PROPOSED ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ORDINANCE

 

SUMMARY AND PUBLIC CONSULTATION

St Helena’s first comprehensive piece of environmental legislation is now out for public consultation.  The draft Environmental Protection Ordinance deals with the protection of our environment, including the conservation of biodiversity, the control of pollution, waste and litter, consideration of environmental impacts in decision making and environmental monitoring.

With air access to St Helena imminent, we anticipate that development on the Island will increase and as this happens we need to ensure that our unique but vulnerable environment upon which we all depend is not damaged.  Having the Environmental Protection Ordinance in force will help to ensure that long term development is sustainable and has due regard to proper environmental management.

Once enacted the Environmental Protection Ordinance will provide the statutory basis for SHG’s Environmental Management Division’s role and operations, under which a set of regulations, policies and guidelines will be developed. Further public consultation will take place as these progress.

The Environmental Protection Ordinance has been developed over the past four years and includes stakeholder input given prior to legal drafting.  We now invite comments on the final draft version. The public consultation will close on 9 October 2015.

To assist with interpreting and understanding the Ordinance, a Plain English guide has been produced and copies of this and the draft Ordinance itself have been placed in the Public Library, Customer Services Centre, Essex House and ENRD’s Scotland Office. Personal copies are available on request.

These two documents can also be found at: https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/publications/.

As part of the public consultation process there will be public meetings, drop-in sessions and media coverage – further details will be announced in due course.

SHG

15 September 2015

 

 

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St Helena Government Communications Hub

Telephone: 22470
Email: kimberley.peters@sainthelena.gov.sh