Under GSGSSI legislation, activities which have the potential to cause environmental harm or impact are prohibited. The Regulated Activity Permit (RAP) process is a mechanism to enable such activities to be carried out under some circumstances, but which allows the Government to gain oversight of these activities and to work with proponents to ensure that risks to the environment are mitigated.
The key pieces of legislation which prohibit certain activities without a permit are: Wildlife and Protected Areas Ordinance (2011)and its subsidiary legislation the Specially Protected Area Order (2022), (draft) Specially Protected Area Regulations (2023) and Marine Protected Areas Order (2013). Please refer to this legislation for comprehensive details of what activities are prohibited. Complete details of all SGSSI laws can be found at www.laws.gov.gs
If your activities include: collection of samples of any kind, animal handling, installation of equipment, the use of drones, close approach to wildlife (such as for certain types of media filming or monitoring), overnight stays in tents, construction, maintenance and environmental management work; these are likely to involve activities which are prohibited and could require a RAP before commencing. For more details see here [.pdf, 0.2mb].
A tiered system of RAP application is in operation depending on the complexity of your project. This will ensure that environmental assessments are scalable and commensurate with the potential impacts of activities.
Privacy Policy
The Government of South Georgia & the South Sandwich Island has a Privacy Policy regarding the purpose, use and sharing of any Personal Information collected via Regulated Activity Permit applications:
Guidance On When To Apply For A RAP
- Guidance On When To Apply For A RAP [pdf, 0.2mb]
Drone Information
Projects wishing to handle animals, collect or export samples should use the forms below as part of their online submission.
- Sample collection form [xls, 0.01mb]
- Animal Handling form [xls, 0.01mb]
- Exported material declaration [xls, 0.01mb]
In addition to the necessary permissions issued by GSGSSI, any application involving Marine Scientific Research which is to be undertaken by non-UK flagged vessels must also apply for approval through the FCDO Article 246 approvals process. The necessary guidance is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/marine-science-research-msr-guidance/marine-science-research-msr-guidance