Legislation ministry says forest water-source zones may cover only part of protected area

The government legislation ministry said that the forestry chief or a provincial governor may designate only part of the forest lying within 1 kilometer of a reservoir's high-water mark as a first-class water-source conservation zone.

The interpretation, issued in response to a citizen inquiry, addresses how far the designated area must extend under the enforcement rules of the Forest Protection Act. The rules set the boundary for a first-class water-source conservation zone at within 1 kilometer of the high-water mark, or at the watershed divide where one falls inside that distance.

The ministry said those limits define the spatial range in which the discretionary designation may be made, rather than requiring every parcel inside it to be protected. It cited the law's wording, which allows the forestry chief or a provincial governor to designate a conservation zone when there is a special need to protect forest, and defines a water-source conservation zone as an area deemed necessary for water recharge and flood prevention.

The ruling also pointed to a separate provision of the enforcement rules that lets authorities divide a conservation zone by parcel number or by natural boundaries such as ridgelines and valleys, and to carve out part of a single parcel when designating it whole is unsuitable.

Because timber harvesting, collection of forest products and changes to land contours are restricted inside conservation zones, designation affects landowners' property rights, the ministry noted. It said limiting designation to the area needed to achieve the protection goal also aligns with the principle that regulations should be set at the minimum scope necessary.

The ministry issued the interpretation in response to an inquiry filed by a member of the public. The case number was 26-0443.