Strategic environmental assessment in Cambodia

Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) represents an advanced tool for estimating and evaluating the consequences of specific development plans, programs and policies. In contrast to widely-used environmental impact assessment (EIA) taking place at the end of the decision-making process, SEA is conducted before all major decisions are made, and this has a number of significant advantages. Rather than indicating the environmental problems potentially created by the decision, SEA may substantially influence the outcome. Instead of providing limited review of specific effects and thus generating a restricted number of problem-solving initiatives, as a multi-stage process focused on overall sustainability, SEA takes a proactive approach towards all development initiatives, identifying major challenges before the final approval. This allows decision-makers to consider a wider range of alternatives and thus minimise potential problems at an early stage.

The comparison between the process of EIA and SEA.

Although the SEA process was first pioneered in the late 1980s by high-income countries such as the US and European states, more and more attention is being paid to this tool in the Greater Mekong subregion. Here, China, followed by Vietnam and Laos, introduced provisions on SEA into official legislation in 1990–2000s. These initiatives were first supported by international donors and supervised by international partners. Now all three countries have progressed to the stage where SEA provisions are included in their national environmental protection laws – core legislation supervising strategic impact evaluation processes in these countries. As a result, specific ministries (such as the Ministry of Planning and Investment or the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment) have been appointed to oversee the implementation of SEA, significantly improving its effectiveness.

In Cambodia, the SEA initiative was only launched in the mid-2010s when some pilot industry-specific reports, such as the one on sustainable tourism, were first produced. However, its origins were created in mid-1990s with the increasing international presence in the country. Similar to other countries, the Cambodian SEA path started with the focus on EIA. In particular, the Law on Environmental Protection and Natural Resource Management of 1996 paved the way to the Sub-decree No. 72 on Environmental Impact Assessment which finally introduced this tool into practice. The years 2002, 2006, and 2008 saw the adoption of laws on forestry, fisheries and natural protection areas, each of which already included EIA in the basic requirements for development projects.

The Open Development Cambodia team presented on the “Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA): Comparative analysis in the GMS countries and implications for SDGs” in the 3rd MRC Summit International Conference in Siem Reap.

In 2016, the Royal Government of Cambodia initiated the first draft of the Environment and Natural Resource Code of Cambodia. As per the original idea, the SEA is supposed to be included at the very first stage of the decision-making process with respect to all the major plans, programs and policies related to the environment and natural resources. The final Environment and Natural Resource Code has been passed on 29 June 2023. The adoption of the code will move Cambodia to the next stage of its SEA implementation. The Ministry of Environment is currently in the process of formulating a comprehensive Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) guideline, with the expectation of its formal adoption within the forthcoming three years. Concurrently, the government has established a National Training Team on Strategic Environmental Assessment (NTTSEA). This team is actively engaged in the coordination and delivery of SEA training programs at both the national and sub-national levels, facilitating dialogues and workshops with stakeholders.

Last update: 11 October 2023