US-based Vermont Law School has facilitated an Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) training in Myanmar in a bid to improve the Southeast Asian nation’s environmental resources, it said.
The training, sponsored by the Vermont Law Myanmar Environmental Governance Program (MEGP), used a grant from the blue moon fund to support education in Myanmar as it prepares for considerable inflow of foreign investment.
The program, held from February 17 to 21 in Nay Pyi Taw, was attended by the Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry officials.
“Myanmar is experiencing rapid social and economic change,” said Martin Cosier, project leader of the MEGP. “After being closed to most of the world for five decades, new economic opportunities are blossoming for both domestic and foreign investors.
“Building a robust EIA system is an opportunity to ensure that new investments, especially those related to infrastructure and heavy industry, avoid the negative impacts of projects, while ensuring that the positive impacts of economic development are realised by all.”
EIAs are used worldwide to ensure that the environmental and social impacts of development projects are considered before projects begin. The assessment system is also key to mitigating environmental impacts of projects during construction, operation and decommission.
