protects the legitimate rights and interests of forest farmers, lightens forest farmers' burden in accordance with law, prohibits illegal collection of fees and fines from forest farmers and prohibits apportionment and compulsory fund-raising from forest farmers.

　　The State protects the legitimate rights and interests of collectives and individuals in contractual afforestation. No unit or individual shall infringe on the ownership over woods and other legitimate rights and interests the collectives and individuals have in contractual afforestation in accordance with law.