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Workshop for EIA ConsultantsEnvironmental Impact Assessment in Myanmar: Lessons Learned and Recommended Practices
Friday 17 November 2017Rose Garden Hotel, Yangon, Myanmar
Ongoing training opportunities for EIA consultants
Previous VLS/MCRB/MONREC Workshops: 12 August and 30 September 2016
MCRB workshop on biodiversity and EIA planned for 3rd week January 2018
Vietnam Learning Center on Environmental and Social Sustainability (LC) @ Asian Institute of Technology in Vietnam (ADB and World Bank( Courses in English in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh on issues such as EIA,
resettlement etc http://aitvn.asia/lc/
IFC plans for EIA consultant capacity-building in 2018? Establishment of Myanmar EIA consultants professional network?
(EGuard)2
This Workshop’s Objectives To review the first two years of EIA Procedure, lessons learned and
feedback from EIA consultants for future improvement To discuss how social impacts (i.e. impacts on people) should be
assessed and managed in the EIA Process, and implications for the work of consultants, in particular with regards to: Public participation Operational grievance mechanisms EIA in conflict-affected areas Indigenous Peoples and ethnic minorities
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What are Social Impacts?
EIA Consultants Workshop17 November 2017, Yangon
myanmar.responsible.business
What are social impacts?
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Social impacts? They’re just those demonstrations stirred up by NGOs, aren’t they? Comment at a MCRB/Vermont Law School training workshop, Yangon 2016
No, demonstrations are what happens when you haven’t identified and mitigated/managed social impacts. Social impacts are impacts on people.
Social impacts are impacts on people……
Their way of life how they live, work, play and interact
with one another on a day-to-day basis; their culture
shared beliefs, customs, values and language or dialect;
their community its cohesion, stability, character,
services and facilities; their environment
the quality of the air and water people use;
the availability and quality of the food they eat;
the level of hazard or risk, dust and noise they are exposed to;
the adequacy of sanitation, their physical safety, their access to and control over
resources; 6
their health and wellbeing health is a state of complete physical,
mental, social and spiritual wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity;
their personal and property rights particularly whether people are
economically affected, or experience personal disadvantage which may include a violation of their civil liberties;
their political systems the extent to which people are able to
participate in decisions that affect their lives,
the level of democratisation that is taking place, and the resources provided for this purpose;
their fears and aspirations their perceptions about their safety, their fears about the future of their
community, their aspirations for their future and the
Social impacts can be positive, or negative…
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Loss of income and land
Noise Inward migration Pollution
Jobs Economic
growth New road
connections Better health
services
An A to Z of social impacts……
Aesthetic impacts (landscape analysis)
Archaeological and cultural heritage impacts (both tangible and non-tangible)
impacts on Children Community impacts Cultural impacts Demographic impacts Development impacts Economic and Fiscal impacts Gender impacts Health and mental health impacts
impacts on Indigenous rights; Infrastructural impacts Institutional impacts Leisure and tourism impacts Political impacts (human rights,
governance, democratisation etc) Poverty Psychological impacts Resource issues (access and
ownership of resources) impacts on social and human capital other impacts on societies.
International Association for Impact Assessment: http://www.iaia.org/wiki-details.php?ID=23
Example of Impacts at Prospecting/Exploration Stage
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South Africa – company prospecting for platinum deposit in area with existing mines
Proposed prospecting area contains a number of small- to medium-sized farming operations that supply a significant percentage of Gauteng’s fruit and vegetables.
A number of plant nurseries and tourist attractions are also located close to the tailings storage facility.
Prime concern of the Zandfontein community is the quantity and quality of underground and surface water supplies.
Some local residents did
Samanchor Chrome, Environmental Management Plan for prospecting for platinum, Zandfontein, South Africahttp://www.golder.com/bw/modules.php?name=Documents&op=viewlive&sp_id=2884
Impacts – Platinum Exploration (Zandfontein. SA)
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Impact Mitigation
Noise caused by drilling rigs, generators, vehicles, voices of the drilling crew
Operate only during daytimeInstructions to Crew
Visibility of the drilling rig Appropriate location of rig in consultation with landowner, screening with vegetation or shade cloth barrier
Dust generated by the drilling operation and vehicles travelling over unpaved areas
Low vehicle speeds; watering of roads
Removal of, or damage to, cultural heritage objects and sites
Crew awareness of sites e.g. graveyardCode of conduct
Potential contamination of soil, surface water, groundwater with oil, diesel etc
Proper vehicle maintenance; Careful refueling; spill kit on site; immediate clean up of spillages
Friction between local residents and landowners, and prospecting personnel
All operations will be carried out under the guidance of a strong, experienced manager with proven skills in public consultation and conflict resolution. All prospecting personnel will be made aware of the local conditions and sensitivities in the prospecting area. There will be a strict requirement to treat local residents with respect and courtesy at all times.
Social or environmental
impacts?
Environmental and social impacts are highly connected…..
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Example: A mine attracts inward migrants from a different area/ethnicity/religion who:• change the nature and size of the local
population (demographic, cultural)• create a shanty town (aesthetic, community)• harass local women (community, gender,
psychological)• pollute streams with the waste from their
temporary huts (health, environmental, economic)
• put pressure on local schools due to increase in children in the area (children, social and human capital)
• hunt for ‘bushmeat’ (resource)• increase malaria prevalence (health, children,
poverty)
This mine needs mitigation measures which will reduce or reverse inward migration and manage its impacts.
Ideas?
Guidance is available: Project-Induced In-Migration
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www.ifc.org/HB-Inmigration
Myanmar requires a single assessment (EIA) of all impacts, including social
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Myanmar Environmental Impact Assessment Procedure (2015) Article 2 (h) Environmental Impact means the probable effects or consequence on the natural and built environment, and people and communities of a proposed Project or businesses or activities or undertaking. Impacts can be direct or indirect, cumulative, and positive or adverse or both. For purposes of this Procedure, Environmental Impacts include occupational, social, cultural, socio-economical, public and community health, and safety issues. Moreover, social impacts include Involuntary Resettlement and relating to Indigenous People.Q: How many times does the word ‘social’ appear in the Myanmar EIA Procedure? A: 32
In conclusion…..
To determine social impacts (Impacts on people), the company/consultant needs to talk to people
Social impacts, environmental impacts, health impacts etc usually cannot be separated: a single impact assessment is required, with relevant experts
Not separate Cultural Impact Assessment, Health Impact Assessment, Environmental Impact Assessment, Social Impact Assessment etc etc
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Impacts
Gender Health CulturalEnvironment
Human Rights
EconomicImpact
Assessment
Which of the following would not be an adverse social impact?
1. Pollution of agricultural land2. Fencing off a mine which blocks
a path between villages3. Local women concerned about
construction workers’ behaviour4. Project Proponent’s company lists on Singapore stock market5. Mining of hill locally famous for
elephant-shape 16
