Ethiopia: History of the Implementation of Environmental Impact Assessment Proclamation No. 299/2002

Abstract

The government of Ethiopia introduced environmental impact assessment (EIA) by proclamation in 2002. The overall objective of this study is to critically and qualitatively assess the implementation of that proclamation, considering the level of public participation and the adequacy and effectiveness of legally established laws in the EIA process. This study revealed that the role of public participation in the entire EIA stages is weak. The study also identified that both the legal and institutional frameworks have remained inadequate to ensure full effectiveness of the EIA system. Moreover, this study describes the existence of weak coordination among or between federal, regional, zonal and other sectoral units. Hence, this study recommends that its effective implementation necessarily requires involvement of the public and the issuance of more specific subsidiary instruments.