2017

Fine and Community Service as a Sentence for Arbitrary Cutting of Trees

At the end of last year, Rēzekne Court delivered a judgement for arbitrary cutting of trees in the territory of a protected natural park, where the offender was sentenced to 140 hours of community service and a fine of almost EUR 2 300 for a theft of four spruce-trees.

The defendant, a man with initials J.K. born in August 1982, carried out arbitrary cutting of trees in nature park “Vecumu meži” located in Viļaka Municipality, Vecumi Rural Territory. The park's individual protection and use regulations prohibit any economic or other activities in the territory of the park. Being aware that he was not the owner of the forest, J.K. arbitrarily, using a chainsaw, cut down and misappropriated four spruce-trees with the total stock of 4.68 m3 to be used as firewood.

As a result of the arbitrary felling of the trees, the environment has suffered a material damage of EUR 2 123.97, which the offender will have to credit to the Treasury, as well as a loss of timber in the value of EUR 136.81. In accordance with the Cabinet Regulation "Procedures for Determination of Losses Caused to Forest", in specially protected natural areas where any forestry activity is prohibited, the caused damage is calculated by measuring stump diameters of arbitrarily cut trees. In specially protected areas, forest damage is increased three times.

The court, taking into account the frank confession and repentance of the defendant, decided to recover the losses and sentenced 140 hours of community service. Calculating at the current prices, one could purchase around 104 m3 of firewood for the amount of the fine imposed.