The Environmental Management Authority (EMA) began operations in June 1995 with start-up funding through a World Bank loan, with additional assistance from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (GORTT). The EMA was established as a body corporate under the Environmental Management Act, Chap. 35:05 which is a re-enactment of the now repealed Environmental Management Act, No. 3 of 1995.
The legislation is aimed at establishing an effective regulatory regime, which will protect, enhance, and conserve the environment. The objectives of the Act are to:
• Promote and encourage among all persons a better understanding and appreciation of the environment.
• Encourage the integration of environmental concerns into private and public decisions.
• Ensure the establishment of an integrated environmental management system in which the Authority, in consultation with other persons, determines priorities and facilitates co-ordination among governmental entities to effectively harmonise activities designed to protect, enhance, and conserve the environment.
• Develop and effectively implement and enforce written laws, policies, and other programmes; and
• Enhance the legal, regulatory, and institutional framework for environmental management.

No amendments have been undertaken since its promulgation. Several pieces of subsidiary legislation have been implemented out of the primary legislation, related to air pollution; water pollution; noise pollution; waste management.

Assistance required: a review of the EM Act with the focus on any suggested areas for amendment to better align with existing global environmental issues.