Environmental Law

Purpose and scope

• Aims to protect, develop and sustain the environment and to regulate the sector (Article 2); no activity with an environmental impact may be carried on without a permit or licence (Article 3).

Key rules, rights and obligations

• Anything that pollutes or harms environmental media and water resources is prohibited (Article 6), as is exploiting, moving or selling natural resources without a licence (Article 7).
• Discharging or injecting wastewater into groundwater wells or any environmental medium without a licence is prohibited (Article 11), and a permit is needed before extracting sand, gravel or rock (Article 14).
• Forest, rangeland and national park land may not be owned or encroached on (Article 12), and harming vegetation cover is prohibited (Article 19).
• Producing, moving or selling local firewood or charcoal without a licence is prohibited (Article 20), and wildlife may not be killed or hunted except under licence (Articles 26 and 27).
• Harming the marine and coastal environment (Article 21) and protected areas (Article 32) is prohibited.

Violations, penalties and common problems

• General penalties: a fine of up to twenty million riyals, suspension of the licence for up to six months, or cancellation (Article 38).
• Serious acts, such as discharging untreated wastewater, and repeating certain acts within a year: up to ten years' imprisonment and a fine of up to thirty million riyals, or either (Articles 35 and 40).
• The violator must remove the effects, rehabilitate the site and pay compensation (Article 43).
• Common problems: firewood cutting and overgrazing, and discharging wastewater without a licence.

Procedures and key deadlines

• The competent authority imposes fines of up to one hundred thousand riyals under the violations tables (Article 39).
• The Public Prosecution investigates serious violations, which the competent court hears and may order confiscation (Articles 41 and 42).

An advisory summary prepared by Al-Bayan Al-Wadih Law Firm. It is not an official text and does not replace the law, its implementing regulations, or advice from a specialised lawyer. The official published text and its amendments prevail.