Article 5. Fundamental Principles of the Environmental Legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan

The following shall be the fundamental principles of the environmental legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan:

1) ensuring sustainable development of the Republic of Kazakhstan;

2) ensuring environmental safety;

3) using the ecosystem approach to the regulation of environmental relations;

4) government regulation of environmental protection, and government administration of natural resource use;

5) binding nature of preventive measures as to the prevention of environmental pollution and any other environmental damage whatsoever;

6) unavoidable liability for violations of the environmental legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan;

7) liability to compensate environmental damage;

8) environmental impact subject to special fees and authorisations;

9) applying best environmentally sound and resource-saving technologies in the course of using natural resources and impacting the environment;

10) cooperation, coordination and publicity of the activities of state environmental protection authorities;

11) incentivising nature users to prevent, reduce and eliminate environmental pollution, and to reduce waste;

12) publicly available environmental information;

13) pursuing the national interests in the course of using natural resources and impacting the environment;

14) harmonisation of the environmental legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan with the international law principles and rules; and

15) presuming the environmental hazard of proposed business or other activities, and mandatory assessment of their impact on the environment and human health before making a decision to engage in such activities.

Article 6. Fundamental Provisions of the Government Regulation of Environmental Protection and Government Administration of Natural Resource Use

1. The government regulation of environmental protection shall include:

1) licensing of activities in the area of environmental protection;

2) implementing the environmental regulation;

3) implementing the technical regulation of environmental protection;

4) carrying out the state environmental review;

5) issuing environmental permits;

6) exercising the government environmental control;

7) maintaining a system of economical regulation of environmental protection; encouraging the implementation of best environmentally sound technologies; and maintaining a system of funding environmental protection efforts;

8) exercising the government environmental monitoring;

9) carrying out the government registration of nature users, sources and areas of environmental pollution; and

10) promoting environmental education and awareness-building.

2. The government administration of natural resource use shall include:

1) carrying on the government planning of natural resource use;

2) exercising the government control over the protection, use and reproduction of natural resources;

3) issuing licenses/permits and executing agreements/contracts for natural resource use;

4) securing restoration and reproduction of natural resources and implementation of resource-saving technologies;

5) exercising natural resource monitoring and maintaining natural resource inventory;

6) setting limits and allocating quotas for natural resource use;

7) managing state-owned legal entities involved in the use, restoration or reproduction of natural resources; and

8) organising the protection of natural resources.

Article 7. Objects of Environmental Protection

1. Land, subsoil, surface water and groundwater; air; forests and other vegetation; fauna, and gene pool of living organisms; natural environmental systems, climate and ozone layer of the Earth shall be protected against destruction, degradation, damage, pollution, and other harmful impacts.

2. Specially protected natural areas and national nature reserves shall be subject to special protection.

Article 8. National Nature Reserves

1. The National Nature Reserves mean all environmental objects under the national protection, which have particular ecological, scientific, historical and cultural, and recreational importance as natural models, unique objects and relicts, genetic reserves, or subject matters of scientific research, awareness-building, education, tourism or recreation.

2. National nature reserves shall be as determined by the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan On Specially Protected Natural Areas.

3. Natural nature reserves shall be protected by way of creating specially protected natural areas, and by setting prohibitions and restrictions on the use of environmental objects, which have particular ecological, scientific, historical and cultural, and recreational importance.

Article 9. Specially Protected Natural Areas

1. “Specially protected natural areas” shall be understood to mean areas of land, water bodies, and the air over them, which contain natural complexes and national nature reserves subject to special protection regimes.

2. Types of specially protected areas, the procedure for their creation, types of protection regimes, and the particular features of the management of certain types of specially protected natural areas shall be as determined in the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan On Specially Protected Natural Areas.

Article 10. Definition and Types of Nature Use

1. “Nature use” shall be understood to mean natural resource use and/or environmental impact taking place in everyday human life, and in business and other activities of individuals and legal entities.

2. Nature use shall include general use and special-purpose use.

3. “General nature use” shall be understood to mean using nature continuously and on a free of charge basis to satisfy human’s vital needs, without pre-authorisation of natural resources use.

General nature use may be restricted pursuant to laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

4. “Special-purpose nature use” shall be understood to mean operations of an individual and/or legal entity, who, on a fee basis, uses natural resources and/or produce emissions in accordance with this Code and other laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

5. Types of nature use shall include the following:

1) land use;

2) water use;

3) forest use;

4) subsoil use;

5) wildlife use;

6) vegetation use;

7) producing emissions; and

8) other nature uses as may be determined by laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

6. Specifics of the creation of a right to special-purpose nature use of a particular type shall be determined by laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

7. Special-purpose nature use may combine one or more types of nature use.