Why Regional Cooperation on EIA?

The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015 is expected to boost a single regional market and production base, increase competitiveness for the region, promote equitable economic develop-ment, and further integrate its ten member states into the global economy. The AEC Blueprint highlighted an urgent need to simplify, harmonize, and standardize trade and customs processes and procedures to facilitate the free flow of goods, services, investment, capital and skilled labor in the region. However, without effective social and environmental safeguards in place, increased investments and trade may result in unintended consequences leading to accelerated deteriora-tion of the region’s rich natural capital, loss of livelihoods and many other impacts in the short and long-run. Through a series of foundational research and assessments, Mekong Partnership for the Environ-ment (MPE) has found strong support among government and non-governmental stakeholders alike for reform of national Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) procedures, increased public participation, and development of regional EIA standard guidelines. A key tool to mitigate social and environmental impacts, EIA is used across all five lower Mekong countries and is therefore a useful entry point for advancing regional collaboration. While there is a growing awareness of the importance of good EIA policy and practice, comments from multiple stakeholder groups highlights that critical gaps still remain in its effective imple-mentation. This, along with the increasing investments in large-scale regional development projects, reveal new opportunities to advance EIA policy and practice and address the increasingly regional dimensions of investments and their impacts.

Regional Technical Working Group (RTWG) on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA):

Background

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Mekong Partnership for the Environment is a four-year project led by Pact, an international

non-governmental organization, along with a consortium of partners, including Internews,

Stockholm Environment Institute, Wildlife Conservation Society, East West Management

Institute, and others. Part of the Lower Mekong Initia-tive,

5 we support practices that facilitate socially and

environmentally responsible development decision-making processes in the Mekong region. We work with

partners in Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thai-land, and Vietnam. Our primary donor is the United

States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The contents are the responsibility of Pact and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United

States Government.

For more information on MPE:

http://www.pactworld.org/local-updates/mekong-partnership-environment

Pact Thailand Tel: +66 2 254 7066-8

At a subsequent regional workshop in Hanoi in May 2015, government and civil society representatives discussed concrete ways to help advance regional collaboration through the formation of the RTWG on EIA, including in-forming the details of a Terms of Reference (TOR) for the RTWG. The TOR consists of eight concise sections: back-ground, goal and objectives, tasks, key roles and respon-sibilities, working arrangements and deliverables, mem-bership, external advisors, and funding for the establish-ment and functioning of the RTWG. The TOR will be distributed widely together with the membership criteria for government and non-government representatives. Selection will be based on nominees and applications received by MPE, based on a process outlined by attending government and non-government representatives at the Hanoi workshop, and administered during June – July 2015.

1. http://www.asean.org/archive/5187-10.pdf 2. http://www.pactworld.org/local-updates/mekong-partnership-environment 3. http://www.aecen.org/events/environmental-impact-assessment-policy-and-

practice-mekong-region-safeguarding-sustainable-de 4. http://www.aecen.org/node/1224 5. http://lowermekong.org/

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Regional Technical Working Group on EIA In December 2014 and May 2015, MPE convened government and non-government representatives from the Me-kong countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. As an outcome of those workshops, represent-atives recommended the establishment of a Regional Technical Working Group (RTWG) on EIA, in order to provide a platform for regional collaboration to strengthen the policy and practice of EIA in the Mekong countries to enhance cooperation for inclusive and sustainable development of the region. In December 2014 in Bangkok, MPE together with the Asian Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Network (AECEN) and partners hosted a regional workshop on “Environmental Impact Assessment Policy and Practice in the Mekong Region” bringing together nearly 50 government and civil society representatives and EIA practitioners. The event helped to identify priorities for regional cooperation on EIA, including exploring the potential for establishing a regional framework at the ASEAN level, developing standard guidelines for meaningful public participation and stake-holder engagement in EIA, and fostering a regional community of practice to expand cooperation and strengthen public participation in EIA processes as a means to contribute to sustainable development.

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