EOC at IAIA Conference in Accra, Ghana

17 - 22 May 2009, Accra, Ghana

Once a year, the International Association of Impact Assessments organizes a conference that brings together professionals, planners and specialists within the impact assessment community from across the globe. The conference explores a particular aspect of Impact Assessments and with a comprehensive, participatory and dynamic program it has become one of the main annual events for environment and assessment specialists. Last year, more than 8,000 participants took active part in the conference.

In 2008 in Perth, GMS-EOC chaired a session under the headline: ”Environmental Assessments in the Greater Mekong Subregion”. In a workshop format, the session aimed at discussing different approaches for environmental assessments and the specific experiences of mainstreaming environmental considerations within the Greater Mekong Subregions Economic Cooperation Program.

This year’s conference took place in Accra, Ghana under the theme of “Impact Assessments and Human Well Being”. GMS-EOC submitted two papers with the following titles: “Integrating spatially explicit modeling into strategic planning – SEA of the North South Economic Corridor in the GMS” to be presented in the Session: SEA in China: Practice, Experience and Lessons and “SEA application in the GMS - Improving Environmental Performance and System Efficiencies” to be presented in the session: Asian SEA, EIA and Sustainability Assessment. Both paper abstracts were accepted and presented during the conference. The conference paper from the China session is being developed into an article in the international journal, the Environmental Impact Assessment Review.

The conference strengthened regional linkages with SEA networks in China, in particular the SEA centers in the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Nankai University in Tianjin. A paper incorporating lessons from the SEA of the hydropower master plan (PDP VI) in Viet Nam was also taken up as part of a set of case studies for OECD DAC publication. Overall, the various sessions provided a platform to showcase the experiences with SEA in the Core Environment Program. EOC also participated in discussions with the World Bank and other bilateral regional partners to coordinate activities.

The conference web site: IAIA 2009 Ghana
Agenda: [Session Programme]
The paper: [Integrating spatial modeling into strategic planning]
The presentation: [Integrating spatial modeling into strategic planning]