This Act provides for the effective organization and management of disasters and other emergencies in Barbados. It ensures the public is informed in cases of hazard, disaster or emergency and establishes public participation provisions on policies and programmes, among others.

The Constitution of Barbados ensures access to information and participation within the framework of the freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly and association. It also provides constitutional guarantees in case the aforementioned rights are infringed.

This Act provides for the more effective management of the coastal resources of Barbados, for the conservation and enhancement of those resources and for matters related thereto.

The Act makes provision for the orderly and progressive development of land in both urban and rural areas and to preserve and for the grant of permission to develop land in Barbados.