Tuvalu

Forestry legislation

Tuvalu has no forestry specific legislation, though a number of other pieces of legislation and customary law incorporate dimensions applicable to forestry. The 1987 Laws of Tuvalu Act stipulates that there are five sources of law in Tuvalu: the Constitution, Acts of Parliament, customary law, applied laws and common law. The Constitution of Tuvalu makes provisions for the government to acquire land for works of conservation of natural resources.

Environmental issues are largely addressed through a series of Kakeega o Tuvalu, the government¿s National Development Plans (NDPs). The Fourth NDP (1987-1991) introduced a chapter on Land Management, Environment and Conservation, which stated the government¿s intention to bring about improved environmental control through better utilization of land and environmental resources. More recently, Kakeega have incorporated a National Environment Management Strategy (NEMS), which elaborates on this objective and sets sustainable development as a national priority. The NEMS requires environmental issues to be incorporated into all development proposals, and environmental impact assessments will be included where necessary. A need to improve public knowledge about sustainable natural resource use has been partly addressed through an Education For Life programme in schools.

last updated: Monday, October 1, 2007