CHAPTER 4

ETHIOPIAN ENVIRONMENTAL
POLICIES AND LEGISLATION
I. Policies
1. The 1997 Environmental Policy of Ethiopia
(EPE)
1.1. The Natural Resource Base
• The following facts are based on the data of 1990s. So
there could be changes in the positive or in the
negative.
– Renewable natural resources, i.e. land, water, forests and
trees as well as other forms of biodiversity, which meet the
basic needs for food, water, clothing and shelter, have now
deteriorated to a low level of productivity.
– As facts from the MoA indicate, there has been some
changes now on the agricultural productivity. But
increment in crop production is mainly due to area 2
 1.2. Structure of the Policy
• The EPE has 5 sections.
– Section 1 deals with the resource base;
– Section 2 is about the policy goal, objectives and
guiding principles;
– Section 3 is devoted for sectoral environmental
policies; (e.g. agriculture, forestry, water, energy,
…)
– Section 4 is about cross-sectoral environmental
policies; (e.g. population, public participation,
land use planning, …)
– Section 5 deals with policy implementation;
3
1.3. Policy goal, objectives and guiding principles
The Policy Goal
• The Environmental policy of Ethiopia has broad
policy goals and specific objectives.
• The overall policy goal is highly linked to
sustainability.
• This overall policy goal incorporates
environmental principles which include:
– The right to a clean and healthy environment;
– Rational utilization of NRs;
– Sustainable development; etc.

4
 1.4. Policy Objectives
• There are 9 policy objectives. These include:
1. Utilizing the renewable NRs within their
regenerative capacity.
 The concept of acting within the caring capacity of the
ecosystem and preserving biodiversity.
It is now estimated that the world now has surpassed this to
a large extent.
2. Efficient utilization of NRs by using the
appropriate technology
• Emphasizing on appropriate technology. Sometimes
technology may even aggravate the problem.
 Aldo Leopold’s example of the energetic water
5
pump.
3. Incorporating environmental concerns into all
economic and development activities and
valuation of the environmental services
– The importance of mainstreaming environmental
concerns into economic activities.
– Giving true value for the environmental services.
Is this really possible? What is the value of Wilson’s
ants?

6
7
 4. Ensure the empowerment and participation of the
people
• This is related with the participation of the people in
decision making on environmental affairs.
5. Recognition of local knowledge which is usually
referred to as traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) or
indigenous knowledge (IK).
 But not all local tradition is good (e.g. hunting, say
for a rite of passage or initiation, or hunting to show
one’s bravery)

6. Key Guiding Principles

• There are 19 key guiding principles which are mainly
derived from the policy objectives. These include: 8
– The right to live in a clean and healthy
environment;
– Sustainable development;
– Polluter pays principle;
– Precautionary principle;
– Women’s empowerment;
– Right to life of all species;

9
2. Forest Policy and Strategy, 2007
Preamble
• Deforestation for agricultural land as a result of ever
increasing population growth, increase in demand
for fuel wood and construction material, illegal
settlement within forests, logging and the expansion
of illegal trade are at the forefront of the factors
contributing to deforestation.
General Objective
• To meet public demand in forest products and foster
the contribution of forests in enhancing the
economy of the country through appropriately
conserving and developing forest resources. 10
• There are 5 specific objectives. One of which states:
– To ensure maintenance of the natural ecological
balance through adequately conserving and developing
the forest resources of the country.
• There are 6 policy statements and each policy
statement is followed by a number of strategies.
These include:
• Fostering Private Forest Development and
Conservation
– Encouraging individuals, organizations and associations
to engage in forestry activities and granting them land
free from lease;
– Facilitate the introduction of tax reduction schemes.
11
• Expansion of Forest Development Technology
– Austria (has only 7.6% of the area of Ethiopia but
known exporter of timber to the world!)
• Protecting Forest Resources from Threats (e.g.
fire)
3. National Biodiversity Policy 1997
• A very short policy.
• Preamble states:
– Ethiopia is one of the major centers of origin/diversity
for many cultivated plant species, wild plant species,
animal and microbial genetic resources.
– The endowment of genetic resources is threatened by
irretrievable loss of biodiversity. 12
• Some of the objectives of the Policy are:
– Ensure that the Ethiopian plant, animal and microbial
genetic resources and essential ecosystems as a whole are
conserved, developed, managed and sustainably
utilized;
– Assert national sovereignty over genetic resources and
develop a mechanism for a fair exchange, safe movement
and proper management of these resources;
– Create a functional and efficient organizational structure
to ensure inter institutional linkage and coordination in
biodiversity conservation, development and utilization;

13
4. National Population Policy, 1993
• Global human population growth amounts to around
84 million annually and Ethiopia gets around 3
million additional persons (net increment) annually.
• It does not seem that the world resources will allow
such trend as there are only limited resources for the
wellbeing of the population.
• The situation becomes disastrous when unchecked
population growth is compounded by a
consumerism lifestyle.

14
General Objectives include:
• Closing the gap between high population growth
and low economic productivity through planned
reduction of population growth and increasing
economic returns.
• Reducing the rate of rural to urban migration;
– But this should not be seen as prohibiting urban
development.
– GTP II recognizes that urban areas are centers of
economic development.
• Maintaining/improving the carrying capacity of the
environment by taking appropriate environmental
protection/conservation measures; 15
Specific Objectives include:
• Reducing the current total fertility rate of 7.7
children per woman to approximately 4.0 by the
year 2015;
• Increasing the prevalence of contraceptive use form
the current 4.0% to 44.0% by the year 2015;
• Significantly increasing females’ participation at all
level of the educational system;

Did we achieve this?

• By 2020 national modern contraceptive use was
only 34%.
16
– Urbanization and economic development are said to be
 Areas of some African Cities in KM2 (2020)
No. City Area Country Population of the Total Urban
(KM2) Population city Population
(Country)
1. Cairo 3085 102,334,404 20,901,000 42.8%
2. Addis Ababa 527 114,963,588 4,794,000 21.7%
3. Abidjan 2119 26,378,274 3,677,115 51.9%
4. Johannesburg 1645 59,620,000 5,783,000 67.4%
5. Lagos 1171 206,000,000 14,368,000 52%
6. Abuja 1769 26,378,274 3,278,000 52%
7. Khartoum 1010 43,849,260 5,829,000 35.3%
8. Alexandria 2679 102,334,404 159,200 42.8%
9. Nairobi 696 53,771,296 4,735,000 28%
10. Dar es Salaam 1590 59,734,218 6,400,000 31.85
11. Kinshasa 9965 89,561,403 17,070,000 45.6%
12. Harare 961 14,862,924 1,530,000 32.2%
13. Cape Town 2450 59,620,000 5,100,000 67.4%

17
5. Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE)
Strategy, 2011

The Vision
To achieve middle-income status by 2025 in a
climate-resilient green economy
The Challenge
To achieve economic development goals in a
sustainable way
The Plan
To follow a green path that fosters development and
sustainability
18
The Green Economy plan is based on 4 pillars
• Agriculture: Improving crop and livestock production
practices for higher food security and farmer income
while reducing emission.
• Forestry: Protecting and re-establishing forests for their
economic and ecosystem services, including as carbon
stocks.
• Power: Expanding electricity generation from
renewable sources of energy for domestic and regional
market.
• Transport, industrial sectors and buildings:
Leapfrogging to modern & energy-efficient
technologies in transport, industrial sectors and
buildings. 19
20
II. LEGISLATION

• “If someone builds an oven from which smoke rises,

thereby injuring those who dwell in the upper storey,
the law commands that he be forbidden to direct the
smoke towards them, unless he has the right to
direct it (there). Similarly, those who dwell upstairs
may not drop water or throw dirt which may harm
those who dwell downstairs...”
 Fetha Negest (The Law of Kings), Chapter 37

21
• “... Coniferous trees should be utilized only for
building houses, not for other purposes. Those trees
with flowers and medical trees such as Hagenia
Abyssinica (Koso) should be handled with the
utmost care... As it is necessary to enhance the
awareness of the people, explanations should be
made... Anyone who violates these rules shall be
apprehended and presented before the Emperor...”
 Emperor Menelik’s Decree.

22
Another decree of the Emperor:
• Required possession of a license to hunt;
• Prohibited killing of young animals; (e.g. killing of
an elephant whose tusk is less than 17 KG was not
allowed);
• Required a deposit of 50 Birr which was outside the
reach of most of the people by then;
• Prohibited hunting activities outside one’s own
province or even Awuraja;
• Ordered that bullets for hunting be sold only by
government office. (This had restricted the
availability of bullets in the market.)
23
1. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
Proclamation No. 299/2002
• The main purposes of this Proclamation are
prescribed in its preamble, and these are:
– To predict and manage the environmental effects which a
proposed development activity entails;
– To harmonize and integrate environmental, economic,
cultural and social considerations into a decision making
process;
– To bring about administrative transparency and
accountability as well as to ensure the participation of the
communities in the planning and decision making on
developments; and
– To mitigate environmental impacts of a proposed
24
development activity (project)
• EIA is believed to be a tool that ensures the respect of
the constitutionally guaranteed rights of the people to
live in a clean and healthy environment.
• It does this by significantly reducing the negative
impacts of development projects on environment and
by maximizing the socioeconomic benefits of such
development activities.
• Moreover, EIA brings about administrative
transparency and accountability, as it allows the
public to participate on decision making with respect
to development projects, which are proposed to take
place within their environment.
• All development projects do not need to undergo EIA
25
process.
Which projects require EIA?
• Article 5 of the Proclamation prescribes in a very
general manner about the projects that require EIA. It
reads as follows:
Article 5 — Projects requiring environmental impact
assessment
(1) Every project which falls in any category listed in any
directive issued pursuant to this Proclamation shall be
subject to EIA.
(2) Any directive provided under sub-Article 1 of this article
shall, among other things, determine categories of:
(a) projects not likely to have negative impacts, and so do not
require environmental impact assessment;
(b) projects likely to have negative impacts and thus require
26
environmental impact assessment.
• This Proclamation needs detailed regulations and/or
directives that would facilitate its effective
implementation. (Some are issued by the EPA!)
• The precautionary principle is the pillar principle of
EIA as it is very difficult, if not impossible to
recover the previous condition, once the
environment is seriously injured. For instance, it is
not possible to get back a species after it its
extinction.
• Meaning of the precautionary principle (See Ch-
3).

27
• Based on this principle, it is appropriate that EIA
reports be prepared before the actual operation of
the proposed development (such as investment)
activities. Article 3 of the EIA Proclamation requires
this as a condition.

Article 3 — General provisions

(1) Without authorization from the authority or from
the relevant regional environmental agency, no
person shall commence implementation of any
project that requires environmental impact
assessment as determined in the directive issued
pursuant to Article 5 of this Proclamation. 28
(3) Any licensing agency shall, prior to issuing an
investment permit or a trade or an operating license
for any project, ensure that the authority or the
relevant regional environmental agency has
authorized its implementation.

• According to Sub-Article (3) of this Article, any

licensing agency, (such as Investment Commission)
before issuing an operational license, must check
that the developer prepared EIA study and the fact
that EPA or the concerned regional environmental
organ has accepted the same.  But this has been
found problematic! 29
• As practice shows, the applications of EIA by
developers (project owners or proponents) present
three scenarios:

1. Application of EIA as part and parcel of the project

planning and design process;
2. Application of EIA after finalization of project
design, but before actual implementation; and
3. Application of EIA after project development has
commenced through site preparation or actual
construction and in most cases as a consequence of
the project having been halted by regulatory
authorities. 30
• From the above points, it can be seen that scenario
(1) represents a correct application of the EIA
requirements. Scenarios (2) and (3) continue to
present huge challenges to the EIA system.

• Under these circumstances, the EIA process does

not have the opportunity to address some of the
impacts that would have been avoided if it had been
done before commencement of project
implementation.

31
• The Proclamation further prescribes duties of a
proponent. A proponent is the project owner or the
investor. It is the project owner who is preparing the
EIA document. Such person is required to submit
the EIA document to the EPA or to the relevant
regional environmental agency for review.
2. Pollution Control Proclamation № 300/2002
Preamble
• WHEREAS, some social and economic
development endeavors may inflict environmental
harm that could make the endeavors
counterproductive;
32
• WHEREAS, the protection of the environment, in
general, and the safeguarding of human health and
wellbeing, as well as the maintaining of the biota
and aesthetic value of nature, in particular, are the
duty and responsibility of all;
• WHEREAS, it is appropriate to eliminate or, when
not possible, to mitigate pollution as an undesirable
consequence or social and economic development
activities.

What is pollution?

33
• Pollution is contamination by a chemical or other
agent that renders part of the environment unfit for a
safe health or life of humans or all other life forms
or the whole of the life support system.
• Pollution damages the Earth’s land, water and air. It
results in contamination of the Earth’s environment
with materials that interfere with human health, the
quality of life, and the natural functioning of
ecosystems (living organisms and their physical
surroundings).
• Pollution is usually caused by human actions, but
can also be the consequence of natural disasters; 
e.g. volcanic eruptions. 34
• Pollution exists in many forms and affects many
different aspects of the Earth’s environment. Some
main types of pollution are:
– Water pollution is a serious global problem and the
largest water pollution problem is from sewage
contaminating watercourses.
– Air pollution arising from many sources, and is bad in
cities. Car transport emissions cause a lot of the air
pollution. Air pollution contributes to the greenhouse
effect.
– Radioactive pollution results from inadequate nuclear
safety. (E.g. radiations from X-ray equipment)
– Highway vehicles, and shipping, are major contributor to
air pollution worldwide.
35
 – Noise is a form of pollution as well but is unlike the
others as it is transient; once the pollution stops, the
environment is free of it.
– Light pollution from glass curtain walls of high rising
buildings is also another problem that needs attention.
• Pollution control involves higher production costs
for the industries concerned, but failure to
implement adequate controls may result in
irreversible environmental damage and an increase
in the incidence of diseases such as cancer.

36
• The Pollution Control Proclamation gives big powers
to the EPA and the relevant regional environmental
agencies. You could see these powers in Article 3 and
other Articles of the Proclamation. Article 3 reads as
follows:

37
• Article 3— Control of Pollution
1. No person shall pollute or cause any other person to
pollute the environment by violating the relevant
environmental standards.
2. The authority or the relevant regional environmental
agency may take an administrative or legal measure
against a person who, in violation of law, releases any
pollution to the environment.
3. Any person engaged in any field of activity which is
likely to cause pollution or any other environmental
hazard shall, when the authority or the relevant
regional environmental agency so decides, install a
sound technology that avoids or reduces, to the
required minimum, the generation of waste and, when
feasible, apply methods for the recycling of waste. 38
4. Any person who causes any pollution shall be required to
clean up or pay the cost of cleaning up the polluted
environment in such a manner and within such a period as
shall be determined by the authority or by the relevant
regional environmental agency.
5. When any activity poses a risk to human health or to the
environment, the authority or the relevant regional
environmental agency shall take any necessary measure
up to the closure or relocation of any enterprise in order
to prevent harm.
• Article 6 of the Proclamation is devoted for
environmental standards.

39
• Environmental standards are made to make the
whole environment a safer place for all living
things. According to the principle of environmental
standards, no one is allowed to emit or discharge
pollutants more than a certain given level.
• Part four of the Proclamation is devoted for
environmental inspectors. It describes who the
inspectors are and their powers and duties.
• The powers given to environmental inspectors are
so great. In fact, such big powers are necessary to
effectively implement the pollution proclamation.

40
• So as to properly discharge their duties, such
inspectors need to be of high ethical and moral
standards. They could easily abuse their powers
unless they are highly committed professionals.
• The Proclamation gives them a power to enter any
premises at any time without a prior notice or
without a court warrant. They can conduct search
and even take samples without payment or they can
see documents.
• They can do all these without a court order. This is a
very big power. Therefore, environmental inspectors
must be very considerate and genuine people.
41
• Another interesting aspect of the Pollution Control
Proclamation is the right to standing. Many of the
litigations in the area of environmental law are of civil
nature. But there are also criminal litigations in the
field of environmental law.
• In the Civil Procedure Code to institute a court case one
must show a vested interest. That is, he/she must show
his/her interest in the case. The one who fails to show
his personal interest in the case has no right to institute
a civil case at a court of law.
– This situation is reversed in Proclamation № 300 of 2002.
That is, any person without showing a vested interest can
bring a suit against another person allegedly causing actual
or potential damage to the environment.
42
3. Development, Conservation and Utilization of
Wildlife Proclamation № 541 of 2007
• Some of the preambular statements of Proclamation
№ 541 of 2007 include:
WHEREAS, unplanned and inappropriate utilization
of wildlife has resulted in their depletion and
endangered existence;
WHEREAS, the conservation of wildlife undertaken
so far is not productive;
WHEREAS, allowing local communities residing
around conservation areas and private investors to
actively participate in wildlife development,
conservation and utilization has significant value;
43
WHEREAS, it is appropriate to enhance the
contribution of the wildlife sector towards poverty
reduction strategy by maximizing the economic and
social benefit to be derived from the wildlife
resource.
Article 3 Objectives
• This Proclamation shall have the following major
objectives:
– To conserve, manage, develop and properly utilize the
wildlife resources of Ethiopia;
– To create conditions necessary for discharging
government obligations assumed under treaties regarding
the conservation, development, and utilization of
wildlife; and 44
– To promote wildlife-based tourism and to encourage private
investment.
• Part 2 (Articles 4 to 9) of the Proclamation is
devoted for the rules on wildlife conservation areas
and hunting activities.
• Article 6, which is dealing with wildlife
conservation areas to be administered by private
investors prescribes that “Private investors may be
authorized to administer the wildlife conservation
areas referred to in Article 4 and 5 of this
Proclamation by concession agreements to be
concluded with the Federal Government and the
concerned regions.”
45
• By the same token, Article 7, which deals with the
wildlife conservation areas to be administered by
local communities provides that “Wildlife habitats
other than the conservation areas referred to in
Articles, 4, 5, and 6 of this Proclamation may be
authorized by the concerned regions to be
administered by the local communities.”
Article 12 Trading in Wildlife and their Products
• The following are prohibited unless a permit is
obtained from the Ministry or the concerned
regional organs, as appropriate:

46
 – Any activity of trade in wildlife and their products;
– The ownership, sale, transfer, export or import of any
processed or unprocessed wildlife product.
• The Ministry and the concerned regional organs
may issue permits pursuant to Sub-Article (1) of the
Article in compliance with the provisions of this
Proclamation, regulations and directives issued
hereunder and treaties to which Ethiopia is a party.

47
• Today, Ethiopia’s wildlife population is declining at
an alarming rate. Species such as lions, elephants,
the Ethiopian wolf, the African wild ass, rhinoceros
and many more are in danger of extinction.
– The parks are surrounded by intensive cultivation
and invaded by thousands of grazing domestic
animals and there is little chance of survival for
the parks in such a situation.
– Unethical hunting (even the ones conducted
during the night time) practices by heavily armed
(AKM 47) groups was so rampant.

48
• Wardens stated that they could do nothing about the
devastation in the parks.
• However, there was, reportedly, some evidence of
increment of Mountain Nyala in Bale Mountains
National Park and Walia Ibex in the Semien
Mountains National Park.
• Given the on-going evolution of the rapid
conversion of the natural habitats to areas of human
cultivation, to feed the ever-increasing population,
Ethiopia can be removed from the travel books as
a tourist wildlife destination.

49
• The Proclamation vests the power of wildlife
administration in both the Federal and Regional
Governments.
– National parks that are nationally and globally significant
and known to have representative ecological zones and
embrace great diversity of wildlife;
– National parks and wildlife sanctuaries that are inhabited
by the country’s endemic and endangered species; any
wildlife conservation areas geographically situated within
two or more regions;
– Any trans-boundary wildlife conservation areas that may
be established in accordance with agreements with
neighbouring countries shall be designated and
administered by the Federal Government (Article 4(1)).
50
• Those national parks, sanctuaries, etc. which are not
designated and administered by the Federal
Government are to be designated and administered by
the Regional Governments according to regional laws
(Article 5).
• In 2008, the Council of Ministers (163/2008) enacted
a regulation to implement this Proclamation. The
regulation designated those wildlife conservation
areas to be administered by the Federal Government
and the Regional States.
• Conservation areas other than those specified to be
administered by the Authority shall be administered
by the regional governments or by local people.
51
A young Mountain Nyala found slaughtered in a maize farm.
The value of an old Nyala is 15,000 USD when hunted by
foreign tourists. (Reg. No. 163/2008, Table IV, Row 39). The
price is now being revised to make it even higher. 52
Cheetahs serve as pet animals in many Arab countries. Ethiopian
lowlands are the major sources of these animals. It is one of the
protected wild animals under Regulation No. 163/2008 (Annex X)53
Comparison of tourist receipt in 2017 between
Ethiopia and Tanzania

Ethiopia gained 434 million USD

Tanzania gained 2.34 billion USD
Ethiopia got only 18.4% of the amount obtained by
Tanzania in 2017
Tourist arrivals to Tanzania reached 1.4 million in
2022 and revenues reached USD 2.5 Billion 
mainly from wildlife tourism
Kenya earned USD 2.1 Billion in 2022 from
tourism mainly from wildlife tourism
54