This Law, consisting of 40 articles divided into eight Chapters, establishes the basic legislation on environment. It defines the general framework and fundamental principles to which the environmental policy must comply. The Governor is responsible to conduct global policy in the fields of environment and quality of life. Everyone has the right to a humane and ecologically balanced environment and the duty to defend it; entrusting the Governor through his own organizations and by calling and supporting individual, associative and collective initiatives, to promote the improvement of the quality of life. Environment policy aims at optimizing the use of natural resources. The general principle set out in the previous article compliance with the following specific principles: prevention; balance; participation; international cooperation; recovery; accountability. The existence of an environment conducive to the health and well-being and to the socio-cultural development of the population, as well as to the improvement of the quality of life, presupposes the adoption of actions and measures that aim, in particular to: a) harmonious socio-economic development and correct location of building constructions, in particular for trade or industry; b) biological balance and geological stability through the creation of new landscapes and the transformation or maintenance of existing landscapes; e) ecosystems protection that support life and the rational use of living resources; d) conservation of natural heritage, the biological balance and the stability of different habitats, including through urban green spaces; e) promotion of research on natural factors and the the impact of human activities on the environment; f) delimitation of the quality levels of the environmental standards; g) participation of residents and their associations in the environment policy, as well as establishment of permanent information system between the administration services responsible for its execution; h) strengthening consumer protection; i) reinforcement of rehabilitation of natural and cultural heritage; j) inclusion of the environmental component in education and vocational training and promotion of its dissemination through the media; l) fullness of human life and the permanence of the conditions indispensable to its support; m) recovery of degraded areas. The Law is divided as follows: Objectives (Chap. 1); Definition of natural environment (Chap. 2); Involved human areas (Chap. 3); Environment protection and emergency (Chap. 4); Instruments and methods (Chap. 5); Rights and obligations (Chap. 6); Offences and penalties (Chap. 7); Final provisions (Chap. 8). The categories of water covered by this law are inland, underground or surface waters, and the surrounding waters. Among the specific measures to be regulated will be subject to specific legislation related to: a) rational use of water and the quality referred to for each purpose; b) coordinated development of the actions necessary for conservation, increase and optimization of water use; c) development and application of techniques for preventing and combating water pollution from industrial, agricultural, livestock, domestic or other polluting sources; d) establishments discharging polluted waters directly into the sewage system must satisfy specific environmental requirements. The public services to authorize and supervise waterworks shall ensure that the water protection standards are complied with before operating. The discharge into the waters of polluted effluent, solid waste, any products or species which may change their characteristics or make them unfit for their various uses shall be the subject of specific regulations.
China, Macao SAR · 1991-03-11