Soil Conservation (Amendment) Act 1996 (No. 24 of 1996).

Section 1 of the Soil Conservation Act is amended by inserting new Sections 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D regarding respectively the establishment, appointment of Secretary and functions of the Soil Conservation Board and the establishment of the Soil Conservation Fund.
Functions of the Board shall be: (a) to propose measures and coordinate activities, research and programmes relating to the enhancement of the productive capacity of the soil; (b) to prevent soil erosion resulting from non-agricultural activities; (c) to administer and manage the Soil Conservation Fund; (d) to advise the Minister on the implementation of the provisions of this Act. For the purposes of the Act the words "conservation area" and "degradation" shall replace the words "erodible area" and "erosion".
In addition to the matters listed in Section 4 of the principal Act the Minister may make regulations (a) prohibiting or restricting the extraction from, or disposal of any material on a stream course or stream bank, (b) authorizing the appropriate officers to give directions in respect of the procedure to be adopted to enhance the productivity of degraded lands and for the conservation of water and watersheds.
Further amendments concern inter alia the delegation of powers of the Director-General and the replacement of Section 12 regarding the interpretation of the Act.