Chapter 12: State & Local Resource Management

Every person has the right to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being, and to have the environment protected, for the benefit of present and future generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures that—

1. prevent pollution and ecological degradation;

2. promote conservation; and

3. secure ecologically sustainable development and use of natural resources while promoting justifiable economic and social development.

The principles of sustainable development, inter-generational equity, the precautionary principle, and the public trust doctrine, as embodied in international instruments including the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development and the Stockholm Declaration on the Human Environment, shall guide the interpretation and implementation of this Article and all state policy.

The State is the trustee of all natural resources, including the air, water, sea, forests, fauna and flora, and the nation’s biodiversity and mineral resources, on behalf of the People.

As trustee, the State has a constitutional duty to protect, preserve, and sustainably manage these resources in a manner that ensures their conservation for future generations and promotes equitable access and benefit for all citizens

This duty shall be fulfilled in accordance with the principles of public trust, which require that such resources are not alienated or exploited in a manner that permanently impairs their ecological integrity or the public’s interest therein, except under the most exceptional circumstances and subject to rigorous prior scrutiny as provided by law.

Any international bilateral or multilateral trade, investment, or development agreement entered into by the Executive that concerns, affects, or relates to the exploitation, management, or conservation of Sri Lanka’s natural resources, shall be subject to the following conditions:

1. The full text of the proposed agreement, along with a comprehensive statement of its environmental, social, and economic implications prepared by an independent panel of experts, shall be tabled in Parliament at least four months prior to its intended signing;

2. The agreement shall be referred to the relevant Sectoral Oversight Committee of Parliament and to the Conference of Chief Ministers established under Article 167 for review and recommendation; and

3. The agreement shall be approved by a resolution of Parliament before it is signed or ratified

No such agreement shall contain clauses that preclude the State from enacting subsequent legislation for the enhanced protection of the environment, public health, or the sustainable management of resources.