ARTICLE 10: REGIONAL DATABASE 1. State Parties shall, as far as possible and within their available resources, collaborate in establishing and maintaining: a. regional database on the status and trends, management and use of forest resources which includes data on all forest resources within the Region and complements existing databases in the Region; and b. a market-information system for the collection, organisation and exchange of forest market and industrial information in conformity with Annex V of the Protocol on Trade. 2. Subject to paragraphs 3 and 4 of Article 21, State Parties shall ensure public access to the use of Regional database and market-information system referred to in paragraph 1 on terms and conditions of access agreed by the State Parties, which may include a requirement for all or certain users to pay a reasonable user fee. ARTICLE 11: FOREST-RELATED LAWS 1. State Parties shall introduce, improve, implement, and enforce national legal and administrative measures to: a. promote sustainable forest management based on clear policies, objectives and forest management plans, which shall, wherever possible, be based on the best available scientific and other information; b. protect ecologically viable forests that are representative or unique examples of their forest type, as well as forests that have cultural, spiritual, historic, or religious value, and also to protect endangered forest species; c. give interested and affected parties the right to participate in decision-making regarding natural forests and forests on public or state land, and to have access to any information held by public or private bodies that is necessary to enable this right to be exercised effectively; d. ensure that major projects involving afforestation, reforestation or measures to change the species composition of existing natural forests, and any activity that may have significant adverse impacts on forests may not be undertaken except under and in accordance with an authorisation from a competent national authority; e. ensure that authorisations to plant, use or manage forests are consistent with forest management plans and policies and that the procedures for awarding them are transparent and equitable and give effect to the principles contained in Article 4; f. ensure that no competent national authority may make a decision on whether or not to grant an authorisation referred to in sub-paragraph (d) unless a full assessment of the environmental and social impacts of the proposed activity has been conducted and has been taken into account by the decision-maker; g. ensure that the destruction of significant areas of natural forests is not authorised except in exceptional circumstances where a proposed new land use is preferable in terms of its economic, social or environmental benefits, and after carrying out a full assessment of the environmental and social impacts of the proposed destruction; and h. recognise and where appropriate further the objectives of this Protocol, principles and techniques derived from traditional forestrelated knowledge systems into national forest management and law