This Order permits the management of development within a new two tier planning system with both district councils and the Department of the Environment operating as planning authorities where appropriate. An application for planning permission is to be made to the appropriate council or, as the case may be, the Department. The Order also deals with consultation before the grant of planning permission for development outlined in Schedule 3 and other procedures relative to planning permission application. Schedule 3 development also concerns water.

This Order grants, subject to certain conditions, planning permission for certain classes of development under Part 3 of the Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011. Conditions are prescribed in part by regulations 55 and 56 of the Conservation (Natural Habitats, etc) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995 and for, among others, so-called EIA development, certain waterworks and development to be carried out on land which is within or affects: (i) a conservation area; (ii) a National Park; (iii) a nature reserve; (iv) an area of outstanding natural beauty.

The main purpose of this Order is to grant planning permission for certain classes of development without the requirement for a planning application to be made under Part 3 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. Schedule 2 to this Order sets out these classes of development in detail.

These Regulations designate a coastal area consisting of land and marine waters as a Special Protection Area in accordance with Article 4 of Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Conservation of Wild Birds. The purpose is to ensure protection from disturbance, capture and damage to nests and eggs under Article 5 of the Directive for all species of birds, not just the birds listed on Schedule 3 (with the exception of those birds covered under Articles 7 for hunting and 9, where derogations are listed).

This Act makes provision for land use planning and regulates the subdivision of land.

The Act provides the framework for Conservation Authorities. The Authorities are bodies corporate for the purposes of establishing and undertaking, within their respective jurisdictions, a program designed to further the conservation, restoration, development and management of natural resources other than gas, oil, coal and minerals (sect. 19). The Authorities are based on watershed boundaries and have the following powers: preparing watershed programmes; data collection; acquiring, leasing and expropriating land; erecting works and structures (sect. 20).

The purpose of this Act is to prevent potential danger or injury to public health and environment due to soil contamination and to properly maintain and preserve soil including purifying the contaminated soil to conserve the soil ecosystem, etc. This Act shall not apply to soil contamination caused by radioactive materials.The Minister of Environment shall formulate and enforce a basic plan for soil conservation every 10 years and shall include matters listed in article 4.

This Act, among other things, recognizes the Minerals Management Board as established by section 214 of the Constitution and provides rules relative to exploration and exploitation of minerals in Swaziland. The Act defines functions and powers of the Board, establishes an office of the Commissioner of Mines and defines functions of the Commissioner of Mines. A distinction is made between small-scale and large-scale operations for the purposes of this Act.

The main objects of the Act are: (a) to provide for the recognition and protection of native title; (b) to establish ways in which the future dealings affecting native title may proceed and to set standards for those dealings; (c) to establish a mechanism for determining claims to native title; and (d) to provide for, or permit, the validation of past acts invalidated because of the existence of native title (sect. 3).The text of the Act consists of 253 sections, preceded by a preamble and divided into 15 Parts.

The Government may declare any area as a protected watershed area and the Watershed Conservation Officer may take within the area the measures established by the present Act for the purpose of soil and watershed conservation (e.g. construction and maintenance of waterworks, afforestation, planting of grasses or other vegetation, protection of forests, cultivation of crops and fruits, maintenance of the fertility of the soil, etc.).

The objective of this Act is to ensure that the use of land and water areas and building activities on them create preconditions for a favourable living environment and promote ecologically, economically, socially and culturally sustainable development. The Act also aims to ensure that everyone has the right to participate in the preparation process, and that planning is high quality and interactive, that expertise is comprehensive and that there is open provision of information on matters being processed. Objectives in land use planning are set out in section 5.

The object of this Act is to promote soil and water conservation by preventing erosion and thus conserving and improving the use of the State’s land and water resources.