Agreement (Decision) on Regulations for Waterway Construction Activities in the Lao People's Democratic Republic
关于老挝人民民主共和国境内水道建设活动管理规定的协议（决定）
ຂໍ້ຕົກລົງ ວ່າດ້ວຍລະບຽບການ ກ່ຽວກັບ ການຄຸ້ມຄອງກິດຈະການກໍ່ສ້າງທາງນ້ຳ ຢູ່ໃນ ສປປ ລາວ
Summary
This Guideline, issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Laos on December 17, 2013, pursuant to Article 21 of the Environmental Protection Law (Amended), standardizes the process of preliminary environmental impact studies for all state-owned and private, domestic and foreign investment projects and various business activities nationwide, including project screening, preliminary study reports (ບສຕສ), social and environmental management and monitoring plans (ຜຄຕສ), issuance and supervision of environmental certificates, public participation, responsibilities of state agencies at all levels, and inspection and supervision.
Articles
Article 1
Purpose. This Agreement establishes regulations to manage construction activities on the Mekong River and its tributaries, as well as on various water sources including rivers, streams, creeks, canals, ditches, ponds, lakes, and other large water bodies, ensuring their correct implementation in accordance with relevant laws and regulations and in line with strategic plans approved by the Government; to avoid impacts on riverbanks, ecosystems, and alterations to the natural state of water sources, thereby protecting and preserving water resources nationwide to be abundant and sustainable.
Article 2
Definition of terms. The meanings of the terms in this Regulation are as follows: 1. “Cross-Border Impact Management Committee (ຄປຂທ)” refers to the committee established under the Prime Minister’s Decree No. 181/ນຍ dated September 15, 2008, responsible for managing construction activities along the Mekong River and its related waterways and preventing impacts on riverbanks and ecosystems, divided into central and local levels; 2. “Relevant level of Public Works and Transport Department (ຍທຂ)” refers to the central-level Waterway Public Works Department and the provincial and capital-level Public Works and Transport Offices; 3. “Water sources” refer to the main stream of the Mekong River and its tributaries, as well as other water sources; 4. “Other water sources” refer to rivers, streams, ditches, canals, ponds, lakes, and large reservoirs that are not tributaries of the Mekong River; 5. “Implementation of waterway construction activities” refers to determining investment projects, organizing the execution of various construction works, and establishing the master plan for waterway construction projects, such as: survey, design, construction, repair, restoration, renovation, expansion, modification, addition, demolition, management, inspection, and supervision of waterway construction project works; 6. “Waterway construction project” refers to state-owned or private projects involving construction activities on the water surface, in the water, along riverbanks, along floodplains, islands, along river bends, or river beaches of the Mekong River, its tributaries, and other water sources, such as: bridges, hydropower dams, cargo terminals, passenger terminals, floating docks and access ramps, bank protection and anti-erosion structures, mineral and sand storage yards, navigation channels, navigation towers, as well as hotels, guesthouses, restaurants, floating houses, entertainment venues, and other waterway structures; 7. “Altering the natural state of water sources” refers to human actions that change the riverbanks, riverbeds, water flow direction, and ecosystems of water sources, such as: excavation, scooping, extraction of minerals, sand, and silt, removal of river beaches; augmentation of riverbanks through filling with earth, filling with rocks, dumping waste, constructing platforms, piling, and other changes to the natural state of water sources.
Article 3
Reserved Areas Along Water Source Banks. The reserved areas along the banks of various types of water sources, reserved for the construction of infrastructure such as dikes (flood control dikes, bank protection anti-erosion dikes, bank protection anti-erosion walls), roads, and other public facilities, are delineated according to the type of water source as follows: 1. Along the banks of the Mekong River, at least 30 meters inland from the riverbank; 2. Along the banks of tributaries of the Mekong River and other water sources, at least 20 meters inland from the riverbank.
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