(as prepared for delivery)

• Your Excellencies H.E. Sou Souvuth, distinguished guests, colleagues and friends
• Good morning!

On behalf of USAID, it’s my privilege to welcome you here today to this national consultation on the draft Regional Guidelines on Public Participation in Environmental Impact Assessment, or EIA.

The U.S. government has been a committed and active advocate of regional cooperation on EIAs. We see EIAs as an important tool to achieve sustainable development in the Lower Mekong region.

In August of 2015, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, together with foreign ministry representatives from Cambodia and the other four Lower Mekong countries pledged in a joint statement to “…consider social and environmental consequences, including the use of environmental impact assessment…in infrastructure investments.”

Through this commitment, regional leaders have recognized that cooperation on EIA is a prerequisite to sustainable development. In particular, they highlighted that “…strengthening regional capacity for sustainable development [to] include public participation will increase regional cooperation on trans-boundary impacts.”

As Secretary Kerry noted, this statement by the Lower Mekong Ministers serves as a “valuable blueprint for safeguarding the Mekong's fragile ecosystems and preserving the livelihoods of local communities.”

In order to advance this joint commitment, USAID has been supporting a multi-stakeholder Regional Technical Working Group on EIA.

I would like to thank the Cambodian members of the Regional Technical Working Group on EIA for their hard work to date. Over the last year, this working group has been working together to develop regional guidelines to help improve how public participation in EIA occurs – and this is the reason we are all here today.

During today’s consultations, you will learn more about the guidelines being developed, and provide your comments and suggestions for how to make them better. This is an important piece to a much broader regional conversation taking place, as similar consultations have been held in Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam earlier this month.

By addressing - and mitigating - the potential social and environmental impacts from proposed development projects, the EIA process can improve project design before construction begins and impacts are felt.

When implemented in a meaningful manner, public participation can deliver important benefits to different stakeholders, for example: 

• for communities - in ensuring that development projects better address local needs and contribute to their improved well-being;
• for private sector companies and investors - in reducing risks, reducing costs from unnecessary delays, and in reducing potential conflicts with affected communities; and
• for government - in more responsive policies and investment projects that contribute to good governance and long-term, equitable economic growth for the country.

Public participation in decisions related to the design and implementation of infrastructure is not only a good idea, it is also good for the economy. However, it’s no easy task to implement effective public participation in practice. Detailed guidance is generally not available. In order to provide additional clarity and guidance for the EIA process, these guidelines for Public Participation have been developed.

With its new EIA Law and Environmental Code under development, Cambodia is putting an increased focus on EIA, environmental compliance, and enforcement, as well as a more comprehensive system of public involvement.

What we are really talking about is a new way of doing development. One in which all stakeholders are involved in the process.

With this in mind, I commend Cambodia for continuing to strengthen its own EIA policies and practice, as well as for the country’s active participation and leadership in this regional effort. We are confident that in this way, sustainable development for the Mekong region can be realized.

I would also like to thank the USAID-funded Mekong Partnership for the Environment project, implemented by Pact, for its ongoing support of this important initiative.

I look forward to your active involvement and contributions to the draft guidelines.  I know today’s conversation will be a fruitful one. There is a lot of important work ahead, and I wish you every success.     

Thank you.