BACKGROUND Tunisia's environmental policy aims to preserve the ecological balance, safeguard natural and human resources, and control all forms of pollution. It also seeks to reconcile development needs with environmental imperatives in order to protect natural elements (air, water, soil, and biodiversity), reduce existing risks to such resources, and improve the living conditions of the population. All these objectives are included in a national strategy for sustainable development in compliance with the principles of the 1992 Rio Conference. A long-term strategy and an action plan have been put into force through the creation, or reinforcement of tools in the financial, institutional, legal and technological fields as such tools are essential for ensuring a rational and sustainable management of the environment. In addition to this long-term action, several campaigns have been organized with civil society to sensitize public opinion and particularly the young, to the problems of nature and environment protection.  INSTITUTIONS There is a diversity of institutions in Tunisia in charge of the environment. They are led by the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development, which is responsible for the conception, and implementation of a national policy of environment protection. The institutions under the Ministry's supervision are five: National Office of Sanitation (ONAS) It was established in 1974 to combat pollution and protect water resources. Its task is to contribute to improving the conditions of hygiene and health in urban, tourist, and industrial environments. Visit the ONAS website National Environment Protection Agency (ANPE) Established in 1988, ANPE is a specialized body to control pollution particularly of industrial origin. It has a dual mission: to study and monitor the state of the environment in the country, with the aim of eliminating all sources of degradation of the natural environment and the quality of life. In this framework, it approves the environmental impact studies of major projects, More recently it has been assigned to supervise the national program of solid wastes management (PRONAGDES). Visit the ANPE website National Agency for Coastal Protection (APAL) Established in 1995 following the recommendations of the MED 21 Conference, APAL is responsible for protecting the sea-coast space and improving its utilization as well as its organization, preventing abuses that could harm the coastal environment particularly in the marine public domain, and conducting studies on the rehabilitation and protection of sensitive and humid areas. Visit the APAL website Tunis International Center for Environment Technologies (CITET) Established in 1996 within the framework of the recommendations made by the Rio de Janeiro Conference, CITET has been assigned the task of promoting environmental learning, knowledge and technologies, working for the transfer of such technologies from the North to the South and adapting them to local conditions with a view to ensuring their South to South transfer, as part of a triangular partnership. Visit the CITET website National Agency for Energy Management (ANME) Attached to the Ministry of the Industry, Energy and Small and Medium Entreprises, ANME is responsible for conceiving and implementing strategies for the promotion of renewable energies. Visit the ANME website National Sustainable Development Commission (CNDD) Established in 1993 within the framework of the follow-up of the Rio de Janeiro Summit, the CNDD complemented the institutional mechanism put in place to protect the Environment in Tunisia. Its mission is to ensure the integration of the Environment into development and to promote the approach of sustainable development in all national development plans. It provides a consultation forum for the different national actors working for economic and social development. Chaired by the Prime Minister, the CNDD is comprised of twenty members: most members of the government, two members of Parliament, a representative of the Tunisian Union for Industry, Commerce and Crafts, a representative of the General Union of Tunisian Labor, and a representative of the National Union of Tunisian Women as well as two representatives of environmental protection non-governmental organizations. The CNDD is supported by a technical committee chaired by the Minister of the Environment and Land Use Planning, and composed of representatives of relevant Ministries, experts, specialized bodies, research institutes, and NGOs. The National Agency of Environment Protection serves as Secretariat to the CNDD.