Codifying conservationist principles in staggering detail, government-appointed consultants have drafted a 1,056-article Organic Environmental Code for submission to the National Assembly in June. The measure, billed by its authors as the most ambitious overhaul of environmental laws ever in Latin America, is still in draft form. In fact, the general public remains largely unaware of it. But the business community caught wind of the proposal and is criticizing it for, among other things, granting the executive branch broad discretionary powers over industry and private property. Environmental groups, for their part, appear enthusiastic about the code in theory—but wary about how, and by whom, it would be implemented. Says Javier Colvée, technical consultant for the Audubon Society of Venezuela: “Let’s hope they get... [Log in to read more]