Section 2: Interpretation

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires- "acute pollution" means significant pollution that occurs suddenly and demands immediate response to protect human health and the environment; "air quality" means the state of the air, including concentration of pollutants in the atmosphere at the point of measurement; "ambient air" means the outdoor air to which human beings, plants, animals or material are exposed, typically measured near ground level, away from direct sources of pollution but does not include the atmosphere within a structure or within any underground space; "Authority" means the National Environment Management Authority continued under section 8 of this Act; "authorised officer" means an officer of the Authority or any other person authorised to act on behalf of the Authority under this Act; "best available techniques" means the most effective and advanced stage in the development of activities and the methods of operation which indicate the practical suitability of particular techniques for providing the basis for preventing or reducing the negative impact of a project on human health or the environment; "biodiversity offsets" means measurable conservation outcomes resulting from actions designed to compensate for significant residual adverse biodiversity impacts arising from project development and persisting after appropriate prevention and mitigation measures have been implemented; "biological diversity" means the variability among living organisms from all sources, including terrestrial ecosystems, aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part such as diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems; "climate change" means a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods; "critical habitats" means areas with high biodiversity value essential for conservation, including habitats of significant importance to critically endangered or endangered species, habitats of significant importance to endemic or restricted- range species, habitats supporting globally significant concentrations of migratory species or congregation of species, particularly of vulnerable species, highly threatened or unique ecosystems and areas associated with key evolutionary processes; "currency point" has the value assigned to it in Schedule 1 to this Act; "decommissioning" means the process of safely ceasing operations resulting in complete or part removal or substantial change in use of a facility or permanently disposing or abandoning a facility or operation in a manner that is not deleterious to human health or the environment; "developer" means a person who proposes to undertake a new project or to rehabilitate, repair, extend, maintain or operate an existing project with potential effects on the environment; "economic instruments" means policy options that affect costs and benefits of alternative actions by internalising external costs at source, with the effect of influencing behavior in a manner that is favorable to the environment; "ecosystem services" are the direct and indirect economic, social and environmental benefits obtained from the correct functioning of ecosystems, including watershed regulation, maintenance of biodiversity and carbon sequestration, for human well-being; "effluent" means liquid, including agricultural, domestic and industrial wastewater, discharged either treated or untreated, directly or indirectly into the environment; "environment" means- (a) the physical factors of the surroundings of human beings, including land, water, air, atmosphere, climate, sound, odour and taste; (b) the biological factors of animals and plants; and (c) the social factors of aesthetics, health, safety and wellbeing of people, and includes human interaction with both the natural and the built environment; "environment management" includes the protection, conservation and sustainable use of the various elements or components of the environment; "environment officer" includes an officer appointed or employed by a ministry, department, agency of government or local government to perform the functions specified in section 30; "environmental audit" means a systematic, documented, periodic evaluation used to determine how well specified projects or an organisation's management system, facilities and equipment are performing in conserving the environment and its resources and conform to the requirements of this Act and any other applicable law; "environmental emergencies" means sudden on-set disasters or incidents resulting from natural, technological or human- induced factors or a combination of these factors that cause or are likely to cause significant environmental damage or loss of human life and property; "environmental and social assessment" means a procedure that ensures that the environmental and social impacts, risks or other concerns of a given project are taken into account in approving a project for implementation; "environmental and social impact assessment" means an analytical process that systematically examines the likely environmental and social impacts of a proposed project, evaluates alternatives and designs appropriate mitigation, management and monitoring measures, taking into account interrelated socio-economic, cultural and human health impacts, both beneficial and adverse; "environmental inspector" means a person designated as an environmental inspector under section 127; "environmental practitioner" means an environmental auditor or an environmental impact assessor and any person certified and registered by the Authority to conduct environmental and social assessments, studies or environmental audits; "environmental risk assessment" means a systematic process for identifying and estimating the likelihood or probability of an adverse or hazardous outcome or event and its consequence on human health or the environment; "environmental standards" means standards produced or adopted by the Authority in consultation with the Uganda National Bureau of Standards for use in Uganda; "Executive Director" means the Executive Director of the Authority appointed under section 22; "ex situ" means conservation outside the natural habitat of the biological organism; "flaring" means the combustion of hydrocarbons without the application of the resulting heat or gases for any useful purpose; "fragile ecosystem" means important ecosystems, with unique features and resources and include deserts, semi-arid lands, mountains, wetlands, small islands and coastal areas; "genetically modified organism" means an organism or a product consisting of or including such organisms where any of the genes or other genetic material in the organism- (a) have been modified by means of modern biotechnology; or (b) are inherited or otherwise derived, through any number of replications, from genes or other genetic material which were so modified; "genetic resources" means genetic material of actual or potential value; "in situ" means conservation within the natural ecosystem and habitat of the biological organism; "lead agency" means a ministry, department, agency, local government or public officer in which or in whom the functions of control or management of any segment of the environment are vested; "Minister" means the Minister responsible for the environment; "natural beach" means a naturally occurring landform alongside a water body which consists of loose particles, typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, or cobblestones: the particles can also be biological in origin, such as mollusc shells or coralline algae; "operator" means a person executing an activity regulated under this Act or any other entity executing on behalf of one or several persons, the day to day management of the activity; "persistent organic pollutants" means chemical substances that persist in the environment, bio-accumulate through the food web, possess toxic properties and pose a risk of causing adverse effects to human health and the environment and that are transported across international boundaries far from their sources; "plastics" means a synthetic material made from a wide range of organic polymers such as polyethylene that can be moulded into shape while soft and then set into a rigid or slightly elastic form; "pollution" means anything which causes or is likely to cause or aggravate damage or nuisance to human health or the environment including the introduction of solids, liquids or gases into air, water or ground; noise or vibrations; light and other radiation; and effects on temperature; "project" means the execution of construction or renovation work or other developments, installations, schemes, activities or other interventions in the natural surroundings and landscape which may have an impact on human health and the environment; "project brief" means a summary statement of the likely environmental impacts of a proposed project referred to in section 112; "polypropylene" means a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of packaging applications including woven and non-woven bags; polythene" means a synthetic plastic material made up of numerous simple chemicals called ethene or ethylene used in a wide variety of packaging applications; "strategic environmental assessment" means the systematic and comprehensive process of evaluating the likely environmental, health and social consequences of a policy, plan or programme and its alternatives to ensure that these consequences are integrated and appropriately addressed at the earliest stage of decision making with the same importance as economic and other strategic considerations; "sustainable development" means development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs; "sustainable use" means use of environment resources in a way and at a rate that does not lead to long term decline of those resources, thereby maintaining their potential to meet the needs and aspirations of present and future generations; "transboundary movement of waste" means any movement of hazardous or other waste from another country to or through Uganda or from Uganda to another country; "venting" means the release of unburned gases directly into the atmosphere; "urban council" includes city, municipal, division and town council; "waste" means any substance or object which is dumped, abandoned, discarded or disposed of or intended or required by law to be disposed of; "wetlands" means areas permanently or seasonally flooded by water, where plants and animals have become adapted and gazetted as such.