Events

International Symposium on Social Impact Assessment in East Asia and the Pacific

June 7, 2022

Zoom, YouTube, and Facebook Live

MULTIMEDIA

International Symposium on Social Impact Assessment in East Asia and the Pacific

OVERVIEW
AGENDA
SPEAKERS

The World Bank, in partnership with the Philippine Learning Center for Environment and Social Sustainability (PHILCESS), University of the Philippines, is organizing the first International Symposium on Social Impact Assessment (SIA) in the context of East Asia and the Pacific (EAP). ESG-related investment is booming across the globe, and some estimate it to be a $50 trillion economy, the large share of which will be directed to EAP. A big part of this will be around doing proper SIAs for ESG-related infrastructure investments. Yet, there is little cross-exchange across the private sector, development players, and governments on how SIA methods can be modernized and harmonized.
The event will bring together government officials, professionals, and academics to discuss and share experiences about SIA's current state of the art in the region. The event will present country case presentations from Malaysia, Australia, China, and the Philippines, including national regulatory frameworks, good practices, and case studies to illustrate the diversity of country systems and procedures to implement SIA. A discussion Panel will complement this learning session about challenges and opportunities to foster Social Impact Assessment in the region with the participation of representatives from Australia, Japan, and Indonesia with extensive experience working with the public and private sector and risk analysis.
This learning event aims to continue building a social community of practice in the region and use the World Bank Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) as a platform to guide the region in terms of international best practices and standards.
The event is open to the public with Q&A.

Time	Topic	Speaker
09:00 – 09:05	Welcome	Carlos Perez-Brito Moderator and Chair of the Organizing Committee Senior Social Development Specialist, World Bank
09:05 – 09:10	Opening remarks	Benoît Bosquet Regional Director, Sustainable Development World Bank
09:10 – 09:50	Keynote Speaker: Key Developments in Social Impact Assessment: The Global View from Major Projects (Download the presentation pdf)	Sara Bice Director, Institute for Infrastructure in Society. Head of Department, Policy and Governance Program, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University. Former President of International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) 2018-2019
09:50 – 10:15	Malaysia: Implementation of Social Impact Assessment for development projects in Malaysia (Download the presentation pdf)	Alias Bin Rameli Director General, PLANMalaysia Ministry of Housing and Local Government, Malaysia
10:15 – 10:40	Australia: Integrating SIA in Regulatory Processes for Major Development Projects: Key Success Factors and Considerations (Download the presentation pdf)	Richard Parsons Social Impact Assessment Specialist New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment, Australia
10:40 – 10:45	BREAK
10:45 – 11:10	China: Social Assessment Systems in Infrastructure Development in China (Download the presentation pdf)	Guoqing Shi Director of National Research Center for Resettlement Director of Asian Research Center, Director of Social Development Institute Hohai University, China
11:10 – 11:35	Philippines: Communities as Stakeholders in Social Impact Assessment, the Experience in the Philippines (Download the presentation pdf)	Mary Racelis Former Director and Research Scientist Institute of Philippine Culture, School of Social Sciences, Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines
11:35 – 11:45	Country presentations Q&A
11:45 – 11:50	BREAK
11:50 - 12:45	Panel discussion: Challenges and opportunities to foster Social Impact Assessment in the region Sara Bice Director, Institute for Infrastructure in Society. Head of Department, Policy and Governance Program, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University, Australia Takeharu Kojima Director of Environmental and Social Considerations Supervision Division, Senior Director Credit Risk Analysis and Environmental Review Department. Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Japan Wito Tantra Managing Director - Chief Risk Officer, Indonesia Infrastructure Finance (IIF), Indonesia Moderator: Rolando V. Cuaño Philippine Learning Center for Environment and Social Sustainability (PHILCESS) University of the Philippines
12:45 – 12:55	Q&A
12:55 – 13:00	Closing remarks	Janmejay Singh Practice Manager Social Sustainability and Inclusion Global Practice, East Asia and Pacific World Bank

Sara Bice

Director, Institute for Infrastructure in Society and Head of Department, Policy and Governance Program, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
Professor Sara Bice is Foundation Director, Institute for Infrastructure in Society at the Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University, where she serves as Head, Policy and Governance Program. Sara and her team lead The Next Generation Engagement program, Australia’s largest study into community engagement, social impacts, and social risks of major infrastructure delivery. Sara’s research is deeply engaged with industry and government. Her work focuses on the intersection of corporations, communities, and governments as they negotiate the impacts of major projects, with an aim to mitigate environmental and social risks and optimize potential benefits. She is a Past President and Board Director (2017-2020), International Association for Impact Assessment, the world’s leading organization for impact assessment practitioners, researchers, and clients, representing almost 7,000 members in 120 different countries. Sara is Professor (Special International Guest) at the School of Public Policy and Management, Tsinghua University, Beijing. She is an award-winning author and teacher. In 2020, she was the recipient of the International Association for Impact Assessment Award for Outstanding Service to the Profession of Impact Assessment. Sara holds a PhD in Sociology and Sustainable Development from University of Melbourne.

Alias Bin Rameli

Director General, PLANMalaysia Ministry of Housing and Local Government, Malaysia
Alias Bin Rameli is leading PLANMalaysia, an urban planning agency at the Ministry of Housing and Local Government in Malaysia. Prior to this position, he was the Deputy Undersecretary of the Ministry of Federal Territories. Alias has an extensive experience in research and project management programs on urban planning and development, including legal and regulatory frameworks at the national, regional, and local levels in Malaysia. His research interests focus on land use planning systems, housing supply, and urban development. Alias holds a PhD of Philosophy in Housing and Property Planning from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.

Richard Parsons

Social Impact Assessment Specialist New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment, Australia
Richard Parsons is a specialist in social impact assessment, community engagement, and social license. He has had a leading role in developing and implementing the SIA guidelines in New South Wales, Australia. He has worked in research and practice with various sectors and industries, including government, mining, gas, energy, infrastructure, transport, tourism, research, and not-for-profit organizations, seeking to improve project outcomes for communities. Richard has a Ph.D. in organizational communication from the University of Queensland.

Guoqing Shi

Director of National Research Center for Resettlement (NRCR), Director of Asian Research Center (ARC), Director of Social Development Institute (SDI). Hohai University, China
Professor SHI Guoqing is currently the Director of three leading research centers at Hohai University in China. He is one of the founders and board member of the International Displacement and Resettlement Network (IDRN). He specializes in the preparation of national and regional resettlement policies and legislation, social safeguards, and social impact assessment of a large infraestrcuture projects, such as Three Gorges, Xiaolangdi, Danjiangkou Dam Projects, and more than fifty development projects funded by the World Bank and Asian Development Bank since 1990. Professor Shi is member and chair of the Sustainable Hydropower Council and Chamber Chair of Emerging and Developing Countries Committee of International Hydropower Association (IHA) and the Engineering Sociology Committee of Chinese Association of Sociology. He has a Ph.D. program in Resettlement Science and Management in China 2004.

Mary Racelis

Former Director and Research Scientist Institute of Philippine Culture, School of Social Sciences, Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines
Mary Racelis is currently a Research Scientist at the Institute of Philippine Culture, School of Social Sciences at Ateneo de Manila University, and its former Director. She also is current Professor of Anthropology at the University of the Philippines, where she leads research about Engaged Anthropology, Urban Anthropology, the Anthropology of Justice and Human Rights, and Politics, Governance, and Citizenship. She served as senior adviser for UNICEF and a member of the Eminent Persons on United Nations – Civil Society Relations. Mary was the Director of the Phillippine office at Ford Foundation where she led programs with NGOs and organized urban poor people’s organizations, focusing on youth. Mary has had consultancies with the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, United Nations, MISEREOR (German Bishops Development Foundation), Philippine government and civil society organizations. Her research has focused on urbanization, urban informal settlements, community organizing, civil society, gender, children, reproductive health, social movements, and sociocultural change. Writing for scholarly publications and advocacy columns in the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Rappler to reach a broader public on issues of the day. She holds a Master of Arts in Sociology from University of the Philippines.

Takeharu Kojima

Director of Environmental and Social Considerations Supervision Division, Senior Director Credit Risk Analysis and Environmental Review Department. Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Japan.
Takeharu is currently the Director of Environmental and Social Considerations Supervision Division, Credit Risk Analysis and Environmental Review Department at the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Joined JICA in 1997. Before his current position, he served in many tasks in various government agencies in Japan, such as the Operation Strategy Department, the Global Environment Department, the Southeast Asia and Pacific Department and the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was stationed in Cambodia for three years as Senior Resident Representative. He is a graduate from Kyoto University in Environmental Engineering where also obtained his master’s degree.

Wito Tantra

Managing Director - Chief Risk Officer, Indonesia Infrastructure Finance (IIF), Indonesia.
Wito is currently the Managing Director and Chief Risk Officer at Indonesia Infrastructure Finance. He has over 25 years of experience across banking functions including Risk Management, Client Relationships, Credit Risk & Portfolio Management, Special Asset Management, audit within Corporate & Investment, and Retail Banking environment. Prior to joining the IIF, he was the Managing Director and Country Chief Risk Officer at the PT BANK ANZ INDONESIA where he was responsible of Commercial, and Retail credit portfolio with over A$ 5 billion in credit risk exposure. He has an extensive career for corporate banking in Indonesia, Singapore, and New York where he led investment for the Standard Chartered Bank, BNP Paribas Corporate & Investment Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Bank of America, and American Express. He holds a Master of Science in Financial Management from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.

Rolando V. Cuaño

Philippine Learning Center for Environment and Social Sustainability (PHILCESS). University of the Philippines
Rolando currently leads BMP Environment & Community Care and is an advisor for Philippine Learning Center for Environment and Social Sustainability. His work experience spans various dimensions including serving as Regional Technical Director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Director for Environment and Engineering of Philex Mining Corporation, Chairman of the Environment Committee of the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines. He has served as consultant of international development agencies such as the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, and IFC. He has attended numerous trainings in environmental assessment and management, notably, Smart Green Infrastructure in Natural Habitats and Physical Cultural Resources; Social Auditing; Dam Safety Guidelines and Design; Hydrology, Erosion, and Sediment Transport; and ISO 14001 EMS. Rolando has written and presented numerous papers in environmental assessment locally and internationally. He holds a PhD of Philosophy in geological statistics from the University of Sydney.

Benoît Bosquet

Regional Director, Sustainable Development, World Bank
Benoît Bosquet is a Regional Director for East Asia and Pacific at the World Bank. Prior to this position, he was a Practice Manager for Environment and Natural Resources, Africa region. He has coordinated global partnerships for climate change mitigation, including the Prototype Carbon Fund, BioCarbon Fund and Forest Carbon Partnership Facility. As a Task Team Leader he managed projects in Costa Rica and Mexico. He has lived in Russia and Madagascar, and has over 20 years of experience working on environmental protection, natural resource management and humanitarian relief in developing countries and emerging economies (mostly in Africa, Europe and Central Asia, and Latin America). Benoît Bosquet is Belgian. He holds an M.A. in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and a Ph.D. in Environmental Policy from the University of Maryland.

Janmejay Singh

Practice Manager Social Sustainability and Inclusion Global Practice. East Asia and Pacific, World Bank
Janmejay is currently the Practice Manager for Social Sustainability and Inclusion in the East Asia and Pacific Region of the World Bank. In this role he oversees the operational and analytical work program on community driven development, gender, citizen engagement, social cohesion, and application of the environmental and social framework in the country portfolios of Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Timor Leste, Malaysia, and Brunei. He was previously the Lead Social Development Specialist for the South Asia Region where he served as the Task Team Leader for the $800 million Citizens' Charter Afghanistan Project and the Women's Economic Empowerment Rural Development Project and is the Engagement Leader for Citizen Engagement and Social Inclusion in the Afghanistan Country Management Team. Earlier he was the Senior Strategy and Operations Officer in the Middle East and North Africa Region of the World Bank, where he worked directly with the Director of Strategy and the Vice President on implementing key regional strategic priorities. Prior to that he served as the Coordinator for the Community Driven Development (CDD) Community working on a range of topics relating to voice, accountability, and local governance. Janmejay holds a MA in Economics from Cambridge University and a Master's degree in International Development (MPA/ID) from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Carlos T. Pérez-Brito

Senior Social Development Specialist Coordinator for Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, World Bank
Carlos is a senior social development specialist at the World Bank with an emphasis on sustainability, social inclusion, and sustainable infrastructure. He specializes in environmental, social, and governance (ESG), ESG risk management of large infrastructure and development projects. Currently, he is a Social Coordinator for implementing the World Bank’s Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) for Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand. From 2017 to 2020, he was based in Lima, Peru, serving as ESF coordinator for Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru. He has authored and led several reports on emerging sustainability and social inclusion issues, particularly in the renewable energy and transport sectors. Before joining the World Bank, he was a social specialist at the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) in Washington, DC, a social sector specialist at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and a visiting scholar at the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Mexico. He is a Fulbright scholar and a graduate of Tulane University, Loyola University in the United States, and the University of San Carlos in Guatemala.