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Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic

Constitution of the Dominican Republic (2010)

Title I, Chapter IV, Article 15:

“Water constitutes an inalienable, imprescriptible strategic national patrimony for the use of the public that is not subject to seizure and is essential for life. Human consumption of water takes priority over any other use. The State shall promote the planning and implementation of effective policies for the protection of the water resources of the Nation.”

Title II, Chapter I, Section IV, Article 61(1):

“All persons have the right to integral health. Consequently:

1. The State should safeguard the protection of the health of all persons, access to potable water, improvement of nutrition, sanitation services, hygienic conditions, environmental cleanliness, as well as procure means for the prevention and treatment of all sicknesses, ensuring access to quality medication and giving medical and hospital assistance for free to those who need it.”

Title II, Chapter I, Section IV, Article 67:

“Preventing contamination, protecting and maintaining the environment for the enjoyment of present and future generations constitute duties of the State. Consequently:

1. All people have the right, both individually and collectively, to the use and sustainable enjoyment of natural resources, to live in an environment that is healthy, ecologically balanced, and adequate for the development and preservation of the different forms of life, scenery and nature.

2. The introduction, development, production, tenancy, commercialization, transportation, storage, and use of chemical, biological, nuclear, and agro-chemical weapons that are internationally banned is prohibited, as well as nuclear residues and toxic and dangerous waste.

3. The State shall promote, in the public and private sector, the use of alternative and non-contaminating technologies and energies.

4. In the contracts made by the State or in the permits that it grants that involve the use and exploitation of natural resources, it shall include consideration of the obligation to conserve the ecological equilibrium, the access to technology and its transference, as well as to reestablish the environment to its natural state, if it were to be changed.

5. The public powers shall prevent and control the factors of environmental deterioration, shall impose legal sanctions, the objective responsibility for damages caused to the environment and to natural resources, and shall demand their repair. Additionally, they shall cooperate with other nations in the protection of ecosystems for the length of the marine and land borders.”