Bill on minimum environmental standards for the protection of wetlands

On March 2, 2022, more than 30 representatives from the ruling party, supported by the Argentine Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, submitted for consideration of the House of Representatives of the Argentine Congress a bill to establish the environmental protection minimum standards for the preservation, restoration and rational and sustainable use of wetlands throughout the Nation's territory (the "Bill").

 

The Bill includes the unified opinion that was approved by the Commission on Natural Resources and Conservation of Human Environment of the House of Representatives of the Argentine Congress on November 20, 2020, as well as other bills that had been approved by the Senate during 2013 and 2016.

 

The general objectives of the Bill are (i) to establish criteria for the management, preservation and rational and sustainable use of wetlands, (ii) to implement the necessary measures to discourage inappropriate activities and bad practices that significantly affect the ecological integrity of wetlands, (iii) to contribute to the maintenance of hydrological regimes to ensure access and provision of safe water and the maintenance of ecosystems, among others.

 

Some of the highlights of the Bill are summarized below.

 

Definition of wetlands

 

The Bill defines wetlands as those environments in which the temporary or permanent presence of surface or subsurface water causes biogeochemical flows that are autonomous and different from those of earthly and aquatic environments. The presence of biota adapted to these conditions, hydrophytic plants and/or hydric soils or substrates with hydromorphic features are distinctive characteristics of these environments.

 

Territory environmental planning (“OAT”, after its Spanish acronym)

 

The Bill provides for the incorporation of wetlands within the OAT proceedings under the General Environmental Law No. 25,675. To this end, within a maximum term of two (2) years, each jurisdiction must incorporate their wetlands within the OAT proceedings based on the criteria of rational management and sustainable use for each of the country's regions.

 

National Wetland Inventory

 

The Bill creates the National Wetland Inventory (the “Inventory”), which will be led by the national enforcement authority with the participation of technical teams, scientific and management bodies and local authorities. The Inventory must consider at least four spatial scales: wetland regions (level 1); wetland landscape systems (tier 2); wetland landscape units (level 3); and wetland units (level 4).

Levels 1, 2 and 3 of the Inventory must be completed within a period not exceeding three (3) years from the entry into force of the Bill. With respect to level 4, the national enforcement authority must set a reasonable term. The Inventory must be updated at most every five (5) years.

 

Development of activities

 

During the period that elapses between the Bill is passed and the inclusion of the wetlands within the OAT, there will be a ban on the execution of new activities or the expansion of existing activities in the wetlands and those that are presumed to be such.

 

The Bill also prohibits any intervention in the wetlands without the prior approval of the respective environmental impact assessment by the competent authority. For such purposes, the following processes and/or activities must be considered among others: (i) the impact on forest masses that are components of the wetland; (ii) soil movement whatever its purpose; (iii) the discharge of effluents or waste; (iv) modification of watercourses; (v) activities that involve monocultures, intensive crops and/or industrial agriculture; (vi) mining and hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation (including fracking).

 

In the event that two or more projects are submitted in the same environment, the competent provincial authorities must carry out a strategic environmental impact assessment considering the cumulative and/or synergistic effects.

 

The Bill expressly prohibits the release or disposal of polluting substances, chemical products or waste of any nature and origin, as well as any intervention that negatively affects the provision of ecosystem services to society and its ecological integrity.

 

Rational management and sustainable use plan

 

Individuals or legal persons, both public or private, that request authorization to use wetlands must subject their activity to a rational management and sustainable use plan, which must be approved by the competent authority of each jurisdiction.

 

In case of proven environmental damage that is causally related to false statements or omissions on the information included in the rational management and sustainable use plans, the persons who have signed the referred studies shall be jointly and severally liable together with the persons holding the authorization.

 

National Program for Wetland Conservation

 

The Bill creates the National Program for Wetland Conservation, whose elaboration and implementation will be coordinated by the national enforcement authority with the participation of the enforcement authorities of all jurisdictions within the Federal Environment Council (COFEMA, after its Spanish acronym).

 

Wetlands Advisory Council

 

The Bill also creates the Wetlands Advisory Council as an instance for the exchange of ideas, experiences and proposals, nd for the monitoring and assessment of situations and results in all matters related to the purposes of the Law.

 

Wetlands National Fund

 

Lastly, the Bill creates the Wetlands National Fund, intended to finance the objectives of the National Program for Wetland Conservation as well as other purposes listed in the Bill, such as the acquisition of goods and services necessary to fulfill the objectives of the Law, compensation to the jurisdictions that conserve their wetlands for the ecosystem services they provide, and the implementation of monitoring networks and wetland information systems, among others.

 

Currently the Bill is discussed in the House of Representatives of the Argentine Congress.