Regulatory framework
An Act to promote the conservation and maintenance of the environment in the interest of health, for proper sanitation in matters of food and drinks and generally, for the provision and control of services, activities and other matters connected therewith or incidental there to.
An Act to establish the ministry of the enviroment to oversee the integrity of the enviroment of the bahamas, to make the minister responsable therefor a corpotation sole, to establish the enviromental administration fund and the enviromental trust fund and matter connected there to.
LINK
An Act to regulate the construction, alteration and repair of buildings, to provide for the re-instatement or removal of dangerous or dilapidated buildings, to authorise the publication of a building code and for purposes connected therewith.
The Water and Sewerage Corporation Law is a law to establish a Water and Sewerage Corporation for the granting and control of water rights, the protection of water resources, the regulation of the extraction, use and supply of water, wastewater disposal and for related purposes.
An Act to establish the department of environmental planning and protection; to provide for the prevention or control of pollution, the regulation of activities, and the administration, conservation and sustainable use of the environment; and for connected purposes
An Act to prohibit single use plastic food ware and non-biodegradable, oxo-biodegradable and biodegradable single use plastic bags; prohibit the release of balloons; regulate the use of compostable single use plastic
This Act establishes the Bahamas Agricultural Health and Food Safety Authority as a body corporate and provides with respect to its functions, powers and its administration. The Authority shall act as a regulatory body to provide for more efficient, effective, transparent and coordinated administration of matters dealing with food safety, animal and plant health. The Authority shall be responsible for overseeing the administration and enforcement of- (a) the Food Safety and Quality Act, 2016; (b) the Animal Health and Production Act, 2016; and (e) the Plant Protection Act, 2016. The Authority shall be guided by principles of the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement).
Institutional Framework
On July 14, 1976, the Water & Sewerage Corporation (W&SC) was created by the Government to manage the water supply of The Bahamas. It is responsible for the control, protection and use of the water supply throughout the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. Additionally, to help meet growing demand, barge transportation was introduced as an innovative means of supplying water to New Providence from the Andros well fields.
Vision Statement: The optimal level of health and well-being of all residents of The Bahamas is supported by a climate change and health projects department.
To plan and produce quality services that protect, improve, provide and maintain the physical infrastructure and natural environment of The Bahamas for its residents and visitors, serving its client agencies.
The mandate of the Ministry is to implement, supervise, review and evaluate its policies and work programs for the development of the Departments of Agriculture, Marine Resources and Cooperative Development in order to ensure compliance with the general goals and objectives of the Government.
The Bahamas Agricultural Health and Food Safety Authority (BAHFSA) serves as the regulatory body to providing for a more efficient, effective, transparent and coordinated administration of matters dealing with food safety, animal and plant health. Established in 2016, it is responsible for providing a framework to ensure that there is harmonization among public sector agencies in order to attain the highest levels of food safety and protection of animal and plant health. The Authority takes the lead in coordinating and harmonizing:
Food safety activities at all stages of the production, manufacture, and distribution of food;Animal Health; and Plant Protection
The Bahamas has a serious water pollution problem. New Providence is the most populated island in the Bahamas and uses about eleven million gallons of groundwater per day. New Providences water loss is estimated at fifty-three percent. Rainwater is rarely used because it supplies only three percent of the water. The population of the Bahamas is currently 399,928. Its government is a parliamentary democracy.The main crops grown in the Bahamas are okra, onions and tomatoes. The crops that the Bahamas exports are grapefruit, oranges and cucumber.The Bahamas is at great risk from natural disasters such as floods, hurricanes and tropical storms.Agriculture does not have an impact on New Providence because the demand for water for irrigation is negligible. Agriculture does not have an impact because of the humid temperatures and because the Bahamas has a huge water pollution problem.
Bahamas
Links of interest:
The Bahamas has not been able to meet the water demand of its population since the 1970s. Total water withdrawals were thirty-one million in 2013. The Bahamas does not have large bodies of fresh water to meet water needs. They rely on freshwater lenses. A freshwater lens is a convex layer of fresh groundwater floating on top of dense saltwater; however, in the Bahamas, these sources have become contaminated due to septic tanks, soakaways, and pit latrines. Freshwater is very vulnerable and surface freshwater is non-existent.
to meet your water needs. They depend on freshwater lenses.