Royal Decree No.M/165 of 2020 issuing the Environment Law.

This Act consisting of 49 articles divided into 9 Chapters aims at protecting the environment, its development and sustainability, adherence to environmental principles, and the regulation of the environment sector and related activities and services. Article 3 establishes, as a general principle, that it is prohibited to engage in any activities that are ecological or have an environmental impact without obtaining a permit or license and according to what is specified by the regulations.
Chapters 2 deals with pollution of the environment and water resources and establishes that it is forbidden to do anything that would pollute or harm the environment and water resources, or negatively affect their use. It is prohibited to exploit, transfer, store, sell, or promote any of the natural resources and their products in the national territory, including lands and islands, airspace (including the ozone layer), inland waters, the territorial sea, their bottom, the land subsoil, and all other marine areas (art.7). Article 8 lists commitments for who is authorized or licensee to engage in activities that may emit emissions or pollutants, or that may affect the environment.In particular, article 11 prohibits throwing, draining, or injecting wastewater, or any treated liquid components, into ground wells or any places that could affect the environment, without obtaining a permit.
Chapter 3 regards land vegetation and Article 12 prohibits (i) ownership of the forest, grassland, national, terrestrial, and geological lands; (ii) encroachment upon the lands of forests, grasslands, and national, terrestrial and geological parks (created on land that is not privately owned and that noone has a right of jurisdiction, seizure, or concession). It is also prohibited without a permit or license (i) rinsing or exploiting sand, gravel, rocks, or mud (art.14); (ii) the reclamation and settlement of agricultural land and vegetation lands (art.15); (iii) carry out any activity or work within the lands of vegetation and/or in the lands that fall within the urban boundary and which contain vegetation cover supervised by the competent authority (art.16); (v) cultivation or afforestation within vegetation lands (art.18); (vi) a number of actions listed in article 19 causing the damage of the vegetation lands, or that disturb the natural balance therein; and (vii) produce, transport, store, sell or promote local firewood or charcoal (art.20).
Chapter 4 focuses on marine and coastal environment and establishes that it is prohibited, without obtaining a permit or license, (i) to do anything that may harm the marine and coastal environment and its living and inanimate components, including: excavation, filling, dredging, construction, exploration and exploitation, conducting research; (ii) to use, enter or remove any material or device that harms the marine and coastal environment. The maritime transport operator shall keep a special record in which writing the preventive measures and the contingency plan related to the prevention of pollution.
Chapter 5 deals with wildlife and states that the competent authority indicates the wildlife organisms that are threatened with extinction and that it is prohibited to kill, hunt, or trade with them, their derivatives, or their products. Article 24 lists the prohibited actions, without obtaining a license, related to these kinds of organisms, such as trading, transferring, introduction in the marine environment, possession, cultivation, etc. Article 26 prohibits killing or harm live wildlife, excluded the specific cases indicated by the Regulations. Article 27 focuses on hunting and establishes that it is prohibited but, as an exception, specific species may be hunted after obtaining a license, subject to the following (i) hunting should be restricted to the species specified by the competent authority; (ii) it shall be in the places and times specified by the competent authority; (iii) it is banned the use of means of attracting animals and birds, or means that lead to hunting more than one animal or bird at once. Finally, article 28 prohibits the introduction or use of any biological control means without obtaining a license.
The subject of Chapter 6 is the protected areas, where it is prohibited to carry out any activity within their borders without obtaining a permit or license. The competent authority sets controls for entering protected areas, in coordination with the Ministry of the Interior, and for their use through grazing, ecotourism, research, and the like, also depending on the nature of each protected area. Article 32 prohibits any actions that may harm protected areas or disturb their natural balance, giving details of these actions.
Chapter 7 regards the environmental emergencies and disasters and establishes that workers in the competent authority are exempted from liability for any environmental damage resulting from an unintentional or negligent error during operations to remove pollution resulting from environmental emergencies and disasters, however, the exemption does not prejudice the right of the aggrieved party to compensation for civil liability. The Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture shall take the necessary measures to respond to any environmental emergency, environmental disaster, or imminent threat related to the environment, as well as take the necessary measures to prevent any of these situations from getting worse (art.34).