Title
Best practices in development of the Environment Impact Assessment law in Cambodia
Author(s)
Sotheary, S.
Published
2015
Publisher
Cambodian Journal of Natural History
Abstract
To improve economic development, many countries around the world have heavily exploited natural resources, resulting in serious environmental impacts. Environmental concerns have become a very important global issue to discuss and find solutions for sustainable development. In Cambodia, drafting of the new Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) law for the Ministry of Environment (MoE) started in 2011. The purpose of this work is to update the law in line with the pace of the country’s economic development and current issues, including climate change concerns, trans-boundary EIA, strategic environmental assessment and public participation processes, as well as to improve the enforcement of EIA regulations, build staff capacity, upgrade the EIA department and establish an environmental fund. The key processes for developing the draft EIA law have included gett ing public involvement in the EIA law development process, creating a new EIA law with good applicability and creating stakeholder ‘ownership’ of the law, especially the private sector and the communities who are or will be aff ected. This EIA law could become a very important legal instrument to help encourage best practice EIAs in Cambodia, and help the MoE achieve its mission of the environmental protection, biodiversity conservation, and eff ective use of natural resources. The process followed in Cambodia could serve as a best practice example for other countries in the region
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PUB15729