ENVIRON, an international environmental, health, safety and sustainability consultancy, has established operations in Myanmar, making the firm the first global environmental consultancy on the ground in the country. Principal Consultant and Director Dr Virginia Alzina, based in Yangon, will manage the Myanmar operations. International Mining is organising a conference in Yangon, alongside the Mining Myanmar exhibition, October 30 to November 1, 2014. “This is a time of great change in Myanmar, and there is tremendous need for the services ENVIRON provides in supporting sustainable economic development,” said Stephen Washburn, ENVIRON CEO. “Our new office in Myanmar allows us to work more closely with clients and other stakeholders to make sure these needs are met.”

The firm sees growing demand in Myanmar for environmental and social impact assessments (ESIAs) of proposed development projects, as well as related services such as site evaluation and selection, permitting, water resources, air quality management, human health and ecological assessment, and environmental management systems. According to Juliana Ding, Managing Director of ENVIRON’s Asian operations, “Myanmar has an emerging regulatory framework aimed at ensuring environmental protection and sustainable development, and being on the ground is critical to supporting clients as they establish operations in Myanmar. ENVIRON’s newly established presence in Myanmar demonstrates our continuing strong commitment to this dynamic region.”

“These are exciting times to be on the ground in Myanmar,” says Alzina. She has nearly 20 years of experience in environmental and social sciences, policy and engineering focused on sustainability. Her expertise includes International ESIA practices and standards such as the Equator Principles, the International Finance Corp Performance Standards and other international financial institution requirements. Alzina has worked in more than 45 countries of Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean.