Environmental Law No. 10/99.

This Law is composed of six Chapters divided in 67 articles. It provides the basic legislation on environmental protection and sustainable development. It affirms the right to environment and lists the basic principles such as prevention and precaution, ecosystems’ carrying capacity, adequate management and use, participation and access-to-information, user-pays and polluter-pays. The Law defines objectives and measures to be implemented in the environmental policy. Moreover, it classifies environmental components, dividing natural components and human-originated components (i.e. landscape, pollution). It also defines the main tools and procedures to be used by environmental policy, as, for instance, a National Plan for Environment and Sustainable Development, Environmental Impact Assessment and environmental licensing. Finally, the Law defines citizens’ rights and obligations as well as offences and penalties.