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5.2 Office of the Vice-PresidentThe Vice-Presidents‟ office now consists of two line divisions, one for union mattersand one for the environment, the division of environment having the overallresponsibility for national and international matters related to environmentalconservation and management. Also referred to as the Department or Division ofEnvironment (DoE), it concerns itself with overall environmental policy andregulation, formulation, coordination and monitoring of environmental policyimplementation in the country.It is divided into three subject areas: Environmental Natural Habitats Conservation,Environmental Management of Pollution, and Environmental Impact.The policy which is currently used and towards which the DoE works, is the 1997National Environmental Policy, which calls for the countries adaptation of“environmentally sustainable natural resource management practices in order toensure that long term sustainable economic growth is achieved” (Mniwasa and Shauri2001, p.4.). Also stressing decentralisation, the National Environmental Policy aimsto promote individual and community participation in environmental action, andpoints out that local communities also have the responsibility of environmentalmanagement and should plan and implement programmes and projects that reflecttheir needs as well as foster sustainable resource utilisation (Ibid.). In addition, thelegal and institutional framework for environmental management which the DoEfollows is provided for in the Environmental Management Act of 2004. This act,repeals the National Environmental Management Act of 1983, and outlines theprinciples for management, impact and risk assessment, prevention and control ofpollution, waste management and environmental quality standards. It also sets theguidelines for public participation, compliance and enforcement within environmentalmanagement. In terms of institutional framework, it provides for the continuedexistence of a National Environment Management Council (NEMC), and theestablishment of a National Environmental Trust Fund (LEAD Journal 2007).NEMC, which lies under the Vice-Presidents Office, was originally establishedtogether with the Environmental Management Act (EMA) of 1983, and functionedsolely as an advisory agency to national environmental issues; however it was re-86