The Ministry of Natural Resources ("MNR") has recently issued a circular to announce its 2018 Plan on Formulating and Revising Standards Concerning Natural Resources (Land Resources, Geological Minerals, Geological Environment and Other Sectors) (the "Plan").
The Plan outlines 95 standards to be submitted for approval, 24 groups standards and local standards to be filed for record, 64 proposed standards for which preliminary studies will be conducted, and 107 standards under research to be filed for record. For each set of standards, the Plan sets out the name and the category of standards, which entity will take the lead in drafting the standards, the scheduled completion time, etc. According to the circular, in terms of standards to be submitted for approval, particularly the standards with respect to surveys and assessment that are most urgently needed in the natural resource sector, entities responsible for drawing up these standards are advised to, depending on their work needs, carry out extensive surveys and strengthen collaboration with each other in order to ensure the consistency, applicability and high level of these standards and accomplish objectives regarding standards formulation and revision on schedule. For filed standards programs under research, relevant entities should promote the close connection between the program research and the research and development of standards, so as to facilitate the transformation of research fruits into standards in time.