This Act makes provisions for the orderly and progressive development of land in urban and rural areas and to preserve and improve the amenities thereof and for the grant of permission to develop land and for other powers of control over the use of land in Dominica.

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification entered into force in 1996 and has been ratified by the 33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. It is the only binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable soil management.

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was adopted at the Earth Summit in 1992 and has been ratified by all  33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer entered into force in September 1988 and has ratified by the 33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.

The convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), in force since 1983, is the only global convention focussed on the conservation of migratory species, their habitats and their migration routes.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), in force since 1975, aims to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not constitute a threat to their survival.