Law “On environmental protection”.

This Law determines legal, economic and organizational grounds for environmental protection and is aimed at ensuring ecological security, prevention of negative environmental impact of economic activities on ecosystems, conservation of biological diversity and rational management of natural resources. Basic principles of environmental protection shall be as follows: (a) right to clean and healthy environment; (b) ensuring sustainable development of favourable environment; (c) ensuring environmental security; (d) protection, conservation and rational management natural resources; (e) payment of use of natural resources; (f) mandatory environmental impact assessment and environmental audit; (g) public participation in environmental protection; and (h) organization of ecological education. Article 7 shall be amended to add the following wording: “Competent authorized body of public administration in the field of environmental protection develops and approves economically substantiated rates of payment for the use of natural resources, emissions (discharges) of pollutants into the environment and waste disposal within the established limits and exceeding established limits, as well as for calculating the amount of compensation for damage caused to the environment by legal entities and natural persons as a result of the performance of their economic and other activities or as a result of violations of the legislation of Turkmenistan in the field of environmental protection”. Article 8 shall be amended to add the following wording: “Local self-government bodies shall coordinate in the established order the location of special landfills for placement, management and disposal of industrial and household waste.”