President Dr Mohamed Muizzu on Tuesday renamed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to the Environmental Regulatory Authority.
According to the President’s Office, the institution will now operate directly under the Ministry of Tourism and Environment, moving away from its previous oversight by a governing board.
This restructuring is designed to reflect the primary responsibilities of the institution more accurately while enhancing its capacity to regulate the environment effectively, it said.
The Ministry of Tourism and Environment said it along with the Civil Service Commission (CSC) has already initiated the transition process to ensure uninterrupted delivery of the agency’s services.
The move came shortly after the government relaxed the relevant regulation to facilitate the expeditation of the legally mandated Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for priority infrastructure development projects.
The amendment enables priority projects designated by the Cabinet or Cabinet committee to follow an expedited EIA process.
The Ministry has assured that despite the amended regulation, all environmental safeguards will remain in place, with the Minister of Tourism and Environment empowered to direct measures for swifter processing where possible under a 42-month moratorium granted by the amendment.
The renaming of EPA to ERA coupled with the regulatory and procedural reforms are aimed at enhancing the efficiency, responsiveness and effectiveness of environmental regulatory processes in the Maldives, the Ministry said.