Making the Case: Effective Public Participation is Good for Business in the Mekong Region

Echoing a global trend, companies around the Mekong region are adopting stronger public engagement strategies, not only to minimize social and environmental harm, but to enhance their bottom lines and reputations. Through industry interviews- extractives, hydropower, and agri-business and desk research– this report attempts to contribute regional examples for the argument that effective public participation processes is good for business.

Mekong Partnership for the Environment (MPE) interviewed eight infrastructure development companies about the costs and benefits of meaningful and effective public participation in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) based on their experience in the region. Summaries of these conversations are presented in Section IV. The analysis of these conversations, along with additional desk research, attempts to lay out key features of effective public participation, lessons learned and good practices.