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

1 Basic EIA Concepts

For EIA purposes, “environment” refers to the totality of all materials whether in their natural state or modified or changed by humans, their external spaces and the interactions which affect their quality or quantity and the welfare of humans or other living beings, including, but not restricted to, land, atmosphere, weather and climate, water, living things, sound, odour, taste, social factors, and aesthetics. 8

EIA is understood as an activity designed to identify and predict the impact of a project on the bio-geophysical-chemical environment and on human health so as to recommend appropriate legislative measures, programmes, and operational procedures to minimise negative impacts. It is an exercise to be carried out before undertaking any project or major activity, to ensure that it will not in any way harm the environment on a short or long-term basis. 9 EIA is also defined as a process for the collection and assessment of information about the environmental impacts of a project before a decision is made on whether the project should go ahead. 10

The Ethiopian EIA legislation covers both project-level and strategic assessments. At project level, EIAs address the possible environmental impacts of projects, while strategic assessment looks at the possible environmental consequences of government programmes, strategies and laws. In Ethiopia, EIA is defined as the methodology of identifying and evaluating in advance any effect, be it positive or negative, which results from the implementation of a proposed project or public instrument. 11

The process is relevant to “public instruments”, a term which refers to policies, strategies, programmes, laws and international agreements. 12 In general, EIA is considered a tool that enables decision makers to take environmental issues into account, and a means that authorities can employ to choose actions and make decisions with full knowledge of their impact on the environment. 13

Even though a proposed project or plan may intend to address or solve an identified problem, such projects may (and often do) result in degradation of the human environment that offsets the intended benefits. Hence, any developmental activity requires analysis of the need for such a project and of the monetary costs and benefits involved, as well as a consideration and detailed assessment of the impacts of the proposed development on the environment. 14

2 Overview: Environmental Impact Assessment in Ethiopia

Prior to becoming a legal requirement in 2002, EIA was introduced in Ethiopia, applicable to just a few sectors. The practice of contemplating environmental and health impacts was introduced as early as 1980 with regard to water resource development projects, assisted by the UN Development Programme and the World Health Organization. In those EIAs, however, the main focus was limited to water-related and water-based health problems. The practice then evolved into a formal requirement in international donor-assisted and financed projects in various sectors. The former Ethiopian Valleys Development Authority was the first national institution to incorporate EIA into its activities. The Authority developed its own specific guidelines for the application of EIA in pre-feasibility and feasibility studies of potential medium-scale irrigation projects. 15 Even though these efforts were limited to the irrigation sector and narrow in scope, and despite the fact that they were donor-driven, they have contributed to the emergence of the present system of EIA in the country. 16

The year 2002 was a turning point in the history of EIA in Ethiopia, with the adoption of important Proclamations, including establishing environmental protection organs 17 and environmental pollution prevention and control. 18 These proclamations stipulated the need for EIA and addressed institutional issues compounding EIA administration in Ethiopia. The re-establishment of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) 19 created a significant driving force behind the development of the EIA system in the country. One of the competences and duties of the EPA is to “prepare directives and systems necessary for evaluating the impact of social and economic development projects on the environment; and follow up and supervise their implementation”. 20

3 The EIA Proclamation

The rationale for introducing and developing the EIA system was to address the historical problem of ignoring or neglecting environmental considerations while prioritising technical and economic considerations with regard to development projects. Established by the EPA, the EIA system in the country is based on the principle of active participation and involvement of critical actors and stakeholders, whose collective contribution is brought into play to produce a working system. 21

The critical actors in the Ethiopian EIA process include the environmental protection authorities, the project proponent, consulting firm, interested and affected parties, and licensing agencies. The EIA process involves various stages: pre-screening consultation, screening, scoping, environmental impact study, reviewing, decision making, and environmental monitoring and auditing. 22

The EIA Proclamation requires an EIA process for any planned development project or public policy which is likely to have a negative impact on the environment. It makes EIA a mandatory legal prerequisite for the implementation of major development projects, programmes and plans in the country. It was promulgated to facilitate the implementation and the maximisation of socio-economic benefits, by assessing and managing the potential environmental impacts of a proposed development activity or public instrument prior to their implementation. With regard to development projects, it stipulates that no person shall commence implementation of a proposed project identified by directive as requiring EIA without first passing through the EIA process and obtaining authorisation from the competent environmental agency. 23

In line with this, project proponents must undertake an EIA and submit the report to the competent environmental body; and they must fulfil the EIA-related terms and conditions of the authorisation given to them when they implement the project. 24 Moreover, the Proclamation authorises the imposition of a fine of 50,000–100,000 Ethiopian Birr on any project proponent who proceeds with implementation of a project without obtaining authorisation from environmental agencies or who makes false presentations in the EIA study report. 25

Under the Proclamation, licensing institutions are obliged to ensure, prior to issuing investment permits or operating licences, that the relevant environmental bodies have authorised the implementation of the projects. 26 It requires such licensing institutions to suspend or cancel the permit or licence they have issued for projects where the concerned environmental body suspends or cancels the authorisation given for implementation of the project. 27 These provisions are important to ensure that project proponents comply with the EIA requirements.

Public participation is also addressed in the EIA process. The Proclamation requires environmental bodies to ensure that the comments made by the public (in particular the communities likely to be affected by the project) are incorporated into the EIA study report as well as into its evaluation. 28 To this end, it requires environmental bodies to make any EIA study report available to the public and to solicit comments thereon.

Where subsequent directives require EIA, the relevant public instruments must also pass through the EIA process prior to their approval. In line with this, the Proclamation obliges government organs to ensure that their policies have passed through the EIA process prior to their submission for approval. 29 Having provided the basic framework of EIA, the Proclamation envisages the issuance of specific directives and guidelines that further specify implementation of the EIA process. In particular, it requires the EPA to develop a directive identifying categories of projects likely to have a negative environmental impact, which would thus require an EIA. 30 It also requires the EPA to issue guidelines that determine the elements necessary to prepare and evaluate an EIA study report. 31 The Authority has developed such draft directives and guidelines but they have not yet been formally adopted and put into force.

4 Current Provisions of the EIA Proclamation

The EIA Proclamation remains the most important piece of domestic legislation in relation to EIA in Ethiopia. It considers the EIA process as multi-functional. In its preamble, it declares that EIAs have the potential to promote sustainable development, foster the implementation of the right to a clean and healthy environment, bring about administrative transparency and accountability, and enable the public to participate in planning and decision making on developments which may affect them and the environment. 32

The Proclamation recognises EIA as a tool applicable to both strategies and projects. This recognition is important. The use of EIA at the strategic level is critical for many reasons. In particular, if EIA had only applied at the project level, its consideration of environmental values would often be too late in the decision-making process to allow those considerations to affect project approval planning, design and implementation in any real way. By considering environmental values at the strategic level, those values can be integrated into all decision-making processes from that level down to the smallest projects emanating from those strategies, also giving decision makers a second chance to examine the possible impacts of a project on the environment.

The following sections discuss the primary provisions of the EIA process at present.

5 Public Participation in the EIA Process

6 Conclusion

Recognition of EIA as a requirement in the decision-making process emerged in Ethiopia with the adoption of its 1997 Environmental Policy, and EIA Proclamation No. 299/2002 remains the most important piece of EIA-related domestic legislation in the country. The Proclamation considers the EIA process as multi-functional. In its preamble, it declares that EIAs have the potential to promote sustainable development, foster the implementation of the right to a clean and healthy environment, bring about administrative transparency and accountability, and enable the public to participate in the planning of and decision making on developments which may affect them and the environment.

As this article reveals, public involvement in the EIA process in Ethiopia is weak and the Proclamation fails to ensure the full effectiveness of the EIA system. Moreover, the highly hierarchical structure of environmental government agencies (at the federal, regional, zonal and district levels) leads to weak coordination between agencies, resulting in ineffectiveness of the Proclamation. The constitutionally guaranteed right of the people to participate and be consulted in any development activity that could affect them still needs to be realised in its full sense in the entire EIA process in Ethiopia.

The EIA Proclamation is not in itself adequate to build an effective EIA system. Its effective implementation requires the issuance of more specific subsidiary directives and regulations by the Council of Ministers. Weak legal and institutional arrangements for coordination and communication between or among environmental government agencies have further created a great deal of confusion in the EIA process. Clearly coordination must be strengthened and hierarchical power relations must change, to ensure that any development activities are environmentally friendly.