The following words and phrases - wherever they appear in this Regulation - shall have the meanings set forth before each of them, unless the context requires otherwise:

Law: Environmental Law.

Regulations: Implementing Regulations of the Law.

Regulation: Implementing Regulation for Environmental Service Providers.

Ministry: Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture.

Minister: Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture.

Competent Authority: The Ministry, or any of the relevant centers, as determined by the Regulations.

Supervisory Authority: Any government entity authorized by law to supervise a developmental sector, and is responsible for issuing licenses to conduct activities subject to its supervision.

Relevant Center: National Center for Environmental Compliance, or National Center for Wildlife, or National Center for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification, each according to its jurisdiction.

Person: Any natural or legal person, whether public or private.

Activity: Any project, industrial, commercial, or service facility, or works, or any other activities expected to have environmental impacts.

License: A document issued by the competent authority to a person granting permission to conduct an environmental activity.

Licensee: A person who has obtained the license.

Permit: A document issued by the competent authority to a person before commencing any activity that has an environmental impact.

Permit Holder: A person who has obtained the permit.

Environmental Sector: Includes environmental media, activities, and programs related to it, aimed at ensuring the protection and safety of the environment, and developing environmental media to ensure its sustainability and protection from any source of pollution.

Environmental Impact: Any negative or positive change affecting the environment as a result of conducting any activity.

Environmental Considerations: All that must be taken into account - when planning any project - of systems, decisions, strategies, and environmental programs.

Environmental Audit Study: A study that includes the results of an objective, organized, periodic, and documented examination of the operational processes of a specific facility, conducted after the establishment or during the operation of the facility, to verify its compliance with environmental requirements, controls, standards, and criteria, and to improve the environmental performance of the facility, and its adherence to the provisions of the Law, Regulations, license, and permit.

Strategic Environmental Assessment Study: A study to identify, estimate, and evaluate the environmental impacts that may result from policies, strategies, plans, and programs at the sectoral and regional levels proposed by government entities for allocation to a developmental or human sector, to include all environmental considerations, and to integrate them in parallel with economic and social considerations.

Environmental Impact Assessment Study: A study to identify, estimate, and evaluate the environmental impacts that may result from the establishment of any project or activity, or its operation, modification, or removal, to include all environmental considerations and integrate them in parallel with economic, social, and security considerations, and to identify the necessary alternatives and measures to protect the environment.

Environmental Services: Environmental works provided in the form of services.

Service Providers: The person licensed by the relevant center to provide environmental services.

Environmental Field Surveys: Field and laboratory studies and research, including descriptive and varied statistics for all environmental standards, criteria, and indicators, as well as any other economic and social criteria.

The provisions of the Regulation apply to all providers of environmental services.

The specialized center is responsible for carrying out the following tasks:

1- Approving the rules and conditions for classifying environmental services.

2- Classifying environmental services and reviewing their classification in accordance with Article (4) of the Regulation and issuing updated lists of this classification.

3- Approving the rules and conditions for classifying providers of environmental services.

4- Approving the rules and conditions related to the licensing of service providers.

5- Issuing and renewing licenses for service providers, including their classification, and approving their registration with any amendments to their classification and fulfilling the financial obligations related to it.

6- Inspecting, monitoring, and supervising service providers regarding performance levels, quality of services provided, and accuracy of studies, reports, and plans prepared by them.

7- Publishing a list of licensed service providers, their classifications, and the types of services they offer.

8- Inspecting, monitoring, and documenting violations of this Regulation, investigating them, and coordinating with the relevant security authority at the Ministry of Interior when necessary regarding the enforcement actions against violators.

9- Coordinating with other specialized centers whenever the service provided relates to the competencies or authorities of any of these centers.

10- Professional accreditation for workers in the environmental sector based on the rules, conditions, and requirements set by the specialized center.

11- Identifying the types of environmental services that require the provider to obtain a license, and establishing the rules, conditions, and requirements related to them.

12- Organizing the rules and conditions for handling objections to the decisions of the specialized center regarding licensing procedures.

Environmental services are classified according to the following types:

1- Environmental studies and consulting services.

2- Preparation of environmental plans such as environmental management plans and remediation and rehabilitation plans.

3- Environmental training and capacity building services.

4- Environmental inspection and revision services.

5- Monitoring and surveillance of environmental quality and pollution sources.

6- Management, installation, maintenance, and operation of environmental monitoring networks.

7- Implementation of remediation and rehabilitation plans.

8- Management of protected areas.

9- Management and development of pastures, forests, and national parks.

10- Nurseries for wild plants that are not used as agricultural crops.

11- Conducting laboratory analyses.

12- Responding to environmental emergencies and assessing environmental damage at the site of occurrence.

13- Floating and dismantling ships within the jurisdiction of the relevant center.

14- Any other types of environmental services specified by the relevant center.

• 1- The competent center issues a mechanism for classifying service providers, including the number and requirements of classification levels according to each type of service.

• 2- The competent center bases the classification of service providers on the following criteria:

  • A- Classification of the types of environmental services provided, and the ability of service providers to deliver the classified services.

  • B- The number of technical staff at the service provider and their academic qualifications and experiences.

  • C- The quality of technical performance of the service provider in the projects they have executed according to the evaluation mechanism approved by the competent center.

  • D- The record of violations of the service provider.

  • E- Any other relevant considerations that the competent center deems necessary to take into account.

• 1- All individuals must obtain a License from the relevant center before providing any environmental services.

• 2- The License shall not be granted to anyone who has been subjected to any legal penalty related to breach of trust and honor, and the License shall be revoked if it was issued prior to the penalty.

• 3- Any applicant for a License to provide environmental services must submit a request to the relevant center in accordance with the form issued by the relevant center, accompanied by the data and documents specified by the relevant center, which include, but are not limited to:

  • A- A statement of the technical staff at the service provider, including consultants, experts, specialists, and technicians, detailing their numbers, the date each began working in their field of specialization, and their accredited academic and professional qualifications certified by the relevant authorities in the Kingdom.

  • B- A statement of the projects mentioned in the experience certificates of the service provider.

  • C- A copy of the Commercial Register certificate and a copy of the Zakat certificate, along with the documents and papers specified by the relevant center.

• 4- The relevant center may request additional data and documents.

• 5- The relevant center determines the financial fee for the License and the mechanism for its collection.

• 6- The relevant center reviews the License application and issues its decision, including the type of services provided by the service provider and its classification category, within (20) working days starting from the date all License requirements are met.

• 7- The relevant center may extend the period for issuing its decision for an additional period not exceeding (10) working days.

• 8- The License is issued including the conditions set by the relevant center and is valid for (3) years.

• 9- The relevant center attaches to the License a certificate from the environmental service provider that lists the type of services provided by the service provider and its classification category.

• 10- In the event of a License application rejection, the rejection must be justified.

• 11- A request for License renewal must be submitted at least (3) months before the expiration date of its validity.

• 12- If the relevant center approves the License renewal, its effective date shall be from the expiration of the previous License.

• 13- The relevant center may reject the renewal request and remove the service provider's name from its list of service providers, provided that the rejection is justified.

1- Service providers may request an upgrade of their classification category by submitting a claim to the relevant center, provided that the service provider meets the requirements and conditions of the targeted category.

2- Service providers may request to modify (add or delete) the types of services they provide.

3- The service provider must attach all necessary data and documents to support the claim, and the relevant center may request additional data and documents.

4- The relevant center shall review the modification requests and issue its decision within (15) working days starting from the date the claim is submitted, provided that all requirements are met.

5- The modification shall take effect from the date of approval by the relevant center and the payment of the specified financial fee.

6- The relevant center may reclassify the service provider's category at any time if it becomes evident that the requirements and conditions for the classification of the category to which they belong are not met.

7- The relevant center may modify (add or delete) the types of services that the service provider is allowed to offer at any time if it becomes evident that the necessary requirements and conditions for those services are not met.

8- The relevant center shall replace the environmental service provider's certificate in the event of any modification to the classification category or the types of services that the environmental service provider is allowed to offer.

9- Service providers must notify their clients of any modification that occurs regarding the types of services that the relevant center allows them to provide or their classification category.

• 1- The competent center shall serve as a register for the registration and classification of licensed service providers, which shall include the following:

  • A- The name, Commercial Register, and organizational structure of the service provider.

  • B- The classification category to which it belongs.

  • C- The types of services provided by the service provider according to specialization and expertise.

  • D- The results of the evaluation of the performance and quality of the environmental services provided.

  • E- The violations recorded against the service providers during the license period.

• 2- The competent center shall publish on its website an updated list of licensed service providers, their classifications, and the types of services provided by each of them.

• 3- The competent center shall review and amend the registration in the aforementioned register upon any change in the basic data it specifies.

Environmental service providers are obligated to comply with the following:

1- To provide services of high quality and in a meticulous manner according to the best scientific methods and modern techniques.

2- To utilize competent specialists with experience in carrying out the work, in accordance with the classification category of the service provider specified by the relevant authority.

3- All entities operating in the field of environmental services must adhere to all laws, decisions, regulations, conditions, requirements, and environmental standards.

4- To exercise due diligence to ensure the accuracy and validity of the data, results, analyses, and recommendations presented in their studies.

5- All environmental consultations, studies, reports, research, and data, including the results of analyses, tests, technical surveys, and others, must be characterized by objectivity, accuracy, neutrality, and scientific integrity, and must avoid concealing any outputs that may result in environmental or economic harm or using phrases or terms that do not clarify the true expected level of environmental and economic damages for any of the activities.

6- To comply with the controls and conditions of the licenses issued to them according to their classification categories.

7- To provide all their services in accordance with the controls, conditions, classification categories, and standards specified by the relevant authority.

8- To notify the relevant authority of any changes in the number of specialists, their qualifications, or their experiences, and any data that affects the types of services provided or the classification, registration, or record of the service provider.

9- If at any time the relevant authority determines that any of the documents, data, or documents submitted by the license applicant for obtaining a new license or renewing an existing license are incorrect, forged, or fabricated, the authority has the right to revoke the license, without prejudice to the enforcement of violations and imposition of penalties on violators and the claim for compensation for any damage resulting from that, and the license applicant has the right to appeal according to the law.

10- To declare any conflict of interest and to take all necessary and required actions to prevent such occurrences.

Service providers are subject to supervision and evaluation by the relevant center, and the center has the right to examine and assess the validity, accuracy, and impartiality of the studies, reports, research, and data prepared by the service provider at any time, whether the project is under study, in execution, or after its completion. The service provider bears full responsibility for the studies, reports, research, and data it prepares. For this purpose, the center may undertake the following:

A- Inventorying the records and documents related to the service providers.

B- Obtaining the relevant data that the relevant center deems necessary for performance evaluation.

C- Conducting field visits to verify the technical and scientific competence and capability of the service providers.

D- Other related procedures that the relevant center deems necessary to activate the elements of supervision and evaluation of the performance of service providers.