Marine management law to go through a 30-day consultation period

The government has initiated a public consultation period on possible changes to the laws regarding the management of Macau’s maritime areas. Starting from yesterday, the consultation will run for a 30-day period in order to collect feedback from the public. The consultation will end on December 14.

Five government departments; the Legal Affairs Bureau (DSAJ), the Macau Economic Service (DSE), the Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA), the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), and the Marine and Water Bureau, jointly announced this information earlier this week.

The laws’ articles point out some basic directions with regard to the management of Macau’s sea by the local government. Articles concerning each sea area’s function, management, environmental protection, economic development, as well as penalties for offences, among other issues, have been included in these laws.

Focusing on the proposed rules around environmental protection, there are seven main measures which the government will pursue. These include the supervision of the sea environment, promoting the establishment of an information platform regarding the sea, evaluating the sea environment regularly, and researching and implementing a controlling system for pollution discharges.

According to the departments involved, there will be two public consultation sessions arranged within the next 30 days, although no schedule has been confirmed yet.

Carmen Maria Chung, head of the law drafting division of DSAJ, confirmed that the departments are expecting the laws to be forwarded to the Legislative Assembly in the second half of 2017, after the new AL comes into position.