At the workshop presentations were given on the Importance of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), Effectiveness of EIA application in Ethiopia and an “Overview of EIA in Ethiopia (the Gaps and Challenges)”. Participants were able to voice their concerns and ask questions after the presentations while they worked in groups and explored different issues related to the EIA process in Ethiopia

mainly institutional and capacity concerns, legal issues, public participation and awareness issues, and Federal and Regional Institutional linkages which are all relevant for undertaking effective EIA. The participants identified major problems, possible solutions and means of addressing them. It was also possible to assess the current and future role of the FDRE House of Peoples Representatives along with what is expected from civil society organizations (CSO’s), private sector or investors and governmental organizations for undertaking effective EIA.

At the workshop participants were assigned problems facing EIA to discuss in groups. The groups discussed Federal and Regional Linkages, Legal Issues, Capacity Issues and Public Participation/Awareness in an effort to indentify specific problems and find possible solutions.

Problems affecting the Federal and Regional Linkages stemmed from insufficient communication between the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) at the regional level and the federal administration. This problem is present primarily because the EPA is not represented in the Ministry of Council. The EPA is often overlooked at the regional level by being included with the Regional Agricultural and Rural Development Bureau.

The suggested means of establishing these solutions is to make the EPA a Ministry where it will receive more human resources, and It will then be represented in the Council of Ministers where important decisions are related to the environment and development are made. 

The Legal Issues facing EIA were also discussed and highlighted along with possible solutions. The main legal problems present stem from the discrepancies in the authority of EIA laws and the authority of Investment laws. There is no clearly established guide to when EIA laws are required or when Investment laws are required. Suggestions were made to solve this by revisiting and reconciling the EIA laws and Investment laws so that their guidelines and authority are clearly established. Funds will also need to be allocated to enforce these newly revised laws.

The current capacity of the EPA to implement EIA’s was also discussed by the groups of participants. At the regional level the EPA currently lacks sufficient human resources and funds to effectively advocate for environmental issues. There is also a lack in dependable information on environmental health and quality for the EPA to base decisions on. Suggested solutions from the groups included restructuring the EPA for better organization and efficiency, adding more human resource power and increasing the available budget.

Public participation and awareness was the final topic of discussion. Presently EIA is left to the EPA to implement without participation from local NGO’s and the public and private sectors in the area. These organizations and businesses potentially offer valuable input and resources that should be utilized by the already underpowered EPA. Some common misconceptions were also identified during the discussion. EIA is often viewed as “anti-development” and expensive, however EIA is typical very inexpensive compared to the cost and damage of construction projects. To combat the lack of awareness and misconception about EIA group members suggested focusing on efforts in the community that would inform the general public and drawn a diverse group of people. Read the full Proceeding of the Workshop