Hydro-power projects on the Mekong River may cause great impacts on sustainability of the river. This paper investigates the role of Cambodia’s environmental impact assessment (EIA) in governing hydro-power projects and examines whether the current EIA legal regime is capable to address the challenges raised by hydro-power projects. The author finds that Cambodia has established high standards in EIA legal framework. Some proposed requirements, such as the consideration of the impacts of climate change and trans-boundary impacts, may constitute great challenge for future enforcement. Case study in hydro-power projects suggests that the implementation of EIA is far from fulfilling the purposes promised by the black letters in the law. Currently, the main difficulties in implementation are lack of capacity building and public participation. The imperfection of land law as an external element is another obstacle to the effectiveness of EIA law. As a mid-stream riparian state of the Mekong River, on one hand Cambodia is facing potential negative impacts of hydro-power projects in Lao PDR and China, on the other hand, its hydro-power projects may add more threats to the sustainability of Mekong River. This paper argues that for the sustainability of the Mekong water system, Cambodia should implement its EIA law seriously and speed the work of land titles.
KeywordsEIA Legislation and PracticesLand DisputeExpropriationPublic Participation
Amaro, Y. (2016). Environment Code Due This Year. Phnom Penh Post. http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/environment-code-due-year
Amnesty International (2008). Rights Razed-Forced Evictions in Cambodia (pp. 6-8). London: Amnesty International.
Baird, I. G. (2009). Best Practice in Compensation and Resettlement for Large Dams: The Case of the Planned Lower Sesan 2 Hydropower Project in Northeastern Cambodia. Phnom Penh: Rivers Coalition in Cambodia.
Barton, C. (2008). Forced Evictions on the Rise Despite Condemnation. Phnom Penh Post. http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/forced-evictions-rise-despite-condemnation
Bates, G. (2010). Environmental Law in Australia (7th ed.). Australia: Lexis Nexis Butterworths.
Batterbury, S. P. J., & Fernando, J. L. (2005). Rescaling Governance and the Impacts of Political and Environmental Decentralization: An Introduction. World Development, 1853, 1851-1863. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2009.01.006
Bian, Y. (2018). The Role of Environmental Impact Assessment in the Governance of Nu-Salween River: A Comparative Study of Chinese and Myanmar Approaches. In Y. Zhao (Ed.), International Governance and the Rule of Law in China under the Belt and Road Initiative (pp. 218-242). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Brandon, C., & Ramankutty, R. (1993). A Summary of a World Bank Decision Paper, Toward an Environmental Strategy for Asia (Vol. 8, pp. 1-28). Washington DC: International Bank for Reconstruction. https://doi.org/10.1596/0-8213-2737-2
Briffett, C. (2000). Environmental Impact Assessment in Southeast Asia: Fact and Fiction? GeoJournal, 333, 333-339.
Bugalski, N., & Medallo, J. (2012). Derailed: A Study on the Resettlement Process and Impacts of the Rehabilitation of the Cambodian Railway (Vol. 7, pp. 1-98). Phnom Penh: Bridges across Borders Cambodia.
Bunthoeun, O., & Kimthach, S. (2016). Report on Second National Workshop on the Draft of Environmental Code of Cambodia (Vol. 2-3, pp. 1-28). Phnom Penh: Vishnu Law Firm.
CDC (2011). Investor’s Information: Infrastructure-General Situation of Electricity Supply. Council for the Development of Cambodia. http://www.cambodiainvestment.gov.kh/investors-information/infrastructure/electricity.html
Chan, S. (2008). Impact of High Food Price in Cambodia. Policy Brief, Phnom Penh: CDRI.
Clausen, A., Vu, H. H., & Pedrono, M. (2010). An Evaluation of the Environmental Impact Assessment System in Vietnam: The Gap between Theory and Practice. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 136, 136-143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2010.04.008
Dore, J., Lebel, L., & Molle, F. (2012). A Framework for Analyzing Trans-Boundary Water Governance Complexes Illustrated in the Mekong Region. Journal of Hydrology, 28, 23-36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2012.07.023
Environment Department of World Bank (1997). The Impact of Environment Assessment, A Review of World Bank Experience (pp. 1-176). World Bank Technical Paper No. 363, 33, 42, 43. Washington DC: International Bank for Reconstruction. https://doi.org/10.1596/0-8213-3923-0
Gatke, P., & Borin, U. (2013). The Kamchay Hydropower Dam: An Assessment of the Dam’s Impacts on Local Communities and the Environment (pp. 1-104). Phnom Penh: NGO Forum Cambodia.
Grimsditch, M. (2012). China’s Investments in Hydropower in the Mekong Region: The Kamchay Hydropower Dam, Kampot, Cambodia (pp. 1-60). Washington DC: World Resources Institute.
Grimsditch, M., & Henderson, N. (2009). Untitled: Tenure Insecurity and Inequality in the Cambodian Land Sector (Vol. 33, pp. 1-102). Centre on Housing Rights and Eviction, Phnom Penh: Jusuit Refugee Service.
Grumbine, R. E., Dore, J., & Xu, J. (2012). Mekong Hydropower: Drivers of Change and Governance Challenges. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 10, 91-98. https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1890/110146
Hoanh, C. T., Jirayoot, K., Lacombe, G., & Srinetr, V. (2010). Impacts of Climate Change and Development on Mekong Flow Regime. First Assessment-2009 (pp. 1-105). MRC Technical Paper No. 29. Vientiane, Lao PDR: Mekong River Commission.
Kagstromin, M. (2016). Between “Best” and “Good Enough”: How Consultants Guide Quality in Environmental Assessment. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 169, 169-175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2016.05.003
Karol, C., & Neyman, Y. (2015). Operational Guidelines for Responsible Land-Based Investment (pp. 1-70). Washington DC: USAID.
Kolhoff, A. J., Runhaar, H. A. C. et al. (2015). The Influence of Actor Capacities on EIA System Performance in Low and Middle Income Countries-Cases from Georgia and Ghana. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 167, 167-177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2015.11.011
LICADHO (2009). Land Grabbing and Poverty in Cambodia: The Myth of Development (pp. 1-36). LICADHO: Phnom Penh.
Lindstrom N. (2013). Policy for the Poor? Phnom Penh, Tenure Security and Circular (pp. 1-88). Phnom Penh: Heinrich Boell Foundation.
Maza, C., & Sengkong, B. (2016). USAID to Consult Public before Next Round of Prey Lang Funding. Phnom Penh Post. http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/usaid-consult-public-next-round-prey-lang-funding
Mgbako, C., Gao, R. E., & Joynes, E. (2010). Forced Eviction and Resettlement in Cambodia: Case Studies from Phnom Penh. Washington University Global Studies Law Review, 9, 39-76.
MIME (2013). National Sector Review: Hydropower. Phnom Penh: Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy (MIME).
MRC (2015a). The ISH 0306 Study: Development of Guidelines for Hydropower Environmental Impact Mitigation and Risk Management in the Lower Mekong Mainstream and Tributaries. Vientiane, Phnom Penh: Mekong River Commission (MRC).
MRC (2015b). Initiative on Sustainable Hydropower (pp. 1-88). Mekong River Commission. http://www.mrcmekong.org/about-mrc/completion-of-strategic-cycle-2011-2015/initiative-on-sustainable-hydropower/
NGOF (2015). Survey: The Compensation Policies and Market Property Price: Lower Sesan 2 Dam Development Project. Phnom Penh: NGO Forum on Cambodia (NGOF).
Niazi, T. H. (2011). Decentralization and Decentralization Reforms in Cambodia Recommendations for an Institutional Framework (pp. 1-164).
ODC (2016). Hydropower Dams. Open Development Cambodia. https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/profiles/hydropower-dams/
Piseth, C. (2009). National Power and Hydropower Development Plans in Cambodia. Phnom Penh: Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy (MIME).
Rendall, M. (2003). Land Law of Cambodia: A Study and Research Manual.
Saunder A. M., & Bailey, M. (2009). Appraising the Role of Relationships between Regulators and Consultants for Effective EIA. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 284, 284-294.
Serey, S. (2007). Impediment to Community Fisheries Management: Some Findings in Kompong Pou Commune, Krakor District in Cambodia’s Tonle Sap. Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, 399, 398-413.
STT (2014). Facts and Figures: Phnom Penh’s History of Displacement-Evicted Communities from 1990 to 2014 (pp. 1-14). Phnom Penh: Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT).
Supreme National Economic Council of Cambodia (2007). The Report of Land and Human Development in Cambodia (pp. 1-32). Phnom Penh: Supreme National Economic Council. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2005.11.019
UNEP—United Nations Environmental Programme (1987). Goals and Principles of Environmental Impact Assessment. Preliminary Note, Issued on January 16, 1987. https://www.elaw.org/system/files/unep.EIA_.guidelines.and_.principles.pdf
VNS (2017). Vietnam Urges Laos to Rethink Mekong River Dams. Mekong Eye News Digest. https://www.mekongeye.com/2017/05/17/vietnam-urges-laos-to-rethink-mekong-river-dams/
WCD (2001). Dam and Development: A New Framework for Decision Making. Nairobi: Word Commission on Dam (WCD).
Yeophantong, P. (2016). China’s Dam Policy in the Mekong Region: Three Game Changers. In D. Blake, & L. Robins (Eds.), Dynamics of Water Governance in the Mekong Region (Vol. 127, pp. 124-146). Strategic Information and Research Development Center Press.
Zhang, W., Mekonnen, D., Ringler, C., Kura, Y., Samonn, M., Bunnarith, T., Gatke, P., & Bhandary, P. (2014). Water Resource Uses and Potential Impact of Hydropower Development: Case Study from Northeast Cambodia (pp. 1-47). Washington DC, Phnom Penh: International Food Policy Research Institute, World Fish Center, Culture and Environment Preservation Association.