Resolution No. 18/2007 approving the Territorial Planning Policy.

This Resolution approves the Territorial Planning Policy. This Policy constitutes a set of directives that allows the Government, through a process of concertation, integration and participation, at all levels, to define the general objectives to which the territorial planning instruments must comply in order to achieve a better distribution of human activities in the territory, the preservation of natural reserve areas and special status, thus ensuring the sustainability of human development and compliance with international treaties and agreements, within the territorial sector. The Territorial Planning Policy considers the physical, geographical, social, economic and cultural reality of the country, in all its aspects, as the safe and objective basis for defining the main lines of territorial planning activity.
The fundamental principles of the Policy establish that territorial planning activities are always carried out within the framework of sectoral policies, on a consensual basis and by coordinating their actions and strategies, aiming at socio-economic development through the sustainable use of natural resources, considering the occupation of the territory, through: a) Equal rights; b) Caution; e) Recognition of the existing order; d) Participation; e) Concentration; j) Decentralization; g) Access to information; h) Binding nature of territorial planning instruments; i) Accountability; j) Continuity of planning actions. The main objective of the Territorial Planning Policy is to contribute to the sustainable management of the country's natural and human resources, through the compatibility of sectoral policies and the coordination of planning actions at the various geographic scales, between the different levels of public administration, to improving the quality of life of citizens, ensuring the sustainability of natural resources.