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The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAGFOR) is responsible for formulating, implementing, monitoring and evaluating Nicaragua's agricultural and forestry policy, including the promotion of economic, social, environmental and productive improvement as well as, inter alia, the conservation of the environment and natural resources, including relatively abundant supply of water and biodiversity, while the Food Production Vouchers (BPAs) is an agricultural package composed of a list of items that includes animals, equipment for facilities, seeds, plant material, fruit and forest plants, a revolving line of credit, training and technical assistance in various areas, including the environment

The aim of Law No. 765 of 5 July 2011 on the Promotion of Agro-ecological or Organic Production is to develop agro-ecological or organic production systems by regulating, promoting and boosting production activities, practices and processes that are environmentally, economically, socially and culturally sustainable, help restore and conserve ecosystems, and contribute to sustainable management of the land

Nicaragua also has Law No. 217 of 1996, the General Law on the Environment and Natural Resources, Official Journal of 6 June 1996, which contains provisions requiring the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (MARENA) to determine quotas for the export of threatened species of fauna, game or catches

Any Nicaraguan or foreign natural or legal person may engage in commercial or scientific aquaculture, but approval is subject to the conduct of an environmental impact assessment and to obtaining an environmental permit from the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (MARENA)

Presidential Decree No. 69-2008 approved the National Policy for the Sustainable Development of Nicaragua's Forestry Sector with the aim of, inter alia, formulating and implementing financing mechanisms for the forestry sector such as the development of markets for payment of wood land-related environmental services, including the promotion of reforestation, the creation of forestry plantations and the promotion of sustainable management initiatives for forestry and agroforestry ecosystems in line with Law No. 462, Law on the Conservation, Promotion and Sustainable Development of the Forestry Sector

Law No. 532, Law on the Promotion of Renewable Electricity Generation, published in Official Journal No. 102 of 27 May 2005, lays down incentives for generating projects that draw on the country's renewable energies for the public electricity service in order to broaden public access to energy, especially in rural areas, to generate electricity mainly from renewable sources, and to increase energy savings and efficiencies

Nicaragua has acceded to several international maritime transport conventions, including the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, MARPOL 73/78; International Convention relating to Intervention On the High Seas in Cases of Oil Pollution Casualties 1969; and International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage

Under the National Export Initiative (NEI), the Administration continues to actively pursue implementation work focused, inter alia, on improving trade advocacy and export promotion efforts, and pursuing policies at the global level to promote strong, sustainable, and balanced growth, while on 22 September 2010, the President released his strategy for global development, which contained as one of its three pillars, a policy focused on sustainable development outcomes that places a premium on broad-based economic growth, democratic governance, game-changing innovations, and sustainable systems for meeting basic human needs

The 2012 U.S. model bilateral investment treaty (BIT) continues to provide strong investor protections while preserving the government's ability to regulate in the public interest, including strengthen protections relating to labor and the environment

The United States has enhanced work on environment and trade matters across multiple fronts, including seeking to discipline harmful fisheries subsidies and to eliminate barriers to trade in environmental goods and services, including in the clean energy sector, through the WTO as part of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) negotiations, as well as APEC and the OECD Joint Working Party on Trade and Environment to focus on value-added contributions to ongoing WTO work, and strong analytical research on the interface between trade and clean energy policies