Efforts Initiated to Ensure Environmental Sustainability in Ethiopia

Abstract

This seminar paper review the effort initiated to ensure environmental sustainability in Ethiopia from different information, report and research made by scholars and organizations. "Environmental Sustainability” focuses on maintaining the ability of natural resources (soil, air, water and biodiversity) to support and strengthen agriculture, food and byproduct sectors and rural communities. The efforts that ensure the sustainability of environmental resources may require links to other levels of decision-making and spatial scales. These links may be drawn through formulation of environmental management and planning at other levels and spatial scales. The formulation of national Environmental Impact Assessments, Environmental policy, Biodiversity conservation strategy, Solid waste management and integrated pollution control, Risk Assessments Environmental Management systems, sectoral plans and monitoring programmes are the most promising way to make a better understanding of how environmental, social and economic considerations fit together. Environmental impact assessment is used to predict and manage the environmental effects which a proposed development activity as a result of its design sitting, construction, operation, or an ongoing one as a result of its modification or termination, entails and thus helps to bring about intended development. By proclamation No. 9/1995 the Ethiopian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has created an environmental policy, environmental impact assessment, national biodiversity conservation strategy as well as legal and regulatory reforms to manage its environmental and natural resources. The overall aim of the Ethiopian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) is to “… improve and enhance the health and quality of life of all Ethiopians and to promote sustainable social and economic development through the sound management and use of natural, human-made and cultural resources and the environment as a whole so as to meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. Generally these efforts should become part of future plan, programme and project formulation to ensure sustainability of the environment.