Part II of the Environment Act 2000 opens with three sections that shape every decision made under it: the objects, the matters of national importance, and the method.
Section 5 — the matters of national importance
(a) the preservation of Papua New Guinea traditional social structures;
(b) the maintenance of sources of clean water and subsistence food sources to enable those Papua New Guineans who depend upon them to maintain their traditional lifestyles;
(c) the protection of areas of significant biological diversity and the habitats of rare, unique or endangered species;
(d) the recognition of the role of land-owners in decision-making about the development of the resources on their land; and
(e) responsible and sustainable economic development.
This is mandatory language, and it binds all persons exercising powers and functions under this Act — the Minister, the Director, the Environment Council, authorised officers, and anyone acting under a delegation.
It also does more than require the matters to be considered. They must be provided for — which in practice means addressed in the terms of a permit, in an assessment, or in an order.
Paragraph (d) is the one most often relied on. It is a statutory recognition that landowners have a role in decision-making about the development of the resources on their land — a provision that runs alongside customary land rights, the Mining Act 1992 and the compensation provisions of Part VII of this Act.
Paragraph (b) protects subsistence directly: clean water and food sources for those who depend on them. That is the environmental counterpart of section 9(2) of the Land (Tenure Conversion) Act 1963, which forbids converting land needed to produce food for the owners’ own consumption.
Section 4 — the ten objects
| Object | |
|---|---|
| (a) | Wise management of natural resources for the collective benefit of the whole nation, with renewable resources replenished for future generations |
| (b) | Protect the environment while allowing for development in a way that improves quality of life and maintains the ecological processes on which life depends |
| (c) | Sustain the potential of resources for future generations, and safeguard the life-supporting capacity of air, water, land and ecosystems |
| (d) | Give proper weight to long-term and short-term social, economic, environmental and equity considerations |
| (e) | Avoid, remedy or mitigate adverse effects by integrated, cost-effective and systematic regulation |
| (f) | Require those causing harmful effects to progressively reduce or mitigate them as technology and economics make it practicable |
| (g) | Allocate the costs of environmental protection and restoration equitably, encouraging responsible use |
| (h) | Apply a precautionary approach to the assessment of risk of environmental harm |
| (i) | Regulate openly and transparently, with consultation with those likely to be affected |
| (j) | Carry into effect obligations under international treaties and conventions to which Papua New Guinea is a party |
The Act commits, in terms, to a precautionary approach to the assessment of risk of environmental harm, and to ensuring that all aspects of environmental quality affected by environmental harm are considered. Where the evidence about an impact is incomplete, that is a reason for caution in setting conditions, not a reason to assume there is no impact.
Paragraph (g) is the polluter-pays principle, and paragraph (f) requires progressive improvement — a permit granted years ago does not license the same emissions indefinitely if better technology has become practicable.
Section 6 — how the objects are achieved
Protection of the environment is to be achieved by setting environmental objectives and providing the means to encourage and ensure their observance.
| Step | Method |
|---|---|
| (a) | Determine environmental objectives by researching the state of the environment and identifying the beneficial values important to the community, through Environment Policies made by consultation |
| (b) | Apply them to level 1 activities through Environmental Codes of Practice, Environment Protection Orders, Clean-up Orders and Emergency Directions |
| (c) | Apply them to level 2 and level 3 activities through permit conditions and negotiated environmental improvement plans and management programmes |
| (d) | Require proposed activities involving matters of national importance to undergo environmental impact assessment, with public and detailed consideration |
| (e) | Enforce the protection of beneficial values by those preventative measures and by prosecutions for causing environmental harm |
An activity involving a matter of national importance is one that must be subjected to public and detailed consideration through environmental impact assessment. So section 5 is not merely a list of considerations — it is a trigger. Where a proposal touches clean water, subsistence food sources, biodiversity or the role of landowners, that is a reason for full assessment.
Section 1 — the constitutional foundation
Section 1 declares that the Act is made for the purposes of complying with section 38 of the Constitution to the extent that it regulates or restricts qualified rights, and that it gives effect to the Fourth National Goal of the Constitution — that Papua New Guinea’s natural resources and environment be conserved and used for the collective benefit of us all, and be replenished for the benefit of future generations.
That is why the Act reads as it does. The objects in section 4(a) and (c) are the National Goal restated in operative form.
How to use sections 4, 5 and 6 in practice
- In a submission on an impact statement, address each relevant matter of national importance by name and say how it is affected.
- When asking for permit conditions, frame them as the means by which a section 5 matter is provided for.
- When challenging a decision, ask whether the decision-maker recognised and provided for each applicable matter — section 5 makes them mandatory considerations.
- Where evidence is uncertain, invoke the precautionary approach in section 4(h).
- Where the technology has moved on, invoke section 4(f) on progressive reduction at review or renewal.
- Where consultation has been thin, invoke section 4(i) — open and transparent regulation with consultation of those likely to be affected.
Sources
- Environment Act 2000 — ss 1, 4, 5, 6; Part II
- Constitution — s 38; Preamble, Fourth National Goal
- Mining Act 1992
- Land (Tenure Conversion) Act 1963
Before relying on anything here, read the current text of the Environment Act 2000 and check for later amendments. If a decision matters to you, get advice — start with the Office of the Public Solicitor, or find a firm in the law firms directory.