Almost every operative provision of the Environment Act 2000 turns on this expression, and the Act grades it into tiers that decide which offence is charged and how heavy the penalty is.
The basic definition
Any change to the environment, or any part of the environment, which has a detrimental effect on any beneficial value relating to the environment, and which:
(a) may be caused by an act or omission — whether the harm is a direct or indirect result, and whether it results from that act or omission alone or in combination with other acts or omissions.
Three features are worth noticing.
- “Any change … detrimental effect” — the concept is broad. It is not confined to pollution or to contamination.
- “Beneficial value” is the pivot. Harm is measured against values the community depends on — clean water, subsistence food sources, habitat, amenity. Environment Policies are the vehicle for identifying them (s 6(2)(a)).
- Indirect and cumulative harm counts. Paragraph (a)(ii) expressly catches harm resulting from an act “in combination with” other acts. A discharge that is harmless on its own but harmful alongside the neighbouring operation is still within the definition.
“Material environmental harm”
Environmental harm that:
- (a) causes, or could reasonably be expected to cause, harm that is not trivial or negligible in nature, extent or context; or
- (b) causes, or could reasonably be expected to cause, actual or potential loss or damage to property exceeding K10,000 but less than K100,000; or
- (c) results in costs of more than K10,000 but less than K100,000 in taking action to prevent or minimise the harm, or to rehabilitate or restore the environment to its condition before the harm occurred.
“Serious environmental harm”
Environmental harm that:
- (a) causes, or could reasonably be expected to cause, detriment to a beneficial value that is irreversible, of a high impact or widespread; or
- (b) causes, or could reasonably be expected to cause, actual or potential harm to beneficial values relating to an area of high conservation value or special significance; or
- (c) causes or would cause loss or damage to property exceeding K100,000; or
- (d) results or would result in costs of more than K100,000 in preventing, minimising, rehabilitating or restoring.
Paragraphs (c) and (d) are monetary. Paragraphs (a) and (b) are qualitative and have no money threshold at all. Harm to a small area can be serious environmental harm if the detriment is irreversible, or if the area is one of high conservation value or special significance. Do not assume a low repair cost means the harm is not serious.
Section 10 — when harm is unlawful
An act or omission that causes, or is reasonably likely to cause, environmental harm is unlawful unless it is caused in the course of complying with an Environmental Code of Practice, or permitted under a condition of a permit or the other authorising instruments.
So the default is that causing environmental harm is unlawful. Authorisation — a permit condition, a code, a policy, an approved improvement plan, an Environment Protection Order or an Emergency Authorization — is what makes it lawful. See the general environmental duty and its section 7(4) defences.
Sections 11 and 12 — the offences
The grading feeds straight into two offences:
- Section 11 — a person who unlawfully causes serious environmental harm is guilty of an offence;
- Section 12 — a person who unlawfully causes material environmental harm is guilty of an offence.
The penalties differ sharply between the two, and between corporations and individuals. See the offences and penalties.
A note on how widely “water” is defined
Because so much environmental harm in Papua New Guinea is harm to water, the definition matters. “Water” means internal waters — any river, stream, watercourse, reservoir, well, bore, tank, dam, canal, channel, lake, lagoon, swamp, open drain, surface and underground water and other waters over which Papua New Guinea exercises or claims jurisdiction or sovereign rights — and includes the seabed and subsoil underlying those waters.
A “water-course” includes every river, stream, passage and channel on or under the ground, natural or not, through which water flows whether continuously or intermittently — so a dry creek bed counts. See who owns the water.
Work out, in order: what beneficial value was affected; whether the detriment is irreversible, high-impact or widespread, or in an area of high conservation value; and only then the cost of property damage and of restoration. The qualitative limbs can make an incident “serious” long before the money does.
Sources
- Environment Act 2000 — s 2 (definitions); ss 6, 7, 10, 11, 12
- Constitution — Preamble (Fourth National Goal)
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.