The Environment Management (Amendment) Act 2025 was passed by Fiji's Parliament on 1 December 2025.
This legislative overhaul marks a significant step towards modernising Fiji's environmental governance and strengthening the implementation of the Environment Management Act (EMA) 2005.
In a our previous article here we set out the effects of the amendment, and what follows is a brief summary of the key changes and continuities resulting from the Amendment Act.
The Environment Management Act 2005 (EMA) is the bedrock of Fiji’s environmental law framework. The EMA applies to all of Fiji, including its extensive coastlines, nearshore areas, and ocean areas. This impressive environmental legislation has achieved many things for Fiji, including the introduction of the Polluter Pays Principle and the Precautionary Approach, alongside decision-making tools like mandatory Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs). There have been notable successes in the enforcement of environmental standards, as demonstrated by landmark court cases upholding its authority against companies that have breached its provisions, that notably include the oil giant TOTAL.
Currently (as of November 2025), the Environment Management (Amendment) Bill 2025 (Bill No. 39 of 2025) is before Parliament. If the Bill is passed by Parliament, this legislation will mark the first major overhaul of the EMA since its introduction, fundamentally reshaping how environmental regulation is administered. This Bill aims to modernise the legal framework, support digitalisation projects, and centralise environmental control under the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MECC).
This article briefly sets out what will change if the Bill is passed into law as currently drafted, providing clarity on how the new centralised structure will affect the implementation of the EMA, environmental project approvals, and enforcement actions across Fiji. We also clarify what will remain the same.