Machine Translation of "Law Of The Environment" (Cuba)

Document: Law of the Environment
Type of document: Law
Date of issue: 11/07/1997
Number of Legal Instrument: Law No 81
Broadcaster: National Assembly of People's Power
Date of entry to the repository: 18/05/2016
Source:
Download document

RICARDO ALARCON DE QUESADA , President of the National Assembly of the People's Power of the Republic of Cuba.

I DO KNOW That the National Assembly of People's Power, in session of July 11, 1997, corresponding to the IX Regular Session of the Fourth Legislature, has approved the following:

AS REGARDS : Cuba pays special attention to the protection of the environment in the context of a policy of development enshrined in the revolutionary work begun in 1959, as an expression of which, Article 27 of the Constitution of the Republic postulates that:

" The state protects the environment and the country's natural resources. It recognises its close link with sustainable economic and social development to make human life more rational and to ensure the survival, well-being and security of current and future generations. It is up to the competent bodies to implement this policy.

It is the duty of citizens to contribute to the protection of water, the atmosphere, soil conservation, flora, fauna and all the rich potential of nature. "

AS FOR: The environmental actions in Cuba are based on the martiana conceptions about the relations of man with nature and in the rich traditions that associate our history with a culture of nature.

AS REGARDS : It is necessary to consecrate, as an elementary right of society and citizens, the right to a healthy environment and to enjoy a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature, while human beings constitute the objective essential for sustainable development.

AS REGARDS : The protection of the environment is a factor relevant to the aims of national defence and a guarantee for our sovereignty, while it contributes to ensuring the availability of the natural resources indispensable to the satisfaction of the basic needs of the population and facilitate the existence of temporary habitats for large population centres, which may become relevant to exceptional situations.

AS REGARDS : Law 33 "Protection of the Environment and the National Use of Natural Resources", of 10 January 1981, represents an early and important normative expression of the principles of Cuban environmental policy that laid the foundations for the In this context, the current conditions for economic and social development demand a legal framework that is more in line with the new realities, while the aforementioned legislation has been in good shape. a measure of the most recent developments in the field of the environment, at national and international level, and needs to be replaced by a legal instrument that reflects, in a more appropriate way, the requirements of environmental protection and the achievement of sustainable development.

AS REGARDS : It is also necessary to update the principles, objectives and basic concepts of Cuban environmental policy, the institutional framework and the instruments for its materialization, the functions, functions and duties of the state organs and agencies. and, in general, the rights and obligations of natural and legal persons.

FOR TANK : The National Assembly of People's Power, in use of the powers conferred on it in Article 75 (b) of the Constitution of the Republic, agrees:

ACT 81

LAW OF THE ENVIRONMENT

TITLE FIRST

NAME, PRINCIPLES, BASIC CONCEPTS AND OBJECTIVES

CHAPTER I

NAME AND PRINCIPLES

Article 1. This Law is called the Law of the Environment and aims to establish the principles that govern environmental policy and the basic norms to regulate the environmental management of the State and the actions of citizens and society. in general, in order to protect the environment and contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the country's sustainable development.

ARTICLE 2.-The environment is heritage and fundamental interest of the nation. The State exercises its sovereignty over the environment throughout the national territory and in this sense has the right to take advantage of the resources that compose it according to its environmental and development policy.

ARTICLE 3. It is the duty of the State, citizens and society in general to protect the environment by:

their conservation and rational use;

the systematic fight against the causes of their deterioration;

the appropriate rehabilitation actions;

the constant increase in the knowledge of citizens about the interrelationships of human beings, nature and society;

the reduction and elimination of environmentally unsustainable modes of production and consumption;

the promotion of demographic policies appropriate to territorial conditions.

Article 4. Environmental actions for sustainable development are based on the requirements of the country's economic and social development and are based on the following principles:

the State establishes and facilitates the means and guarantees necessary to ensure that the right to a healthy environment is adequately and appropriately protected;

the protection of the environment is a citizen's duty;

natural resources should be used rationally, preventing the generation of negative impacts on the environment;

the priority of prevention through the adoption of measures on a scientific basis and with the relevant technical and socio-economic studies. In the event of danger of serious or irreversible damage to the environment, the lack of absolute scientific certainty cannot be claimed as a reason to stop taking preventive measures;

any person should have adequate access, in accordance with the law established in this respect, to the available information on the environment held by the State bodies and bodies;

the obligations of the State relating to the protection of the environment constitute a responsibility, within the sphere of their respective powers, of all State bodies and bodies, both national and local;

the requirements of environmental protection must be introduced into all programmes, projects and development plans;

environmental education is organized and developed through an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approach, promoting in individuals and social groups the development of analytical thinking, which allows the formation of a systemic vision and environmental, directing in particular its actions to children, adolescents and young people and to the family in general;

the environmental management is integral and cross-sectoral and in it participate in a coordinated way the organs and agencies of the state, other entities and institutions, the society and the citizens in general, according to their respective competences and capabilities.

economic and social activities by natural or legal persons are subject to the social interest of not being exercised to the detriment of the environment;

the public knowledge of environmental actions and decisions and the consultation of the opinion of the citizenry, will be ensured in the best possible way; but in any case with an inescapable character;

any natural or legal person, under the terms of the law, must have adequate and sufficient means to enable him to act on the administrative or judicial route, as appropriate, to demand compliance with the laid down in this Law and in its supplementary provisions;

the role of the community is essential for the achievement of the purposes of this Law, through its effective participation in decision-making and the development of self-management processes aimed at protecting the environment and raising the quality of life of human beings.

Article 5.-The State shall promote and participate in international agreements and actions for the protection of the environment, in particular those that include the Latin American and Caribbean region, cooperating in a spirit of global solidarity to preserve, protect and restore the global environment and ensure the national implementation of these decisions.

Article 6.-It is the duty of the State and natural and legal persons to participate in the prevention, mitigation and attention of natural disasters or other types of catastrophes, in the solution of the problems caused by these and in the rehabilitation of the affected areas.

ARTICLE 7.-The State shall fix in its budget the financial allocations to meet the requirements of the relevant environmental programs, without prejudice to the responsibilities that correspond to others. bodies, bodies and entities.

CHAPTER II

BASIC CONCEPTS

ARTICLE 8-For the purposes of this Law, it is understood by:

sustainable agriculture , a system of agricultural production that allows to obtain stable production in an economically viable and socially acceptable way, in harmony with the environment;

protected areas , certain parts of the national territory declared in accordance with current legislation, of ecological, social and historical-cultural relevance to the nation, and in some cases of international relevance, especially consecrated, by means of a effective management, protection and maintenance of biological diversity and associated natural, historical and cultural resources in order to achieve specific conservation objectives;

competent authority , it is the authority for the implementation and the requirement of compliance with the provisions of this Law and its complementary legislation;

environmental cost , is associated with the current or prospective deterioration of natural resources;

environmental damage , any significant loss, reduction, deterioration or impairment, inferred to the environment or to one or more of its components, which occurs in contravention of a rule or legal provision;

sustainable development , a process of sustained and equitable lifting of the quality of life of people, through which economic growth and social improvement are sought, in a harmonious combination with the protection of the environment, so that they can be met the needs of current generations, without putting future generations at risk;

hazardous wastes , those coming from any activity and in any physical state that, by the magnitude or modality of its corrosive, toxic, poisonous, explosive, flammable, biologically pernicious, infectious, irritant or any another, they represent a danger to human health and the environment;

radioactive waste, those which contain or are contaminated with radionuclides found in concentrations or with activities exceeding the levels established by the competent authority;

biological diversity , variability of living organisms of any source, including, among others, terrestrial and marine ecosystems and other aquatic ecosystems and ecological complexes of which they are a part. It includes diversity within each species, between species and ecosystems;

ecosystem , complex system with a certain territorial extension, within which there are interactions of the living beings with each other and of these with the physical or chemical medium;

environmental education; continuous and permanent process, which constitutes a dimension of the integral education of all citizens, oriented to that in the acquisition of knowledge, development of habits, skills, abilities and attitudes and in the formation of values, harmonize the relations between human beings and them with the rest of society and nature, in order to promote the orientation of economic, social and cultural processes towards sustainable development;

National Environmental Strategy , expression of Cuban environmental policy, in which its main projections and guidelines are translated;

environmental impact study, a detailed description of the characteristics of a project or activity to be carried out, including its technology, and which is submitted for approval in the framework of the environmental impact assessment process. It should provide a well-founded background for the prediction, identification and interpretation of the environmental impact of the project and describe actions that will be implemented to prevent or minimize adverse effects, as well as the monitoring program that shall be adopted;

environmental impact assessment, the procedure to avoid or mitigate the generation of undesirable environmental effects, which would be the consequence of plans, programmes and projects of works or activities, by means of the prior estimation of the modifications of the environment which they would bring such works or activities and, as appropriate, the refusal of the licence necessary to carry out them or their concession under certain conditions. Includes detailed information on the monitoring and control system to ensure compliance and mitigation measures to be considered;

environmental management , a set of activities, mechanisms, actions and instruments, aimed at ensuring the management and rational use of natural resources through conservation, improvement, rehabilitation and monitoring of the environment, and control of the environment. man's activity in this sphere. Environmental management applies the environmental policy established by a multidisciplinary approach, taking into account the cultural heritage, the accumulated national experience and citizen participation;

state environmental inspection , control activity, audit and monitoring of compliance with the existing legal provisions and rules on environmental protection, with a view to assessing and determining the adoption of the relevant measures to ensure such compliance;

environmental licence , an official document that, without prejudice to other licenses, permits and authorizations that, in accordance with current legislation, should be granted to other state bodies and agencies, is granted by the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Media. Environment to exercise due control to the effect of compliance with the provisions of the current environmental legislation and which contains the authorization to carry out a work or activity;

environment , system of abiotic, biotic and socioeconomic elements with which man interacts, while adapting to it, transforms it and uses it to satisfy his needs;

National Programme for the Environment and Development , a concrete projection of the environmental policy of Cuba, which contains guidelines for the action of those involved in the protection of the environment and the achievement of sustainable development. Constitutes the national adequacy of Agenda 21;

marine resources , the coastal zone and its protection zone, bays, estuaries and beaches, the island platform, marine funds and natural and non-living resources contained in the sea waters, seabed and marine subsoils and the areas emerging;

natural resources , all components of the environment, renewable or not, that meet economic, social, spiritual, cultural and national defense needs, ensuring the balance of ecosystems and the continuity of life on earth;

landscape resources, geographical, surface and underground or underwater environments, of natural or anthropic origin, which offer aesthetic interest or are characteristic environments;

National System of Protected Areas , a set of protected areas that are directly related to each other, interact as a territorial system that, based on the protection and management of their individual units, contribute to the achievement of certain objectives of protection of the environment. environment;

environmental variable, an element of the environment likely to be measured or evaluated by different qualitative or quantitative methods.

CHAPTER III

GOALS

ARTICLE 9.-These are objectives of this Law:

to create a legal context conducive to the projection and development of socio-economic activities in ways compatible with the protection of the environment;

establish the principles guiding the actions of natural and legal persons in the field of environmental matters, including the mechanisms for coordination between the various bodies and bodies for efficient management;

promote citizen participation in the protection of the environment and sustainable development;

to develop citizen awareness around environmental problems, integrating education, outreach and environmental information;

to regulate the development of evaluation, control and monitoring activities on the environment;

promote the care of human health, the elevation of quality of life and the improvement of the environment in general.

TITLE SECOND

INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK

ARTICLE 10.-The privileges that, in accordance with this Law and with the environmental legislation in general correspond to the State in the field of environmental management, will be exercised by the agencies of the Central Administration of the State, other organs State and Local Bodies of People's Power.

ARTICLE 11.-The Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment is the agency of the Central Administration of the State responsible for proposing environmental policy and directing its implementation on the basis of coordination and management control. the country's environment, promoting its coherent integration to contribute to sustainable development.

Article 12.-Corresponds to the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, in coordination with other competent bodies and agencies:

systematically control and improve the National Environmental Strategy, the National Environment and Development Program and other programs and strategies required for the development of its guiding function;

to participate, assess and monitor the implementation, development and implementation of other sectoral strategies for environmental protection and in particular those relating to specific natural resources;

to coordinate and integrate the introduction of the aspects required for environmental protection in the actions of the State bodies and bodies, for which the purpose may be requested and obtained by the relevant information; recommendations relevant to the body or body or to the Council of Ministers, as appropriate;

approve or propose, as the case may be, and evaluate and require compliance with the regulations established for the protection of the environment, demanding the implementation of the actions that correspond to those objectives;

to propose economic regulations aimed at the rational use of natural resources and to assess their effects on the environment;

to reconcile discrepancies between the bodies, bodies and other entities with regard to the protection of the environment and the rational use of natural resources, taking the relevant decisions or raising the proposals for measures to the Government; correspond, in cases where the due reconciliation is not achieved;

directing, assessing and monitoring meteorological, climate, chemical composition and general air pollution surveillance; environmental radiological surveillance and seismological service, as well as seismic hazard studies; meteorological and radiological;

Implement environmental policy in the field of biological safety and nuclear safety and monitor its implementation;

to propose, monitor and evaluate, on a permanent or temporary basis, special management and protection schemes, in respect of certain areas or resources, where environmental reasons warrant it;

direct and control activities related to protected areas;

propose, evaluate and control programmes and projects in the field of environmental information;

apply in the sphere of their competence and ensure the general application of this Law;

others to be assigned to the legislation in force.

ARTICLE 13.-The Central Administration of the State and in particular those who are responsible for the rectory, state control, use and administration of natural resources, in compliance with their duties, functions and specific functions on the protection of the environment, they should:

to incorporate and assess the requirements of environmental protection in its policies, plans and development programmes;

implement projects with a view to ensuring the sustainability of their management and contributing to the development of life in an appropriate environment, by scientific assessment of environmental factors;

develop or propose, as appropriate, and implement sectoral environmental strategies;

lay down provisions and ensure compliance;

comply with and enforce, in the sphere of their competence, the provisions laid down in respect of the protection of the environment;

adopt conservation and transformation measures planned for the use of natural resources, developing the required monitoring and control systems;

participate in the development and implementation of national, regional and international strategies for the protection of the environment;

propose and control on scientific grounds compliance with the technical standards required for the protection of the environment, in particular those aimed at:

establish appropriate levels of environmental quality

determining categories of sources of pollutant emissions and receiving bodies

determine the permissible limits of pollutant charges

to lay down the requirements, procedures and other specifications to be fulfilled in the development of activities resulting from emissions or deposits which are likely to cause damage to the environment;

provide the technical conditions for monitoring the effluents and emanations of the activities to be carried out;

developing and implementing self-regulatory measures;

to promote and carry out research aimed at achieving adequate environmental management;

promote measures to incorporate the environmental dimension in the economic and financial planning of works and activities projects;

to ensure, in the sphere of its competence, the use, movement, treatment and final disposal of waste generated in the production processes;

develop, participate and execute, as established by the National Civil Defense Staff, plans for the prevention and confrontation of natural disasters or other types of disasters that damage the environment, proposing the rules that correspond;

ensure the proper management of the protected areas in charge;

carry out environmental education activities in the sphere of their competence;

coordinate and collaborate with the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment and other state bodies and agencies in the implementation of national environmental policy.

ARTICLE 14.-The provisions of the foregoing Article also apply, as appropriate, to undertakings and other legal persons, whether national or foreign, which shall develop measures and programmes for the protection of the environment and shall establish mechanisms which, without prejudice to the relevant State responsibilities, contribute to the monitoring of such action.

Article 15.-It is up to the Local Bodies of the People's Power, in their respective instances, to direct, coordinate and control in what they are responsible for and in accordance with the current legislation, the actions in the field of:

the assessment of the territory's environmental priorities and the relevant plans for its management;

territorial arrangement;

land use, afforestation, reforestation, roads, buildings, public services and sanitation;

the protection of water supply sources;

protection of the environment in human settlements, in relation to the effects of communal services, the transit of vehicles and local transport;

creation and maintenance of green areas;

identification of the protected areas of the territory, participation in the proposal for its approval and support for the management of its administration;

prevention, control and rehabilitation with regard to the occurrence of natural disasters or other types of disasters, including the provision of resources for these purposes;

preservation of the cultural heritage associated with the natural environment.

Article 16.-The Local Organ of the People's Power may propose to the competent organs and agencies the establishment in their respective territories, in consideration of their particular situation, of more rigorous environmental standards and parameters specific to those established at national level.

Article 17.-The Council of Ministers or its Executive Committee shall:

approve and evaluate the National Environmental Strategy and the National Environment and Development Program, proposing actions that it considers relevant for the achievement of its goals and objectives;

to settle discrepancies between the governing bodies or bodies, in accordance with the provisions of this Law;

declare the protected areas and their buffer zones;

to make any other statements concerning specific areas, ecosystems or resources necessary for the fulfilment of the objectives set out in this Law.

TITLE III

INSTRUMENTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND MANAGEMENT

ARTICLE 18.-Cuban environmental policy is implemented through appropriate management that uses the following instruments:

the National Environmental Strategy, the National Environment and Development Programme and other economic and social development programmes, plans and projects;

this Law, its complementary legislation and other legal regulations designed to protect the environment, including technical standards for environmental protection;

the environmental management;

the environmental licence;

the environmental impact assessment;

the Environmental Information System;

the State Environmental Inspection System;

environmental education;

scientific research and technological innovation;

economic regulation;

the National Environment Fund;

administrative, civil and criminal liability regimes.

CHAPTER I

PLANNING

ARTICLE 19.-All plans, programs and projects for economic and social development, whether national, provincial or municipal, shall be drawn up or adapted, as appropriate, in accordance with the guiding principles of this Law, environmental policies, strategies and programmes established by the competent authorities and the provisions emanating from them.

Article 20-Measures for the protection of the environment form an integral and priority part of the plans for the implementation of projects or activities.

CHAPTER II

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

Article 21. The main objective of the environmental system will be to ensure the sustainable development of the territory, based on integrally considering the environmental aspects and its link with economic, demographic and social factors. to achieve the maximum possible harmony in the interrelations of society with nature, including:

the nature and characteristics of the different ecosystems;

the conditions in each region and the delimitation of their areas according to their natural resources;

the existing ecological imbalances due to the activities being carried out, the characteristics of human settlements and natural phenomena;

the essential balance between human activities and their environmental conditions;

protected areas and their buffer zones;

the interdependence of man with his environment;

the environmental impact of new human settlements, infrastructure works and other related activities;

the requirements of national defense.

Article 22. In order to achieve the sustainable development of the territory, the environmental system interacts with the territory, providing guidelines, regulations and standards.

Article 23.-The Ministry of Economy and Planning, in close coordination with the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment and other relevant bodies and agencies, will develop the actions aimed at articulating the territorial with the principles and objectives set out in this Law.

CHAPTER III

ENVIRONMENTAL LICENCE

Article 24. Any activity likely to produce significant effects on the environment, or which requires due control for the purposes of compliance with the provisions of the current environmental legislation, will be subject to the granting of an environmental license by the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment in accordance with the provisions of this body, which shall also establish the types and modalities of such a license.

Article 25.-The granting of the environmental license referred to in the previous article is subject to the payment of the charges that are established and does not exempt the licensee from the obligation to effectively protect the environment the environment, or the administrative, civil and criminal responsibilities in which it may incur.

ARTICLE 26.-Programs, works or activities that do not have the environmental license, when it corresponds, or do not meet the requirements and controls that are set, may be suspended temporarily or definitively by the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, without prejudice to the effective accountability of the relevant responsibilities.

CHAPTER IV

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT

ARTICLE 27.-The environmental impact assessment process includes:

the application for an environmental licence;

the environmental impact assessment, in cases where appropriate;

the evaluation itself, by the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment;

whether or not the environmental licence is granted.

Article 28.-It will be obligatory to submit to the consideration of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, in order to carry out the process of assessment of the corresponding environmental impact, the new projects of works or activities that The following are related:

dams or reservoirs, irrigation channels, aqueducts and drainage, dredging, or other works involving the desiccation or significant alteration of water courses;

integrated steel plants;

integrated chemical or petrochemical facilities;

facilities for the handling, transport, storage, processing and final disposal of hazardous wastes;

mining activities;

power generation plants, power transmission lines or their substations;

nuclear power generation plants and other nuclear reactors, including research facilities for the production and processing of fissile materials and the areas and facilities for the final disposal of the associated waste to these activities;

construction of railway lines, embankments, pedraplenes, routes, motorways, pipelines and pipelines;

airports and ports;

refineries and deposits of hydrocarbons and their derivatives;

facilities for the gasification and liquefaction of hydrocarbon residues;

tourist facilities, in particular those which are projected in coastal ecosystems;

mass population facilities;

free zones and industrial parks;

agricultural, forestry, aquaculture and aquaculture, in particular those involving the introduction of exotic species, the use of natural species of difficult regeneration or the risk of extinction of species;

changes in the use of soil which may cause significant deterioration in the soil or other natural resources or affect the ecological balance;

collectors and emitters of urban health effluents;

drilling of hydrocarbon extraction wells;

hospitals and other health facilities;

works relating to biotechnology, biotechnology products and processes;

Sanitary fillers;

Cemeteries and crematoriums;

works or activities in protected areas not covered by their management plans;

sugar industry and its derivatives;

metallurgical, paper and cellulose industries, of beverages, milk and meat, cement and motor vehicles;

any other that take place in fragile ecosystems, significantly alter the ecosystems, their composition or balance or affect the population's access to natural resources and the environment in general.

The Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, in coordination with the relevant bodies and bodies, shall establish, in the cases required, the parameters for determining the categories of works referred to in this Regulation. Article to be submitted to the environmental impact assessment process.

Article 29. The environmental impact assessment process may also be required in respect of:

the expansion or modification of existing activities and in the cases of productive resuscitation of currently detained activities that so require, which includes technological changes in existing processes, in the use of raw materials or energy sources and in general, all that means a variation of such a nature that it can cause an environmental impact;

the works or activities in progress which, not yet in the case referred to in the preceding paragraph, may be subject to such a process for generating a negative impact of significance.

Article 30.-The cost of drawing up the environmental impact study, as well as the monitoring, mitigation, rehabilitation or other measures required for the environmentally sound performance of the work or activity, will be carried out by the that they hold their ownership.

Exceptionally, and after approval by the Ministry of Finance and Prices, the costs can be assumed by the state budget.

Article 31.-The Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, in coordination with the competent bodies and agencies, may submit to environmental impact assessments plans or policies for urban or industrial development, forest management, water, tourism, mining, fishing and soil management. This evaluation process does not require the granting of an environmental license.

Article 32.-All natural and legal persons who participate in any way in the environmental impact assessment process respond to the veracity of the information provided and the consequences arising from their concealment or falsehood.

ARTICLE 33.-The Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment and the Ministry of Economy and Planning will establish the corresponding coordination for the proper integration of the environmental impact assessment process with the process investor.

CHAPTER V

NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION SYSTEM

Article 34. The National Environmental Information System aims to guarantee the State, the Government and the society in general the information required for the knowledge, evaluation and decision-making of the environment. environment.

Article 35.-The Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, in close coordination with the Ministry of Economy and Planning and other competent bodies and agencies, is responsible for directing and controlling the actions of the National System. Environmental Information, to which the relevant environmental indicators will be established.

Article 36.-State bodies and organs are obliged to maintain and facilitate, when required by the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, all the information contained in the indicators for the operation of the System National of Environmental Information, for the purpose of evaluating and diagnosing the existing environmental situation, without any payment and without prejudice to the intellectual property rights recognized.

The Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment will monitor and disseminate this information free of charge to state bodies and bodies that are interested in the exercise of their functions and duties and in compliance with the obligations which are entrusted to them.

Article 37.-The Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment will establish mechanisms and procedures for public access to the information contained in the System and will seek its periodic dissemination through different channels.

ARTICLE 38.-The provisions of this Chapter shall be without prejudice to:

the legal provisions in force relating to the State Secret;

the information systems in charge of other state bodies and bodies.

CHAPTER VI

ENVIRONMENTAL INSPECTION SYSTEM

ARTICLE 39.-The State Environmental Inspection is conceived as a system composed of:

the State Environmental Inspectorate in charge of the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment and in which the organs and bodies called by the Ministry of Science and Technology are involved;

state inspections carried out by other bodies and bodies of the State, whose activity has an impact on environmental protection.

Article 40.-State bodies and bodies participating in the State Environmental Inspection System shall include in their inspection systems the aspects required to ensure the protection of the environment in their respective spheres, for which will act in coordination with the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment.

ARTICLE 41.-Natural or legal persons who are the subject of the State Environmental Inspection shall be obliged to allow the competent authority access to the place or places to be inspected, as well as to provide all kinds of information leading to the verification of compliance with this Law and other existing environmental provisions, except that legally recognized as confidential, to which only the terms and conditions laid down in the corresponding legislation.

ARTICLE 42.-The competent authority shall indicate where appropriate, on the basis of the result of the inspection, the corrective measures to comply with the environmental provisions and the time limit set for the compliance of the environmental provisions, and shall inform the bodies of the the Office of the Prosecutor General of the Republic those actions or omissions detected that could be constituted as a crime.

ARTICLE 43.-Where situations of danger or damage to the environment are detected, the competent authority may provide, in accordance with the levels for the exercise of these powers, to establish and to comply with the other requirements. (a) legal provisions, the cessation of processes or activities, the confiscation of polluting products, materials or substances and the partial or total closure of installations, as well as the promotion of all measures relevant to the solution of the detected situations, including the rehabilitation of conditions prior to danger or damage .

Against the decision of the competent authority, the resources applicable to the law shall be limited.

Article 44.-The State Environmental Inspection System promotes concertation actions, self-regulation and voluntary commitments by natural or legal persons whose activity can have a significant impact on the environment.

Article 45.-For inspection purposes, the competent authority may rely on organizations, associations and other institutions recognized by law and on citizens in general, which, with the character of popular and prior inspectors determination of their suitability, will have the task of collaborating in the monitoring of compliance with this Law and other environmental provisions in force.

CHAPTER VII

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

Article 46.-The Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment will develop environmental education strategies and contribute to its implementation, promoting the implementation of programs in all sectors of the economy and services, social groups and the general population.

To this end, the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment will establish the corresponding coordination with the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Higher Education, the Ministry of Culture, the media and other bodies, and competent bodies.

ARTICLE 47.-It is the responsibility of all the organs and state agencies, in accordance with the environmental education strategies and in the exercise of their functions and attributions, to promote and execute activities with their workers, social groups and the population with which they interact, to increase their knowledge of the environment and its links with development and to promote a higher level of awareness in this sphere.

Article 48.-Institutions that develop programs to overcome and train with the leading personnel, technicians and workers in general, will include in them the environmental theme and, in particular, the aspects related to the links and influence of their productive activity or of services in the protection of the environment.

ARTICLE 49.-The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education, in coordination with the other competent bodies and agencies, will continuously improve the introduction of the environmental theme in the National Education System.

Article 50.-The Ministry of Higher Education will guarantee the introduction of the environmental dimension, based on the models of the professional and the plans of studies of pre and post-graduate and extension and teaching and extractor activities, aimed at the training and improvement of the professionals of all branches.

ARTICLE 51.-The recreational, cultural and scientific institutions will encourage, according to their competence, the development of activities in correspondence with environmental education strategies.

ARTICLE 52.-The Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, will encourage and support the development of education and environmental outreach tasks in organizations, associations and other institutions recognized by law, with particular attention to mass organizations, communicators and scientific societies.

Article 53. The mass media will have the responsibility to incorporate in the design and execution of their television programming, radio and in the flat press, the themes that promote greater information and knowledge in the population of the complex interrelations and links between the processes of economic-social development and the protection of the environment, propitiating to raise the environmental culture of the citizenry.

ARTICLE 54.-The Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, in coordination with the Local Bodies of the People's Power, will promote and support educational activities in the population, which includes the execution of Community environmental training and self-management, linked to the conditions and needs of each locality.

Article 55.-The organs and agencies of the State, shall incorporate in their divulgative and advertising activity, the subject of the protection, utilization and rational exploitation of the specific natural resources with which they are responsible or linked in their productive activity or services, as well as the adequate training of the workers for these purposes.

Article 56.-The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education, in coordination with the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, may establish official environmental courses, which will be required to submit for the performance or performance of certain functions or activities.

CHAPTER VIII

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION

ARTICLE 57.-The Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, in coordination with the competent bodies and bodies, will develop the actions that correspond to:

to promote studies aimed at extending knowledge on the state of natural resources and the environment in general;

to promote and promote scientific research and technological innovation that enable the knowledge and development of new systems, methods, equipment, processes, technologies and devices for the protection of the environment, as well as the appropriate evaluation of technology transfer processes;

to promote the need for scientific research or technological innovation projects to include environmental considerations from the design stage;

develop and implement the sciences and technologies to prevent, assess, monitor and reverse environmental deterioration by providing alternative solutions to problems related to the protection of the environment;

promote the use of environmentally sound technologies that harmonise traditional methods with the requirements and requirements of sustainable development;

to promote the economic and social research required for the achievement of the proposed objectives.

ARTICLE 58. -The natural and legal persons whose activity has an influence on the environment have an obligation to incorporate scientific and technological achievements in order to achieve greater effectiveness in actions aimed at environmental protection.

Article 59. The formulation of environmental policies will take the results of the process of scientific research and technological innovation as foundations, among others.

Article 60.-The Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment shall establish the regulations that ensure, in cases that it deems appropriate, the right of the State to participate and to make its interests compatible with investigations of a kind The environmental protection of foreign entities in the national territory, including the territorial sea and the economic zone, as well as obtaining the results of these.

CHAPTER IX

ECONOMIC REGULATION

Article 61. The use of economic regulation as an instrument of environmental policy and management is conceived on the basis of employment, among others, of tax, tariff or differentiated pricing policies for the development of activities. which have an impact on the environment.

Article 62.-It is for the Ministry of Finance and Prices, heard by the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment and other bodies and bodies concerned, to determine the tariffs and taxes that are appropriate for the protection of the environment.

Article 63.-On the basis of the policies and provisions to be established, as derived from the foregoing Articles, the following measures may be adopted, inter alia:

reduction or exemption of import duties on technologies and equipment for the control and treatment of polluting effluents;

reduction or exemption from import duties on raw materials or parts necessary for the national manufacture of equipment or instruments intended to prevent, reduce or control pollution and environmental degradation;

authorisation, in exceptional cases, of the accelerated depreciation of investments made in the development, purchase or installation of equipment, technologies and processes conducive to the protection of the environment;

exceptional granting of tax or financial benefits to certain activities which favour the environment.

ARTICLE 64.-The provisions of this Chapter shall lay down both the benefits and the obligations and guarantees which, in each case, must be required of the beneficiary, as well as the possibility of revocation in the event of the cessation or changes to the conditions that gave rise to the granting of the grant.

CHAPTER X

NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL FUND

Article 65.-The National Environment Fund is created to facilitate the achievement of the objectives of this Law, which will be the essential purpose of financing all or part of projects or activities aimed at protecting the environment. the environment and its rational use.

ARTICLE 66.-The Ministry of Finance and Prices and the Ministry of Economy and Planning, in which to each one, and heard the opinion of the Ministry of Science Technology and the Environment and other competent bodies and agencies, will establish the regulations required for the operation of this Fund.

CHAPTER XI

ADMINISTRATIVE SANCTIONS

Article 67. The regime of administrative sanctions in the field of environmental protection includes natural and legal persons who incur the contraventions laid down in the legislation in addition to this Law.

Article 68. Infringements shall be punishable by fines, the amounts of which are fixed for each case, without prejudice to other ancillary penalties applicable in accordance with the laws in force.

ARTICLE 69.-The person who knows of the commission of any of the contraventions established in the legislation complementary to this Law shall put it to the knowledge of the competent authority, which will be in the obligation to inform on the measures and their compliance, when the person concerned is interested.

CHAPTER XII

SYSTEM OF CIVIL LIABILITY

ARTICLE 70.-Any natural or legal person who, by reason of his action or omission, damages the environment, is obliged to cease his conduct and to repair the damages caused by him.

Article 71.-They are entitled to claim compensation for damages or damages:

the Office of the Prosecutor General of the Republic;

the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment;

who has personally suffered the damage or injury.

The persons referred to in points (a) and (b) of this Article may act in defence of the social interest in the protection of the environment.

Article 72. To ensure the results of the process or to prevent further damage, it may be possible to request and adopt the measures that apply to the current procedural law.

Article 73. In the case of compensation for the corresponding civil liability, the actions aimed at the rehabilitation of the environment shall be sought in a preferential manner.

ARTICLE 74-The Council of Ministers, on a proposal from the Ministry of Finance and Prices and the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, will dictate the relevant regulations for the establishment of compulsory insurance for civil liability. to cover damage to the environment accidentally caused.

CHAPTER XIII

SYSTEM OF CRIMINAL LIABILITY

ARTICLE 75.-The actions or omissions socially dangerous prohibited by the law under the conmination of a penal sanction, which are against the protection of the environment, will be typified and sanctioned according to the provisions of the penal legislation in force.

TITLE IV

TRADE AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Article 76-Free trade provisions do not exclude compliance with the rules and regulations for the protection of the environment.

Article 77.-The international legal instruments signed by Cuba for the protection of the environment that impose prohibitions or restrictions on the foreign trade of goods or services, constitute exceptions to the norms contained in the Multilateral agreements on free trade of which the Republic of Cuba is a party.

Article 78.-The Ministry of Foreign Trade, as a whole, with the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment and other relevant bodies and bodies, shall establish the measures and develop the actions to be taken to ensure that the trade and environmental policies that the country adopts in the sphere of trade and the environment, correspond to the principles and regulations embodied in this Law and its complementary provisions.

Article 79. In the national trade of goods and services, the application of environmental standards will be taken into account, as a means of ensuring its quality and protecting consumers.

TITLE 5

COMMON PROVISION FOR TITLES SIXTH TO THE TENTH QUARTER

Article 80. Environmental management with respect to the specific areas of environmental protection and other matters governed by this Law shall be carried out in accordance with the National Environmental Strategy, the National Environment Program. Environment and Development and the principles and principles established in the current environmental legislation.

The Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment shall monitor compliance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph, for which it shall take appropriate measures.

TITLE SIXTH

SPECIFIC AREAS FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT

CHAPTER I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

ARTICLE 81. The management of natural resources shall be carried out in accordance with the following provisions:

ensure rationality in use, for which its quantitative and qualitative durability will be taken care of, recycling and recovery will be developed and the ecosystems to which they belong will be safeguarded;

account shall be taken of the interdependence between natural resources and other environmental elements and between ecosystems, avoiding, where possible, unnecessary or harmful reciprocal interference;

where a resource is susceptible to a variety of uses, they shall be subject to the priorities and forms of coordination and compatibility which the competent bodies and bodies shall in the first instance determine. In the event of any discrepancies, the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment shall appear to be in accordance with the powers conferred upon it in this Law;

determining priorities for the use of the various categories of natural resources will take into account the requirements of environmental protection, the need to ensure their sustainability and the environmental benefits and costs, economic and social;

national and local authorities, when planning the management of natural resources, will promote their balance and the integration of the principles of environmental protection with the requirements of economic and social development.

ARTICLE 82.-Without prejudice to the provisions of the foregoing Article, the provision of investments for the satisfaction of the needs of future generations shall be taken into account in the exploitation of non-renewable natural resources.

ARTICLE 83.-The Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment as a whole with the competent bodies, will dictate, within the framework of the provisions of this Law, special regulations for the environmental protection of mountain ecosystems, coastal, carsicos and wetlands, which, given their ecological fragility, require differentiated attention.

CHAPTER II

PROTECTION AND SUSTAINABLE USE OF BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

Article 84.-It is the obligation of all state bodies and bodies and other natural and legal persons to adopt in the spheres of their respective competences the necessary actions and measures to ensure the conservation of diversity. national biological and the sustainable use of its components.

Article 85.-Species of an endemic nature, which are threatened, endangered or endangered, which have special connotation and the representative specimens of the different types of ecosystems, as well as their resources They will be the subject of special protection by the State, which includes the establishment of rigorous mechanisms for regulation, control and management that guarantee their conservation and rational use.

Article 86-Corresponding to the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, in coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture and other competent bodies and bodies, to lay down the provisions relating to imports and introduction into the environment the environment of new species or subject to special regulations, for which the following principles shall be taken into account:

the possible reactions of the species in the medium in which they are to be introduced;

the potential reactions of the receiving medium and the native species to which it is intended to be introduced;

the risk of potentially dangerous genotypes;

the possible introduction of exotic diseases and epizootic diseases affecting plants and animals;

the risk to human health;

others of particular interest for the protection of the environment.

ARTICLE 87.-The Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, in coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture and other competent bodies and agencies, shall establish regulations that condition, restrict or prohibit the export of of animals, plants or micro-organisms, in the following cases:

species subject to special regulations in the framework of international conventions signed by our country;

species whose export may affect the conservation of national biological diversity;

species in respect of which it is necessary to ensure a fair and equitable participation of the Cuban State in the benefits derived from the utilization of its genetic resources.

Article 88.-The Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, in coordination with the competent bodies and bodies, shall direct the actions to:

identify the components of national biological diversity and the prospecting of their use;

to monitor the identified biological diversity components, with particular attention to those requiring the adoption of urgent conservation measures and to those that offer greater potential for their use;

identify the processes and categories of activities that have, or are likely to have, significant adverse effects on the conservation and use of biological diversity and to proceed, by sampling and other techniques, to monitoring these effects;

organise and keep up to date the data derived from the activities provided for in the preceding points;

adopt conservation measures in situ and ex situ ;

establish guidelines for the selection, establishment and management of protected areas or other areas where special measures need to be taken to conserve biological diversity;

to regulate the administration of biological resources important for the conservation of biological diversity, whether within or outside protected areas, in order to ensure their conservation and sustainable use;

to promote the special protection of ecosystems and natural habitats of high genetic or fragile diversity, enabling the viable maintenance of species in natural environments and the evolutionary processes of species and genetic resources;

to increase, in the protection of biological diversity, the role of areas adjacent to protected areas;

declare endangered or endangered species and promote their recovery;

promote the economic assessment of biological diversity;

to regulate and control the risks arising from the use and release of living organisms modified by biotechnology or other substances or products which may affect the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity or generate risks to human, animal or plant health;

propose the provisions ensuring adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights in this area, in line with national interests;

establish or propose, as appropriate, the necessary strategies and regulations to ensure fair and equitable participation in the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources;

control or prevent, as appropriate, the introduction or extraction of species which may threaten or modify ecosystems, habitats or species;

establish and regulate the conditions necessary to harmonise current uses with the conservation of biological diversity and the proper management of its components;

adopt or propose the adoption, as appropriate, of economic and social incentives for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity.

CHAPTER III

NATIONAL SYSTEM OF PROTECTED AREAS

Article 89.-The Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment is responsible for directing and controlling activities related to the National System of Protected Areas, its integral environmental management at national level in coordination with other competent bodies and agencies, of their technical and methodological direction, of the control of the fulfillment of the specific objectives for which the protected areas were declared and of the administration of those that the law determines.

Article 90. These are the basic objectives of the National System of Protected Areas with respect to the areas that include:

maintain representative samples of biogeographical regions and the most important scenic beauties in the country to ensure the continuity of evolutionary processes, including in these areas sites with importance for species migration;

to conserve the flora, fauna and, in general, biological diversity, protecting it from actions, omissions or vectors that might harm it;

to ensure that local production complies with rational and dynamic forms of sustainable yields, in order to raise the socio-economic level of local populations, through the implementation of actions in favour of rural development integral, paying particular attention to the conservation and rational use of fragile ecosystems such as mountains, wetlands, mangroves, carthic formations, arid, semi-arid areas and island groups;

to protect, rehabilitate and manage coastal and marine resources and resources for conservation and sustainable use;

to maintain and manage the biotic resources, both terrestrial and aquatic, for the long-term obtaining of various goods and services for the population, always considering the vital role they play in the equilibrium of the ecosystems and taking into account national and international regulations concerning these resources;

preserve and restore soils and control erosion, sedimentation, salinisation, acidification and other degrading processes;

to conserve and manage water resources, taking into account the integral management of river basins;

to manage and improve forest resources to fulfil their environmental role and to provide stable production and reproduction of forest products;

to preserve the historical and cultural values that are linked to a natural environment;

preserve and rehabilitate landscapes, both natural and cultural;

promoting environmental education, particularly with local populations, by promoting active forms of participation;

enable the recreation and development of tourism in a manner compatible with the management category of the area concerned;

serve as a natural laboratory and a logical framework for the development of research.

Article 91.-Natural and legal persons who have protected areas under their administration, are obliged to comply with and enforce the provisions of this Law and other environmental regulations in force and those that the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, and to implement the actions approved in the management rules for each specific area.

CHAPTER IV

AQUATIC WATERS AND ECOSYSTEMS

SECTION FIRST

General Rules

Article 92. The management of water and aquatic ecosystems shall be carried out in accordance with the following provisions:

it is the obligation of all natural and legal persons to protect and conserve water and aquatic ecosystems under conditions that enable them to respond optimally to the diversity of uses required to meet human needs and maintain a balanced relationship with other natural resources;

the management of all natural resources contained in aquatic ecosystems shall respect their balance and that of the ecosystems to which it relates;

In order to ensure an adequate development of the hydrological cycle and the elements involved in it, particular attention will be given to the soils, forest areas, geological formations and recharge capacity of the aquifers.

Article 93. In order to protect water from contamination, the competent authorities shall be governed by the following principles:

in the classification of water uses, it is always a priority to ensure the quality and quantity conditions required for human consumption;

all discharges into watercourses and in the bays, coastal waters, lake waters, repressated, underground or otherwise, of substances liable to cause contamination, to affect other intended or foreseeable uses or to alter the the balance of the ecosystems must be properly treated;

the reuse of waste water shall be promoted in accordance with the rules laid down for that purpose;

The establishment of technologies for the efficient treatment of water which will minimize pollution and promote its reuse will be promoted.

SECTION 2

Land Waters

ARTICLE 94.-For the purposes of this Law, surface waters are understood to be both superficial and underground.

Article 95. The waste water of economic and social activity, before being discharged into the environment, has to receive the corresponding treatment so that it does not pollute the reservoirs and bodies of land and sea waters.

Article 96. The mandatory delimitation of areas for the protection of sources of land water supply, hydraulic works and installations and natural or artificial channels is available, in order to avoid the dangers of pollution, The invention relates to a process for the use of the same

Article 97-The National Institute of Water Resources, in coordination with other competent bodies and bodies, is responsible for the control and development of actions for the management of terrestrial waters, with the exception of waters Mineral-medicinal products.

Article 98.-All natural or legal persons implementing actions relating to groundwater shall comply with the assessments and opinions issued by the National Institute of Water Resources, in order to ensure their exploitation rational and avoid the depletion or degradation of these waters.

SECTION III

Maritime Waters and Marine Resources

Article 99. The protection of maritime waters includes the protection of inland sea waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone and the economic zone, in the extension fixed by the law and the marine resources existing therein.

Article 100.-The Ministry of the Fishing Industry, in coordination with the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment and other competent bodies and agencies, will regulate the exploitation and sustainable management of the content of the fishery resources in the marine environment.

ARTICLE 101.-The Ministry of the Fishing Industry and the National Institute of Water Resources, in coordination with the appropriate bodies and agencies, will propose and coordinate appropriate measures to mitigate and restore the effects of the harmful effects on the functional relationship of aquatic, terrestrial and marine ecosystems.

ARTICLE 102.-The Ministry of Transport will establish the regulations, so that the activities of transportation and civil navigation in the marine waters and the port activity are carried out without causing damage to the marine and coastal resources and to port facilities.

ARTICLE 103.-State bodies, agencies and entities and natural or legal persons engaged in activities aimed at the exploration and exploitation of the seabed, or their subsoil and the resources found therein, carry out without causing damage to the environment and in particular to marine ecosystems.

Article 104. Any disposal of waste in the marine environment shall require the prior authorization of the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, which may arrange for this activity, in coordination with the organs and competent bodies.

Article 105.-The Ministry of Agriculture, in coordination with the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, will regulate the management of mangroves or other vegetation in the cays, canalizos, cove, caletas and coastal areas, on the banks of the sea, at the mouth of rivers and other places which may serve as a refuge for fishery resources and other marine resources and for protecting other natural resources.

CHAPTER V

TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS

SECTION FIRST

Soil

ARTICLE 106.-Natural or legal persons who are responsible for the use or exploitation of the soils shall comply with the following provisions:

to do its activities compatible with the natural conditions of these and with the requirement to maintain their physical integrity and their productive capacity and not to alter the equilibrium of ecosystems;

take the appropriate measures to prevent and correct actions to promote erosion, salinisation and other forms of degradation or modification of their topographical and geomorphological characteristics;

cooperate with the competent authorities in their proper conservation and management;

to carry out conservation and rehabilitation practices to be determined in accordance with the characteristics of the soils and their current and prospective uses;

carry out soil regeneration actions in the development of activities which may, directly or indirectly, cause environmental damage;

comply with the other provisions laid down in the basic legislation on soil in the country and others provided by the competent bodies.

Article 107.-The provisions laid down in the preceding Article shall be of unmissable compliance, without prejudice to other provisions which may be laid down in particular:

all types of environmental impact assessments;

the adoption of direct or indirect stimulus measures for production;

the location and design of human settlements of any kind;

the identification of the uses and destinations of the protected areas;

the territorial arrangement;

management in river basins;

geological exploration and mining exploitation;

the excavations and all those activities that alter the soil and the subsoil.

Article 108. For the purposes of the prevention and control of soil contamination, competent bodies and bodies shall act in accordance with the following provisions:

the duty of all natural and legal persons to use good practices in the generation, handling and treatment of domestic, industrial and agricultural waste and in the use of any chemical and hormonal substances that may be to contaminate soils or crops;
to take particular care to avoid and control soil contamination and to ensure an adequate final disposal of waste of domestic, industrial and hospital origin;

the prohibition of the disposal of waste in urban and rural vacant land and surrounding areas of land, without prior authorisation from the competent authorities.

Article 109.-It is for the Ministry of Agriculture to direct and control the application of the provisions relating to the administration, conservation and improvement of agricultural and forestry soils and to control their compliance, in coordination with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, the Ministry of Basic Industry, the Ministry of Sugar and other competent bodies and agencies.

SECTION 2

Watersheds

Article 110. Environmental management in river basins shall be carried out in accordance with current legislation and shall be based on a comprehensive management that ensures that economic and social activities are carried out on the basis of adequate protection. and rational use of natural resources and the environment.

Article 111.-It is for the National Council of Watersheds, in coordination with the corresponding organs and agencies, to carry out the actions that allow to integrate and to harmonize with the principles and objectives of this Law, the activity of all natural or legal persons involved in a given basin.

SECTION III

Forest Heritage

ARTICLE 112-Natural and artificial forests, land destined for this activity, deforested areas with conditions for forest activity, as well as trees of forest species that develop in isolation or in a group, whatever its location or membership.

ARTICLE 113.-Forests are categorized by the Ministry of Agriculture, taking into account their functions, role within the society and geographical location, as follows:

Production: those whose main purpose is to meet the needs of the national economy in wood and other forest products, through its use and rational use;

protection: those whose surface must be permanently preserved to protect the renewable resources that are associated with it, but which, without prejudice, may be the object of productive activities, always prevailing their function protective;

conservation: those which, by virtue of their characteristics and location, serve primarily to conserve and protect natural resources and those destined for scientific research, the ornato and the protective action of the environment in general. These forests must be kept permanently and in them they are not allowed to be used, but only improvement cuts oriented to the reinforcement of their main function and the obtaining of secondary products of the forest.

ARTICLE 114.-The reduction of forest areas is prohibited. The Council of Ministers may exceptionally authorize the affectation of these areas for the needs of the economic and social development of the country.

Article 115.-It is for the Ministry of Agriculture, in coordination with the competent bodies and bodies, to direct and monitor compliance with the provisions relating to the Forest Heritage and to take the necessary measures to the protection and rational use of forest resources, without prejudice to the powers of the Ministry of the Interior as regards the protection of such resources.

CHAPTER VI

FLORA AND FAUNA

Article 116. Without prejudice to the powers given to the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment in respect of biological diversity, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Agriculture Fishing industry, in relation to the protection of wild, terrestrial and marine flora and fauna, in accordance with their respective competences and hearing the opinion of other state bodies and bodies where appropriate, the following powers:

lay down rules governing the management, use, transfer and marketing of species of wild flora and fauna and their primary products;

propose and exercise, as appropriate, the control of the rules on the protection of wild flora and fauna, as well as the promotion and incentive systems for such activities;

determine the species of wild flora and fauna which may be the object of hunting, fishing or harvesting, as well as those which should be subject to special management, from which the temporary or permanent vedas shall be established;

establishing regulations for management in ecosystems and localities where migratory or sea migratory species are transited or reproduced;

protect the endangered or endangered species in a special way in order to recover and stabilize their populations.

This is the case in the unprecedented work, without prejudice to the powers of the Ministry of the Interior in the protection of these resources.

Article 117.-The Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, in coordination with the corresponding agencies, will establish technical and scientific conditions, of obligatory observance for the establishment and conduction of centers for the reproduction of endangered or endangered species of wild flora and fauna.

CHAPTER VII

ATMOSPHERE

Article 118.-The bodies and bodies responsible for the protection of the atmosphere or whose activities shall have their effect on the atmosphere shall be based on the following provisions:

ensure that air pollution does not exceed the levels of foreign substances permitted by the rules laid down;

reduce and control emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere produced by the operation of artificial or natural sources, fixed or mobile, in such a way as to ensure air quality in accordance with the rules governing it, for the safeguarding the environment and in particular human health and the fulfilment of the international commitments made by the country.

Article 119.-The Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, in coordination with the Ministry of Public Health and other competent bodies and bodies, shall establish or propose, as appropriate and shall ensure compliance with the provisions of this Regulation. relating to:

the air quality;

permissible levels of concentration of isolated substances or in combination and of particles capable of causing discomfort, damage or deterioration in the goods and human, animal and plant health;

the prohibitions, restrictions and requirements relating to technological processes and the import of technologies, as regards the emission of gases and particulates, including those affecting the ozone layer or inducing climate change;

the technical standards for the establishment, operation and maintenance of air quality monitoring systems and polluting sources;

the updated inventory and recording of fixed sources of pollution and the assessment of their emissions;

the necessary preventive and corrective measures for environmental contingencies for air pollution;

the establishment of promotion systems and economic incentives to stimulate activities using technologies and fuels which significantly reduce, modify or cancel the contribution of pollutants to the atmosphere;

the specific aspects to be taken for the implementation of the relevant sanctions regime;

any other rules are deemed appropriate to achieve the purposes of this Law.

CHAPTER VIII

MINERAL RESOURCES

Article 120. The use of mineral resources by any natural or legal person shall be governed by the following provisions:

the mining activity will be subject to the environmental impact assessment process, so the concessionaire will apply for the environmental license to execute the geological investigation phase and will be obliged to apply for the environmental license and to produce the environmental impact assessment, where appropriate, in the stages of operation and processing;

the mining activity must cause the least possible, direct or indirect alteration to the National System of Protected Areas, the land and sea waters, the plant layer, the flora and the wild fauna, the landscape and the environment in general.

Article 121.-It is for the Ministry of the Basic Industry to regulate and control the mining activity and related to the reserved mining areas, without prejudice to the competences that the legislation gives to other bodies and agencies state.

Article 122.-Natural or legal persons who develop activities for the use of mineral resources, will be obliged to rehabilitate the areas degraded by their activity, as well as the areas and ecosystems linked to them. may be damaged, in accordance with the provisions of the Mining Act and in this Law, or in its absence, to carry out other activities for the protection of the environment, under the terms and conditions laid down by the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Agriculture Basic Industry.

Article 123.-All natural or legal persons executing actions relating to mineral waters shall conform to the capacity of the field, its natural recovery power and the qualitative state of the waters, according to the evaluations and opinions issued by the Ministry of Basic Industry and heard by the Ministry of Public Health, with regard to their epidemiological status, in order to ensure their rational exploitation and to prevent their exhaustion or degradation.

Article 124.-The Ministry of Basic Industry, in coordination with other competent bodies and agencies, is responsible for the control and development of actions aimed at the management of mineral-medicinal waters and sludge.

TITLE VII

ENERGY RESOURCES

Article 125.-In the use of energy resources by any natural or legal person, it will preferably tend, provided that this is feasible, to the use of renewable sources of energy and equipment, technologies and measures technical and organisational measures to stimulate the conservation and efficient use of energy.

Article 126-Natural or legal persons responsible for energy use and their infrastructure, as well as for the transport, processing, distribution, storage and final use of energy, are obliged not to provoke damage to the soil, water or atmosphere and to use technologies to ensure compliance with the current environmental regulations.

ARTICLE 127.-The Ministry of Sugar, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Basic Industry, heard the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment and other competent bodies and agencies, will establish strategies for the use of biomass as a source of energy and other technological alternatives for the efficient use of energy sources and the reduction of environmental pollution.

Article 128.-The Ministry of Basic Industry, hearing the opinion of the competent bodies and bodies, will have the regulations concerning the evaluation, exploitation and protection of the energy resources.

TITLE VIII

NATURAL DISASTERS OR OTHER TYPES OF DISASTER

Article 129.-The activities of prevention, preparation, response and recovery, related to natural disasters or other types of catastrophes are regulated by legislation relating to the system of measures of Civil Defense.

Article 130.-The National General Staff of Civil Defense is the body responsible for ensuring compliance with civil defense measures and has the functions and functions of organizing, coordinating and controlling the work of the organs and state agencies, economic entities and social institutions, in the interest of avoiding and minimizing possible human losses, material damage, and other social, economic, and environmental disorders that cause disasters.

Article 131.-The Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, in coordination with the National General Staff of Civil Defense, participates in the organization and direction of actions aimed at minimizing the consequences that environment causes disasters.

TITLE 9

RULES ON SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

Article 132. To ensure adequate food for the population and the export of agricultural products, preserving and improving the future productive capacity of these resources, their production will be carried out in a sustainable manner, based on the the following provisions:

the development of comprehensive systems for managing cultivated ecosystems, which includes soil management, biological diversity, in particular productive diversity, water, nutrients and recycling, pests and diseases and the establishment of an appropriate variety policy;

the rational use of biological and chemical means, in accordance with local characteristics, conditions and resources, which minimize environmental pollution;

the preparation of soils in accordance with environmentally appropriate criteria, leading to the use of techniques to prevent or reduce the development of degrading processes;

the preventive and integrated management of pests and diseases, with special attention to employment for these purposes of biological diversity resources;

the establishment of appropriate territorial planning and planning, implemented on a real and objective basis, in which local agricultural activities correspond to the economic and ecological conditions of the area;

the integration of scientific and technical achievements with the traditional local knowledge of the population and the genetic resources obtained through this route, leading to the direct participation of local communities in the conception, development and improvement of the production systems;

the establishment of mechanisms for economic regulation that encourage the conservation of biological diversity and the use of agricultural practices that are favourable to the environment and which tend to avoid the inappropriate use of soils and other resources natural and irrational use of agrochemicals.

These regulations will be especially applicable in fragile ecosystems where there may be manifest degrading processes.

Article 133.-Given the importance for agriculture of genetic resources in general and plant genetic resources in particular, all natural and legal persons are obliged to their conservation and proper use, combining the forms of storage in situ and ex situ and avoiding the processes of genetic erosion of economically useful species.

Article 134.-The Ministry of Agriculture, in coordination with the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, will establish national strategies on sustainable agriculture and both, in coordination with the Ministry of Sugar, direct, establish and control the rules and measures aimed at ensuring compliance with the provisions of this Title.

TITLE 10

SUSTAINABLE USE OF LANDSCAPE RESOURCES

Article 135. The landscape resources shall be subject to preventive and corrective measures for the purpose of their protection.

ARTICLE 136. -The preventive measures for the protection of the landscape resources are aimed at ensuring that the actions that they develop are in harmony with the set that is to be protected. To this end, the following activities shall be particularly regulated and controlled:

the design and construction of vials;

power transmission lines and power production and transport facilities;

airports and seaports and inland waterways;

forestry activities;

irrigation and drainage works, dams, canals, aqueducts and the regularisation of surface and ground water courses;

the location and construction of housing estates, recreational, sports and tourist centres;

the deposit and transport of materials and raw materials, as well as of detritos and any kind of waste;

other works or activities involving the destruction, degradation or incorporation of elements outside the landscape.

Article 137.-The corrective measures shall be intended to remedy the damage caused to the landscapes and, to the extent possible, to recover or rehabilitate them and shall be applied in accordance with the provisions of this Law and its legislation complementary.

Article 138.-Corresponds to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, in coordination with the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Economy and Planning and other competent bodies and bodies, to establish or propose as appropriate, the provisions that are required for the protection and rational use of landscape resources.

TITLE 10 FIRST

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF TOURISM

Article 139. The sustainable development of tourism is based on the fact that it is carried out in such a way as to harmonize the effective use of aesthetic, recreational, scientific, cultural and any other natural resources. which form their basis, with the protection of these and the guarantee that they can provide equal or higher benefits to future generations.

It is also based on respect for national culture and its territorial expressions and on the integration of local populations into the development of their activities, thus contributing to the elevation of the quality of life of human beings.

Article 140. The development of tourism activities in protected areas will be governed by the provisions of the different management categories. If the areas in which the tourist activity is carried out are not declared as protected, the institution in charge of these activities will be obliged to establish plans for the protection of the natural resources of the area and to ensure its compliance.

Article 141.-The Ministry of Tourism, in coordination with the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, the Ministry of Economy and Planning and other competent bodies and agencies, will develop strategies to ensure development sustainable tourism.

TITLE 10 SECOND

PRESERVATION OF THE CULTURAL HERITAGE ASSOCIATED WITH THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

ARTICLE 142.-The Cultural Heritage, as defined, declares and regulates in the corresponding legislation in its association with the natural environment, will be the object of preventive and corrective measures, in order to save or protect the cultural goods that are endangered by works or activities which may deteriorate or destroy them, including:

works of expansion or urban renewal, in which not only the registered monuments must be respected, but also the surrounding historical environment;

modification or repair of buildings;

construction or repair of roads;

construction of dams and laying of lines of electrical transmission or communication;

the location of liquid and gas conduction systems;

location and construction of housing estates, recreational, sports and tourist centres;

installation of advertising posters.

Article 143.-The National Monuments Commission, hearing the opinion of the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, will be able to carry out actions with respect to the goods of the Cultural Heritage referred to in this title.

ARTICLE 144.-Conservation in situ of cultural goods will be considered prioritized for the purposes of maintaining continuity and historical links with the environment.

Article 145.-Buildings and other important cultural monuments which must be moved to prevent their destruction or deterioration, must remain in places or assemblies that closely resemble their primitive location and their links natural, historical and artistic.

Article 146.-The Ministry of Culture, in coordination with the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, and hearing the opinion of the other competent bodies and bodies, shall establish the necessary measures to ensure the preservation of the cultural heritage associated with the natural environment.

TITLE 10 THIRD

OTHER PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE PROTECTION OF HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN RESPECT OF ADVERSE ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS

CHAPTER I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 147.-It is prohibited to issue, discharge or discharge substances or dispose of waste, produce sounds, noises, odors, vibrations and other physical factors that affect or may affect human health or damage the quality of life of the population.

Natural or legal persons who infringe the prohibition laid down in the preceding paragraph shall be liable in accordance with the provisions of the legislation in force.

CHAPTER II

ESSENTIAL PUBLIC SERVICES

ARTICLE 148.-The National Institute of Water Resources, in coordination with the Local Bodies of the People's Power, will direct and coordinate actions related to the provision of drinking water, sewerage and water treatment services. residual.

Article 149.-The Ministry of Public Health shall develop actions to verify that in the provision of the services referred to in the previous article, as well as those relating to the collection of solid waste and its final disposal in (a) to ensure the protection of the environment and, in particular, the health of the population and its quality of life, among other essential public services to the community.

Article 150. In order to initiate the construction, extension or modification of human settlements, approval is required, in the plans of territorial planning, of a plan of disposal of sewage, sewage sludge and solid waste, with specification of sewerage networks, the necessary infrastructure and other arrangements for the disposal of such waste, as appropriate.

Article 151.-The Ministry of Economy and Planning, as the governing body of the community services, will implement the verification and control actions in this sphere, without prejudice to the functions and functions corresponding to the other state bodies and bodies.

CHAPTER III

NOISE, VIBRATION AND OTHER PHYSICAL FACTORS

ARTICLE 152.-The Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Labor and Social Security and the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, in which to each one it is responsible and through the establishment of the relevant coordination, will dictate or propose, as appropriate, measures aimed at:

the establishment of standards for permissible sound and noise levels in order to regulate their effects on the environment;

carrying out studies and research with the aim of locating the origin or provenance, nature, degree, magnitude or frequency of noise emissions, mechanical vibration and other physical factors, such as thermal energy, energy luminics, ionising radiation and electromagnetic field contamination and to determine their effects on the environment and the measures to be taken into account for their disposal or attenuation;

the prohibitions, restrictions and requirements relating to technological processes and the importation of technology, as regards noise and other physical factors referred to in the previous subparagraph;

the definition of artificial sources of environmental pollution caused by fixed and mobile noise, pointing out the corresponding responsibilities and the measures to be taken for disposal or mitigation.

CHAPTER IV

HAZARDOUS AND RADIOACTIVE WASTE

Article 153. The importation of hazardous and radioactive waste requires the prior and express authorization of the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, which will require the importation to be carried out in correspondence with international recommendations and national regulations in force and their socially justified implementation is foreseen.

Article 154. The illicit traffic of hazardous wastes shall be sanctioned in accordance with the provisions of the legislation in force.

Article 155.-It is for the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, in coordination with the competent bodies and agencies, to establish the rules regarding the classification, management and export of hazardous wastes.

CHAPTER V

TOXIC CHEMICALS

Article 156.-The Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, in coordination with the competent bodies and agencies, shall establish the provisions relating to the classification, production, storage, conservation, control, management, export and import of toxic industrial chemicals and consumption of the population, without prejudice to the powers of the Ministry of the Interior and the National General Staff of Civil Defense in respect of certain categories of toxic chemicals.

Article 157.-The Ministry of Public Health as a whole with the Ministry of Agriculture and in coordination with other competent bodies and bodies, shall establish the provisions referred to in the previous article concerning chemical products. toxic pesticides.

TITLE 10 FOURTH

PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF WORK ACTIVITIES

Article 158.-The provisions of this Law and its complementary rules apply to all establishments and areas where work activities are carried out, whether or not for profit, whatever their nature, the environment where the nature of the centres and places of work, the nature of the machinery, elements, devices or procedures used or adopted.

Article 159.-For the purposes of this Law, any place where tasks of any kind are carried out, with the permanent presence, circumstantial, temporary or eventual presence of natural persons and deposits and dependencies, is understood by establishment or area. (a) annexed to all types of such persons, in which such persons are required to remain or to whom they attend or attend for reasons of work.

The term 'employer' means the term that uses the activity of one or more persons under a contract or working relationship.

Article 160.-Every employer is obliged to ensure environmental conditions that do not affect or put at risk the health or the life of the workers, as well as the development of work activities in harmony with the environment, guaranteeing adequate means of protection. The employer is required to make good any damages caused by the failure to comply with the above obligations.

ARTICLE 161.-The employer must adopt and implement measures of prevention and control for the protection of the environment and to safeguard the health and life of the workers and the surrounding population, especially those relating to:

the construction, adaptation and equipment of buildings and work areas;

the good state of conservation, use and operation of all facilities to prevent and correct the risks of the work environment;

to prevent the accumulation of waste or waste which constitutes a health risk by carrying out the relevant periodic cleaning and disinfection;

the storage of dangerous substances with the protection measures laid down;

instruct workers and maintain in visible places, notices indicating the preventive measures to be taken in respect of the environmental risks of the establishment.

ARTICLE 162.-It is a right and a duty of all workers and their trade union organizations, to carry out actions aimed at demanding and controlling compliance with regulations regarding the protection of the environment.

Article 163.-The Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, the Ministry of Labor and Social Security and the Ministry of Public Health, in which each one is responsible, in coordination with the Central Workers of Cuba and the Ministry of Health National Association of Small Farmers and, as appropriate, coordinate, establish and develop the necessary actions to ensure compliance with the provisions of this Chapter.

TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS

FIRST : The provisions laid down in addition to Law No. 33 of 10 January 1981 maintain their validity as soon as they are not opposed to this Law. Within two years of the promulgation of the present, the competent bodies, in coordination with the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, shall submit to the Council of Ministers the corresponding proposals for amendments to those regulations, in cases where it is required.

SECOND : The Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment will present to the Council of Ministers the corresponding proposal regarding administrative violations and penal norms. applicable in accordance with the provisions of this Law.

SPECIAL PROVISIONS

FIRST : The solution of the conflicts caused by the application of what is available in this Law is for the Economic Chambers of the People's Courts, as established by the Governing Council of the Supreme People's Court, without prejudice to the fact that civil, criminal, administrative and administrative matters are dealt with in their own jurisdictions.

SECOND : When the powers that are attributed to the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, under Title II, Chapters III, IV and VI of this Law, relating to state environmental inspection, environmental licensing and evaluation environmental impact, develop in relation to areas or activities of the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces or the Ministry of the Interior or linked to them, shall be carried out in the manner in which these organisms are coordinated, without prejudice to to comply with the provisions of this Law.

THIRD : The Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, through the Executive Committee of the Council of Ministers, will propose to the Council of State to consider in the system of decorations of the Republic of Cuba the recognition of natural or legal, national or foreign, that prove to have contributed effectively, to the protection and improvement of the national and international environment.

FOURTH : The Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, after consultation with the competent bodies and bodies, is responsible for defining the technical terms contained in this Law, to which it will draw up a glossary to be disclosed between the state bodies, organisations and bodies and the general public within 180 days of the enactment of this Law.

FINAL PROVISIONS

FIRST : The Council of Ministers shall decide, have or propose to be made by the competent bodies and bodies, where necessary, the additional provisions which may be required for the best application of this Law, which will have a maximum term of three years.

The term laid down in the preceding paragraph also applies to those provisions referred to in the Law and the issue of which is for certain State bodies and bodies.

SECOND: Law 33, "Protection of the environment and the rational use of natural resources", of 10 January 1981 and Decree-Law 118 of " Structure, Organization and Operation of the National Environmental Protection System and its Governing Body " of 18 January 1990.

THIRD : This Law will enter into force in its publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Cuba.

DADA In the session hall of the National Assembly of People's Power, Palace of the Conventions, in the city of Havana, at the eleven days of the month of July of a thousand nine hundred and ninety-seven.

Law Of The Environment

Original Language Title: Ley del Medio Ambiente

Subscribe to a Global-Regulation Premium Membership Today!

Law of the Environment

Law Of The Environment

Original Language Title: Ley del Medio Ambiente

Subscribe to a Global-Regulation Premium Membership Today!

Search Translated Laws of Cuba