On 24-25 July 2014, the Ministry of Environment's Department of Environmental Impact Assessment, in cooperation with Vishnu Law Group, organized a public consultation in Mondulkiri Province on the new Draft Law on Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA), the fourth such consultation organized since 2012. The Law was initiated by the Ministry in 2009 in recognition of the need to better regulate and manage development projects in Cambodia in order to mitigate negative impacts on the environment and society. 139 participants joined, including representatives of the Ministries of Environment, Justice, Tourism, Rural Development, Agriculture, and Industry, as well as members of consultancy firms, local and international civil society organizations, indigenous and other communities from the northeast region, and OHCHR. The consultation acknowledged a number of positive provisions in the draft Law, including the establishment of an Expert Review Committee, an EIA Approval Certification process and the formalization of complaint procedures. Crucially, the draft vests the power to administer the EIA procedure with an independent Government agency - the Ministry of Environment - rather than with the agencies undertaking the projects. OHCHR provided recommendations on the need to ensure that information is provided to affected individuals in a timely and accessible manner, that sufficient incentives for compliance are created, and that provisions for resettlement processes are strengthened, including by reflecting the principle of free, prior informed consent into the law.