Prospects for Regional Cooperation on Environmental Impact Assessment in Mainland Southeast Asia

Pact inquired with ministries and other actors about the prospects for more effective environmental impact assessment (EIA) policy and practice and the role of multi-stakeholder cooperation at the regional level to improve EIAs in the five Lower Mekong countries (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam). A team of country experts analyzed the relationships and interests involved in improving the state of EIA. Pact’s analysis indicates that there is strong support among government and non-governmental stakeholders alike for reform of national EIA procedures, increased public participation, and development of a regional EIA standard. Pact hopes this research encourages continued dialogue across boundaries and stakeholder groups in order to tackle the pressing development challenges facing the Mekong region.

"Prospects for Regional Cooperation on Environmental Impact Assessment in Mainland Southeast Asia" by Andrew Wells-Dang, first appeared in Contemporary Southeast Asia, Vol. 37, No. 3 (2015), pp. 406-31. This work is reproduced here with the kind permission of the publisher, ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, http://bookshop.iseas.edu.sg.