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Environmental Protection Act, 1997 (No. XXXIV of 1997).

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First Region

Pakistan
General provisions
1997-12-03
National
Law, Act

Second Region

This Act principally makes provision for administration of matters affecting the environment and, marginally, for environmental impact assessment and the handling of hazardous matters. It also defines environmental offences and prescribes penalties for those offences.
As far as public administration of environmental matters is concerned, the Act make provision for the establishment of the Pakistan Environmental Protection Council (sect. 3), the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (sect. 5), Provincial Environmental Protection Agencies (sect. 8), Provincial Sustainable Development Funds (sect. 9), and Environmental Tribunals (sect. 20). The Council consists of Federal and Provincial Ministers and other (non-government) members as the Federal Government may appoint, and is headed by the Prime Minister or a person nominated on his behalf. The Council shall coordinate and supervise national environmental policy and ensures the implementation of a national conservation strategy. It shall approve National Environmental Quality Standards and guidelines for the protection of species, habitat and biodiversity. The Agency id headed by a Director General and shall administer and implement provisions of this Act. In doing so, it shall prepare the national environmental policy and the national environment report, and environmental quality standards. Its tasks are outlined in detail in section 6; its powers in section 7. Every provincial government shall establish a Provincial Agency and delegate powers to such Agency under sections 8 and 26. Provincial Sustainable Development Funds shall be established for each province and be managed by a Board. It shall receive funds from the Federal Government and donors and finance projects and invest in Government bonds and other funds. No proponent of a project shall commence construction or operations without having filed with the Federal Agency an initial environmental examination or an environmental impact assessment and having received subsequent approval of the proposed operations from the Agency (sect. 12).
Section 14 concerns the handling of hazardous waste. Environmental Tribunals shall be established by the Federal Government who shall specify territorial jurisdiction of each Tribunal. Contravention of provisions of this Act shall be submitted to the Tribunal for its decision by authorities or aggrieved persons (sect. 21). It shall also hear appeals against decisions of the Federal Agency or Provincial Agencies (sect. 22).
The Schedule specifies international agreements that shall be implemented by the Federal Government under section 31. They include conventions on plant protection, wetlands, desert locust, aquaculture, and the Convention on Biological Diversity of 1992. (34 sections)

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