Laws Relating to Environmental Conservation in Myanmar
International environmental agreements have been concluded and national laws have been enacted to control the pollution and other environmental damages.
Prof. Dr. Myint Thu Myaing
Laws Relating to Environmental Conservation in Myanmar
Environmental law is a law which controls and regulates the human impact on the environment. Man utilizes the environment not only to survive his life but also to improve his living standard by exploiting the national resources and, at the same time, causing pollution to the environment in which he is living in. The environmental problems do not have boundaries. Therefore various international environmental agreements have been concluded and national laws have been enacted to control the pollution and other environmental damages. Countries promulgate and amend their internal legislations and administrative measures for the purposes of protecting the environment and promoting environmental management and sustainable development. Myanmar Government has an obligation to protect and conserve natural environment according to the Constitution of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, 2008.
At the international level, Myanmar has participated in several international agreements relevant to Myanmar and has signed, ratified and acceded to International Environmental Conventions. At the national level, it also proclaimed the national environment policy. The Penal Code provides penalties for offences affecting public health and environment. Myanmar main legislations related to environment are the Environmental Conservation Law, 2012, the Environmental Conservation Rule, 2014, the Environmental Impact Assessment Rules, 2015 and Myanmar Agenda 21. Moreover, Myanmar has enacted many laws related to environment for different sectors, such as, administrative sector, agriculture and irrigation sector, culture sector, city development sector, finance and revenue sector, forestry sector, health sector, hotels and tourism sector, industrial sector, livestock and fisheries sector, mining sector, national planning and economic development sector, science and technology sector, and transportation sector.
