Prospects for Regional Cooperation on Environmental Impact Assessment in Mainland Southeast Asia

This article begins from the premise that there are potential benefits to transnational cooperation to address environmental impacts, whether they are felt within a single country or across borders.The formation by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) — due to come into effect at the end of 2015 — is the latest in a series of steps by countries in Southeast Asia to increase multilateral cooperation aiming for development and sustainability. ASEAN has taken substantive action to address the perceived “development gap” among member countries through the establishment of an Initiative for ASEAN Integration, with a focus on raising standards among the poorer members such as Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.