"The way the environment has been historically perceived in Myanmar (Burma) is strongly linked to its turbulent and authoritarian political history (Simpson et al., 2017). Concepts such as ‘the environment’ and ‘environmentalism’ have appeared relatively recently in mainstream Myanmar discourses, with traditional interpretations of nature tending to focus on exploitable natural resources. Myanmar is extremely geographically and ecologically diverse, stretching from northern snow-capped mountains through the flatlands of the cen- tral dry zone to the palm-dotted beaches of the southern tropical coasts and islands. Gover- nance of the ecosystems in these complex environments is still in its infancy. While most countries in the world have well-entrenched laws ensuring that public participation, envi- ronmental impact assessment (EIA) and social impact assessment (SIA) are key components of any major development activities, these types of legislated requirements have historically been absent from Myanmar. Between 1962 and 2011, Myanmar was ruled by authoritarian governments that had little interest in or inclination for environmental protection or com- munity consultation. While there existed forestry laws, including those that recognized community forests, and a Land Acquisition Act, which was meant to regulate compensation for farmers, there were no laws that adequately regulated pollution or protected biodiversity and no law existed that took a holistic approach to the management or protection of the environment overall. This dire situation first began to shift during the quasi-civilian government of President Thein Sein between 2011 and 2016, with an Environmental Law, which had been drafted and redrafted over 15 years, finally passed in March 2012 (Government of Myanmar, 2012). The various rules and procedures that were to implement this law took several years to be finalized, with implementation of, for example, the EIA Procedures left to the newly formed National League for Democracy (NLD) government, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, from 2016. Due to these governments’ lack of experience and expertise in this area, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) assisted with the drafting of the EIA Procedures, Rules and National Environmental Quality Standards through a Technical Assistance Grant under the Greater Mekong Subregion Core Environment Program (ADB, 2014). 1 Although the ADB itself is regularly criticized for not having adequate public participation and environmental safeguards, the historical lack of any environmental protections in Myanmar makes the standards of international financial institu- tions such as the ADB look relatively thorough (Simpson and Park, 2013). Following promulgation of the Environmental Law, draft Environment Conservation Rules (Government of Myanmar, 2014a), draft EIA Procedures (Government of Myanmar, 2014b) and draft EIA Rules (Government of Myanmar, 2014c), which established the operation of the law, began circulating in Myanmar. Workshops were held with public and private stakeholders during Thein Sein’s government in a consultation process that until the political reforms was entirely foreign to Myanmar. According to an environmental lawyer who was involved with the process: the EIA Regulations do reflect best practice but there are huge hurdles to effective implementation. There needs to be a refocus on sustainable development and environ- mental protection to avoid further significant and long-term environmental disasters in Myanmar. A key element will be the effective participation of the community and civil society in the EIA process. 2 When these regulations are finalized and implemented, they may finally initiate a process of formalized and comprehensive state-led environmental governance in the country. Even allowing for the dramatic reforms currently taking place, however, the military’s traditional dominance in both the political and economic spheres is likely to limit the effectiveness of measures nominally designed to increase participation and ensure sustainability (Farrelly, 2013; Jones, 2014; 2016; Macdonald, 2013). That a country in Asia with a population of 53 million is only just initiating a package of environmental protections indicates the distance that the country needs to travel before effective environmental governance can occur (Simpson, 2015b). This state-led environmental governance is desperately needed in Myanmar, both to address the historical environmental degradation that occurred under the economic mismanagement of the military dictatorship and due to the environmental strains being unleashed by the current political and economic reform process. In some respects, the lack of economic development in the country throughout five decades of authoritarian rule resulted in a less disastrous environ- mental impact on the local environment than in its neighbour, Thailand, which developed large and highly polluting heavy industries over the same period (see chapter 28 and Simpson, 2015a). Likewise, fragile coastal areas have not been degraded to the same extent as in Thailand because mass tourism remains in its infancy. In other respects, the lack of coherent environmental gov- ernance and policymaking resulted in widespread and ad hoc mining, logging and energy proj- ects that were undertaken without regard for the adverse environmental consequences, a situation compounded by civil conflict between the central government and ethnic minorities in the mountainous and resource-rich border regions. Although upland regions, such as Kachin State in the north and Kayin (Karen) State in the east, face a plethora of environmental prob- lems, it is deforestation from unchecked logging that is of most concern for local communities and is often blamed for increased flood events (MacLean, 2003; Tint Lwin Thaung, 2007). Likewise, large-scale, artisanal and small-scale mining put together have an enormous environ- mental impact due to the lack of environmental regulations, resulting in deforestation and the pollution of rivers from mine tailings. Mines are spread throughout Myanmar and produce zinc, lead, silver, tin, gold, iron, coal and gemstones, particularly jade (Global Witness, 2015). One of the biggest and most contentious mines is the Letpadaung (Monywa) copper mine in Sagaing Region, which has been the site for recent protests and conflict (AFP, 2013; Fortify Rights and International Human Rights Clinic, 2015; Smith, 2007)..."