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The
Strategic Environmental Framework for the Greater Mekong Subregion
(SEF Project) is an ongoing regional technical assistance project
funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). It is being implemented
by a team of consultants led by the Stockholm Environment Institute.
The
overall goal of the SEF Project is to assist Greater Mekong Subregion
(GMS) country governments and the ADB improve environmental protection
by helping to ensure the environmental and social sustainability
of economic development undertaken within the GMS in general, and
in particular within the energy/water resource and transportation
sectors of the GMS countries and the ADB’s Greater Mekong Subregional
Program (Box 1). A key component is to help ensure that environmental
and social aspects are considered at an earlier stage in the planning
process than currently takes place.
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Box
1: The GMS Economic Cooperation Program (GMS Program)
The GMS Program was initiated in 1992 by the ADB to promote
development of the six participating countries (Cambodia;
Lao PDR; Myanmar; Thailand; Yunnan Province, PRC; and Viet
Nam) by helping to strengthen economic linkages among them.
The ultimate objective of the GMS Program is to facilitate
sustainable economic growth and to improve the standard of
living of the people in the subregion. The GMS Program focuses
on eight priority sectors: transport, energy, telecommunications,
environment, human resource development, tourism, trade facilitation,
and investment.
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- The
SEF project outputs will include:a Strategic Environmental Framework
Report that will provide a framework of technical, policy, and
institutional recommendations and guidelines designed to better
ensure the environmental and social sustainability of economic
development through improved public participation; social and
environmental impact assessment; institutional arrangements and
policies; planning and decision making processes; and cumulative
regional assessment.
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- GMS
development scenarios illustrating the cumulative environmental
and social impacts within the GMS resulting from the targeted
development activities, as well as the potential benefits that
could be accrued through the implementation of the Strategic Environmental
Framework;
- a
set of maps and GIS databases on baseline bio-physical and socio-economic
conditions in the region, and on key ADB GMS Programme and National
projects in the sectors noted above;
- a
set of maps and GIS databases on environment-development “hotspots”
in the region; and
- a
GIS-based GMS Development and Environment Information and Early
Warning System (Box 2).
The
project is being implemented in three broad phases: Inception Phase,
Analysis Phase, and SEF Production Phase. The Inception Phase began
in December 1998, and the project is currently in the Analysis Phase.
It is anticipated that the project will be completed by December
2000.
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Box
2: Information and Early Warning System
Utilizing the latest version of ArcView software, this computerized
system will:
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provide information to the user on the environmental resources
in the GMS, development plans in the GMS, and key hotspots
identified by the project;
- provide
information on the key development issues identified for
the GMS as a whole;
- allow
the user to overlay proposed projects onto the interface
and view information on the projects impacts, including
the formation of new hotspots associated with the proposed
project’s impact zone, potential cumulative environmental
impacts, et
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Newsletter
No. 3