and of the mining resources of high specificities with which nature has providedMadagascar”, and underlines the importance of preserving these natural resources for futuregenerations.8. Madagascar adopted an environmental charter in 1990 and amended it in 2015, inLaw No. 2015-003. The charter states, among other things, that everyone has thefundamental right to live in a healthy and balanced environment (art. 6) and is entitled toaccess to environmental information and to participation in decision-making withenvironmental effects (arts. 7 and 14). The charter incorporates the “polluter pays” andprecautionary principles (arts. 10-11) and provides that implementation of environmentalactions is based on three components: socioeconomic development, sustainableenvironmental management and good environmental governance (art. 17).9. Various laws and decrees address conservation, effluent disposal, mining, fisheriesand other environmental issues. 1 The Government has recognized that the laws onpollution, in particular, are not well integrated and that there has been a lack ofimplementing regulations and coordination among the relevant agencies. The Governmentrecently adopted a national strategy for pollution management through which it intends toput in place a more integrated approach. Important regulatory gaps remain, however,including in relation to pesticides and herbicides.10. The procedure for environmental impact assessment is based on decree No. 2004-167 (known as MECIE, for mise en compatibilité des investissements avecl’environnement). Under the decree, proponents of a project must show how it will meetenvironmental standards.2 The law requires impact assessments for listed types of projectsand for any other activities that could have a negative impact on the environment.Assessments are required to include environmental management plans. The processprovides for public participation through review of the relevant documents, a public inquiryor a public hearing. The assessment provides a basis for the decision whether to issue anenvironmental permit allowing the action to go forward.11. On his visit to Madagascar in 2011, the then Special Rapporteur on the right to foodidentified several defects in the assessment procedure, including that local communitiesoften did not have the capacity to take part in public consultations effectively, taking intoaccount the limited information they had about the effects of proposed projects; that theresults of the assessment were not required to be made public; and that local communitiesdid not have access to an independent mechanism to review decisions to grantenvironmental permits (A/HRC/19/59/Add.4, para. 30). More recently, the WorldResources Institute has raised concerns that the procedure does not provide for publicparticipation early in the decision-making process, that data on air and water quality are notmade publicly available and that the law does not provide procedures for appeal when theGovernment denies requests for environmental information.3In connection with his recentvisit, the Special Rapporteur also heard complaints that the assessment procedure is tooexpensive and onerous for local communities and, even more troubling, that the decision-making process is often corrupted by the companies seeking permits.B. Institutional framework12. Madagascar is a constitutional republic. The executive branch is headed by thePresident, who is elected for a five-year, once-renewable term. The Constitution providesthat the President determines the general policy of the State and controls the1
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