Final Report Chapter 9 Environmental and Social Considerations 9.6 Main Points regarding Environmental and Social Considerations Assuming the Laying of Submarine Cable In 1999, MPT connected the communication services in Myanmar to SEA-ME-WE3 that was then considered to have a high capacity. The landing point of the submarine cable is at Pyapon. Given the continuing trend for traffic to increase rapidly not only in the domestic communication networks but also in the international communication networks, the resolution of the problem of insufficient capacity is considered a priority task in this Study. Thus the laying of a submarine cable SEA-ME-WE5 (with its landing point at Ngwehsaung) and of another submarine cable (the landing point of which would be Pyapon, the same as SEA-ME-WE3) is under consideration as a new route to the region including Singapore and Malaysia. MPT has not grasped the negative environmental and social impacts, including the impact on the ecosystem, the obstruction of the economic activities of local residents (fishermen), the relocation of residents and marine contamination, since the submarine cable SEA-ME-WE3 was laid in 1999. At that time, the Environmental Conservation Law was not in effect and circumstances were different from what they are at the present time. Assuming that a new submarine cable will be laid, an environmental assessment will have to be carried out in accordance with the Environmental Conservation Law and an Environmental Compliance Certificate will have to be obtained from the Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry by means of the environmental impact assessment procedure. The permit from the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Rural Development and the Ministry of Transport is also required. According to the Guidelines for Environmental and Social Considerations (by Japan International Cooperation Agency in April 2010), on the other hand, there are no concrete examples of sectors, characteristics and areas which are likely to be impacted in relation to communications; but power transmission and transformation/distribution (resulting in large-scale involuntary relocation of residents, large-scale deforestation and the laying of submarine power transmission lines) are classified as category A. In laying the submarine cable, the method of digging the sea bottom to submerge the submarine cable in the shallow water around the cable landing station is used to take into account any unexpected shipping accident. This method may cause contamination of the sea bottom and pollution of the seawater. In laying the submarine cable, therefore, an engineering method similar to the method used for laying power transmission lines will be used, and the impact may be classified as category A. 9-25