Environmental Policy Review - Colby College

Environmental Policy Review 2011quantitative analysis of household tree-planting behavior as reported in the Ethiopian RuralHousehold Survey (ERHS).The third chapter examines livestock production systems and their environmental implications.Ethiopia is heavily reliant on agriculture, with livestock estimated to contribute to the livelihoodsof 60-70% of the population. The Ethiopian livestock herd is the largest of any African nation.Consequently, livestock help perform a wide variety of functions for Ethiopians and are amongthe most important commodities of the country. However, livestock also contribute to erosion,soil degradation, greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution, and deforestation. This chapterexplores the production systems for livestock in Ethiopia using GIS, a review of literature, andinterview data. The value and production of livestock are quantitatively analyzed, as are theirenvironmental effects through quantitative and qualitative data.The fourth chapter identifies mechanisms involved in lake management and water quality issuesin Ethiopia through a literature review, case study comparisons, and interviews. Lakes inEthiopia are often adjacent to one or more urban areas, as well as agricultural lands, and plots ofother resource users who draw their livelihoods from the lake and surrounding land. Theseanthropogenic forces threaten the water quality of the lakes that they rely on. Lakes are a crucialexample of a natural resource upon which humans depend, yet one that may become degradedbeyond repair if proper policies are not in place and enforced.The fifth chapter focuses on waste management in Ethiopia, a sector that is concerned withwater quality and health. Ethiopia’s waste management problem is exacerbated by the influx ofpeople moving to urban centers since densely populated areas are more susceptible to healthrisks and contagious diseases. This chapter focuses primarily on the relationship between diseaseand the removal and storage of human waste and household waste in the Ethiopian capital,Addis Ababa, and the resort town of Bahir Dar, and the institutions that are involved.The final chapter of this report explores Ethiopia’s energy sector and the potential for a moresustainable future through rural electrification and renewable energy. The current energy regimein Ethiopia is heavily reliant on traditional biomass fuels, which has resulted in majorenvironmental impacts, including deforestation, land degradation, decreases in agriculturalproductivity, and greenhouse gas emissions contributing to global climate change. Thesepatterns are further exacerbated by Ethiopia’s growing population’s increased energy demands.Through spatial analysis, a literature review, and case study comparisons this chapter exploresEthiopia’s renewable energy options and examines alternative technologies’ feasibility forincreasing access to electricity in rural areas of the country.2

Environmental Policy Review 2011Environmental Policy Review 2011: Key Issues in EthiopiaChapter 1 How Environmental Policy Facilitates or Constrains theActivities of Environmental NGOs in EthiopiaOlivia Kefauver3

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Environmental Policy Review 2011Research Highlightsየጥናቱ ዋና ዋና ጭብጦችEnvironmental Policy Review 2011: How Environmental Policy Facilitatesor Constrains the Activities of Environmental NGOs in Ethiopiaየ 2004 የአካባቢ ጥበቃ ፖሊሲ የስራ ዉጤት፣ የኢትዮጵያ የአካባቢ ጥበቃ ፖሊሲ መንግስታዊካልሆኑ ድርጅቶች ጋር ያላቸው እንቅስቃሴ አካባቢን በሚመለከቱ ጉዳዮች ላይOlivia Kefauverኦሊቭያ ከፋቨር የአካባቢ ጥበቃ ፖሊሲ መንግስታዊ ካልሆኑ ድርጅቶች ጋርያላቸው እንቅስቃሴ አካባቢን በሚመለከቱ ጉዳዮች ዙሪያ ምንይመስላል? ከቃለ መጠየቅ እና ከተለያዩ የጽሑፍ ምንጮች የተገኙማስረጃዎች ትንተና የአካባቢ ጥበቃ ተቋማት በኢትዮጵያ አስፈላጊነታቸውእየጨመረ የመጡ ተቋማት ናቸው:: በኢትዮጵያ የአካባቢ ጥበቃ ፖሊሲ እና ተቋማት ተቋቁመዋልነገር ግን በመንግስት ዙረያ ያለው የአፈጻጸም ብቃት በጀትእጥረት ፣ በባለሙያ እጦቶት ፣ በቁሳቁሶች ጉድለት እናበመሳሰሉ ምክንያቶች አሁንም ድክመት ይታይበታል:: እንደ የአካባቢ ጥበቃ ባለስልጣን የመሳሰሉ የመንግስት አካላትበፕሮግራም እና በፖሊሲ አፈጻጸማቸው ዙሪያ የመንግስታዊያልሆኑ ድርጅቶች ድጋፍ አስፈላጊ ነው:: ምንም እንኳ የኢትዮጵያ መንግስት ከስባዊ መብት አስጠባቂድርጅቶች ጋር ጥሩ ግኑኙነት ባይኖረውም መንግስታዊ ካልሆኑየአካባቢ ጥበቃ ድርጅቶች ጋር ግን የተሻለ ግኑኙነት አለው:: ይህም ሆኖ የአገሪቱ የፖለቲካ ሁኔታ የአካባቢን ፖሊሲና ህጎችከማስፈጸም አንጻር አንዳንዴ አስተማማኝ አይደለም:: የኢትዮጵያን የአካባቢ ፖሊሲ የአፈጻጸም ችግር ለማሻሻልአለማቀፋዊ የገንዘብ ድጋፍ አስፈላጊ ነው:: መንግስታዊ ያልሆኑ የአካባቢ ጥበቃ ድርጅቶች የአካባቢንጥበቃ በሚመለከት ዙሪያ ከፈተኛ ሚና አላቸው:: መንግስታዊ ና መንስግታዊ ያልሆኑ ድርጅቶችን የፖሊሲአፈጻጸም ብቃት በሁሉም ደረጃ ለማሻሻል ጥረት ማድረግያስፈልጋል::ይህንንም ለማስፈጽም፣ መንግስታዊና መንግስታዊ ያልሆኑ ድርጅቶች በጓደኝነት ላይየተመሰረተ ግንኙነትን በማበረታታት፣ በክልል ለተመሰረቱመንግስታዊ ያልሆኑ ድርጅቶችን በፖሊሲ ውይይት፣ በፕሮጀክት አፈጻጸም ፣ በእውቀት ልውውጥ ትኩረት በመስጠት እና አለማቀፋዊየገንዘብ ድጋፍን በማበረታታት ነው:: How does environmental policy facilitate or constrainthe activities of environmental NGOs in Ethiopia? This chapter summarizes the results of a literaturereview and semi-structured key informant interviews. Environmental institutions in Ethiopia have becomeincreasingly important. Environmental policies and institutions areestablished, but the implementation capacity ofgovernment organizations remains weak due toinadequate budgets, lack of expertise, and lack ofadequate facilities to test environmental conditions. Government bodies such as the EthiopianEnvironmental Protection Authority collaborate withenvironmental NGOs for assistance in program andpolicy implementation. Environmental NGOs have good workingrelationships with the government as compared toNGOs working on issues such as human rights, butthe political commitment to environmental policiesand laws is sometimes unpredictable. International financial assistance will be critical forimproving policy implementation capacity. Environmental NGOs play a significant role inenvironmental management in Ethiopia. Effortsshould be made to improve government and NGOimplementation capacity on all levels by: strengthening government-NGO resourceexchanges and partnerships, and attracting international financial assistance forgovernmental agencies and NGOs to increaseshort-term implementation capacity.5

Environmental Policy Review 2011Environmental Policy Review 2011: How Environmental PolicyFacilitates or Constrains the Activities of Environmental NGOs inEthiopiaBy Olivia KefauverExecutive Summary“How Environmental Policy Facilitates or Constrains the Activities of Environmental NGOs inEthiopia” is the first chapter in Environmental Policy Review 2011, a report produced by theEnvironmental Policy Group in the Environmental Studies Program at Colby College inWaterville, Maine.In the 20 years since the overthrow of the Derg regime, new formalized environmentalinstitutions have been established in Ethiopia, including environmental legislation covering anarray of environmental issues. This chapter explores the historical and current context ofenvironmental institutions and their interactions with environmental non-governmentalorganizations (NGOs) in Ethiopia.Key informant interviews from multiple stakeholders provide different but consistentperspectives on the relationships between environmental NGOs and Ethiopian environmentalpolicy. While environmental policies exist in Ethiopia, problems in implementation arepervasive. This implementation gap has meant that many policies that appear “good on paper”have resulted in few tangible environmental outcomes on the ground. In the face of thisproblem, environmental NGOs have played a significant role in supporting improvedenvironmental management in Ethiopia. Case studies highlighting two domestic environmentalNGOs, Forum for Environment (FFE) and Concern for Environment (CFE), further illustratethe different possible roles of environmental NGOs in Ethiopia and provide insights into thepotential of the environmental NGO sector going forward.Until recently, the Ethiopian government’s relationship with NGOs has been characterized byan aversion to “independent citizen activism,” with the exception of periods of necessity duringenvironmental and human crises. But the strength and diversity of the NGO sector hasincreased significantly since the 1990s and environmental NGOs are now playing an increasingrole. In the context of the government’s limited fiscal and expert resources for environmentalmanagement, efforts should be made to improve both government and NGO implementationcapacity on all levels. Specific policy recommendations include: (1) strengthening governmentNGO partnerships, including locally/regionally-based NGOs in environmental policy dialogue,project implementation and information/resource exchanges; and (2) attracting internationalfinancial assistance for government and NGOs to increase short-term implementation capacity.6

Environmental Policy Review 2011Environmental Policy Review 2011: How Environmental PolicyFacilitates or Constrains the Activities of Environmental NGOs inEthiopiaBy Olivia KefauverIntroductionEthiopia is one of the most important biodiversity hotspots of the world, but also one of themost degraded (FFE, 2011b; Conservation International, 2007; McKee, 2007). The country facesnumerous environmental challenges such as deforestation, soil erosion, loss of biodiversity, anddeclines in soil fertility and water quality (FFE, 2011a; Bekele, 2008; EPE, 1997). Theseproblems pose significant risks for Ethiopian citizens since – as emphasized in the 1997Environmental Policy of Ethiopia – “natural resources are the foundation of the economy.”Political, social, and economic challenges can both contribute to and be exacerbated byenvironmental degradation. Much of Ethiopia’s population is dependent upon on theenvironment as their principal source of income (HoAREC, 2011; US DOS, 2011; McKee, 2007;EPE, 1997). This leads to a cycle of environmental degradation and poverty: to survive, people“are forced to disregard the long-term well-being of the environment and thus degrade itfurther” (MoFED, 2002, p. 121). Recurrent droughts, famines, poor infrastructure and periodsof political unrest serve as additional challenges for environmental management within Ethiopia(Ogbaharya & Tecle, 2010; EPE, 1997).The Environmental Policy of Ethiopia (EPE) and the 2002 Sustainable Development andPoverty Reduction Program (SDPRP) attribute the prevalence of poverty in part to low growthand low productivity of agriculture and to the populace’s dependence on agriculture and naturalresources. The EPE states that agriculture is the main source of variability and stagnation ineconomic growth (1997). As one of the most dependent countries on foreign aid, limited fiscalresources impact Ethiopia’s ability to address these issues (ICNL, 2011). At the same time, as thecurrent government of Ethiopia has only been in place since 1995, Ethiopia faces not only theeconomic development challenges of any low-income country, but also the challenge of creatinga new government institutional structure so that it can best serve its citizens’ needs.The manner in which environmental issues are addressed in the coming years will have asignificant influence on the well-being of the Ethiopian people, and on surrounding nationswhose ecosystems are “dynamically interlinked” with Ethiopia (McKee, 2007). In this context,the development of strong institutions and networks is a necessity to address environmentaldegradation and management of natural resources. This chapter assesses the strengths and7

Environmental Policy Review 2011weaknesses of environmental institutions in Ethiopia and explores how environmental NGOsmight help strengthen both written environmental policy and policy implementation.Theoretical FoundationsInstitutions are “humanly devised constraints that structure human interaction” (North, 1994, p.360). They consist of formal constraints, (rules, laws, constitutions), informal constraints (normsof behavior, conventions, and self-imposed codes of conduct), and their associated enforcementcharacteristics (North, 1994). The structure of environmental institutions in Ethiopia frames theways in which environmental problems are approached and in turn, the extent to which tangibleresults are p

The Environmental Policy Review is a series of reports written and produced by the Colby Environmental Policy Group, senior environmental policy majors at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. This is the first Environmental Policy Review report created by students in ES 493: Environmenta