• Venue. Cambodiana Hotel Phnom Penh, Cambodia
• Date. Dec, 05 2014 Time.
• Address. Phnom Penh

Vishnu Law Group is a public interest law firm handling a range of litigation and policy matters.  Since 2011, Vishnu has been working with the Cambodian Ministry of Environment to develop a new Law on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).  When enacted the Law will be important for investors and many different types of businesses. The draft Law sets forth new procedures for obtaining EIA approvals for both new and existing operations, and contains up to date provisions on topics ranging from access to information, climate change mitigation, social impact, monitoring and enforcement. According to the Law, projects whose EIAs are approved also will need to comply with project-specific monitoring plans throughout development and operation. Since November 2012, Vishnu and the Ministry have been conducting a public participation process to spread understanding about the draft Law to all stakeholders. Through this process, Vishnu and the Ministry have received numerous comments that have been carefully considered in the ongoing refinement of the draft Law.  With five workshops already conducted throughout the country, the process will culminate in early 2015 with a final national level workshop in Phnom Penh to conclude the public consultation process and begin preparing the Law for enactment. In addition to these events, Vishnu and the Ministry are reaching out to the private sector to ensure that all potentially interested parties understand the draft Law and have an opportunity to provide inputs prior to its enactment. As part of this outreach, the Ministry and Vishnu are organizing a special “Private Sector Forum” on the draft Law on December 5, 2014 in Phnom Penh. Private companies, investors and business representatives are all encouraged to attend the Forum to learn about the Law in detail and to raise questions and comments. The Forum will be personally opened by the Minister of Environment, H.E. Say Samal. U.S. Ambassador William Todd is also invited. Participation at this event is by invitation only. Please contact Ms. Chhoeng Sotheavan chhoengs@vishnulawgroup.com or Mr. Brian Rohan brianrohan2001@yahoo.com at Vishnu Law Group to request an invitation. The current draft EIA Law, as well as previous drafts, may be accessed at http://vishnulawgroup.com/index.php/publications.html. More information about the process to create the new Law may be accessed at http://vishnulawgroup.com/index.php/what-we-do/project-to-create-a-new-eia-law.html.