CHAPTER 2

Policies and Legal Framework

for EIA

By Andinet K. (PhD)
Adama Science & Technology University
Nov. 2023
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 Outline
1.Introduction
 International Conventions & Multilateral Environmental
Agreements
 EIA Requirements of International Organizations
 National Requirements

2. Legal Framework and Roles of Actors in EIA

3. Institutional arrangements for EIA in Ethiopia

 Institutional framework for EIA
 EIA Implementation in Ethiopia
– Improvements, Gaps & Challenges

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1. Introduction

 Every EIA system - distinctive to some degree,

reflecting the political system of a country.

 EIA framework or components from a country

(or international organization) may not be
readily imported into another, at least without
significant revision.

 EIA requires clear legal & institutional

framework

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1.1 International Conventions & Multilateral
Environmental Agreements
 Non-binding instruments, such as the Rio Declaration,
establish important principles for SD, including those
that need to be reflected in EIA arrangements
e.g. application of the precautionary principle.

 Legal conventions & treaties related to environmental

protection at the global or regional level.
e.g. Basel Convention on the Control of Trans-boundary
Movements of Hazardous Waste, carry obligations
for signatory countries that may be met through EIA
arrangements.

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 As of 2010 Ethiopia is a signatory to 12 Multilateral
Environmental Agreements, of which most have
relevance to EIA, such as:
Convention Issue
Stockholm Persistent Organic Pollutants

Montreal Protocol Substances that Deplete Ozone Layer

Control of Trans-boundary Movements
Basel
of Hazardous Waste

Ban on Import into Africa & Control of

Bamako Trans-boundary Movement and Mng’t
of Hazardous Wastes within Africa

Libreville
Health & Environment in Africa
Declaration

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 1.2 EIA Requirements of International
Organizations
 World bank & regional dev’t banks (African, Asian &
Inter-American dev’t banks), and European bank for
reconstruction have well-established EIA procedures,
which apply to their lending activities & projects.

– Borrowing countries are responsible for preparation of

the EIA, and

– In effect, this influenced introduction & dev’t of EIA

in many developing countries.
 World Bank has environmental & social safeguards policy
- serve as guideline for environmental and social
considerations in identification, preparation &
implementation of projects.
 The policy includes the following 10 items:
o Environmental Assessment,
o Natural Habitats,
o Forests,
o Pest Management,
o Physical Cultural Resources,
o Involuntary Resettlement,
o Indigenous Peoples,
o Safety of Dams,
o International Waterways and Disputed Areas
 Any project implemented through World Bank funding
needs to identify, assess & address the impacts
associated to the 10 aspects.

 Typical environmental & social safeguards documents

required by the World Bank are:

1) EIA study report,

2) Resettlement Action Plan (RAP)

1) Environmental Assessment
 Depending on type, location, sensitivity & scale of project, as
well as nature & magnitude of the potential environ impacts,
project financed by World Bank:
– Category A: likely cause significant adverse environmental impacts.
– Category B: with potential environmental impacts, but less adverse
than those of Category A projects.
– Category C: likely to have minimal or no adverse environmental
impacts.

2) Resettlement Action Plan (RAP)

 Impacts on Project Affected Persons (PAPs) & incorporates:
– An estimate on number of PAPs
– An estimate on loss of asset & livelihoods by PAPs
– Proposes mechanism for resettlement & compensation
 RAP - becoming part & parcel of the EIA process, even becoming
mandatory requirement in some countries.
 In general, EIAs conducted for World Bank funded
projects should address
 the Bank’s req’t and
 national EIA req’ts pertaining to the country where the
project is implemented.

 Similarly, other multilateral & bilateral donors have

requirements for EIA.

 In general, EIA conducted for projects funded by

bilateral donors need to address EIA req’ts pertaining
to donor country + national EIA req’ts pertaining to
country where the project implemented.
 1.3 National Requirements
 Concept of SD & environmental rights - fixed as
Rights of Ethiopians through Articles 43 & 44.

Article 43: The Right to Development

• Ethiopians have right to improved living standards
and to SD.

• Nationals have right to participate in national dev’t &,

in particular, to be consulted wrt policies & projects
affecting their community.

• The basic aim of dev’t activities - enhance capacity of

citizens for dev’t & to meet their basic needs.

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Article 44: Environment Rights
• All persons have the right to live in a clean &
healthy environment.
• All persons who have been displaced or whose
livelihoods have been adversely affected as a
result of State programmes have the right to
matching monetary or alternative means of
compensation, including relocation with adequate
State assistance.

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Environmental Policy- Goal
‘to improve the health and quality of life of all
Ethiopians and to promote sustainable social and
economic dev’t through - sound mng’t & use of
resources and the environment as a whole so as to
meet needs of the present generation w/out
compromising ability of future generations to meet
their own needs'

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Legislative Measures  to meet the goal
1) Proclamation on the establishment of environmental
protection organs (No. 295/2002)

2) Environnemental Impact Assessment Proclamation

(No. 299/2002)

3) Environnemental Pollution Control Proclamation

(No 300/2002)

4) Solid Waste Proclamation (No. 513/2007)

5) Industrial Pollution Prevention & Control Regulation

(No. 159/2008)
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Environmental Protection Organs Establishment
Proclamation (No 295/2002)
• Establishes institutions responsible for regulation
of EIA, such as:
 Environmental Protection Authority
 Regional Environmental Agencies
 The Sectoral Environmental Units

Environmental Pollution Control Proclamation

(300/2002) - Complements EIA legislation
• EIA proclamation requires dev’tal activities to
consider environmental impacts before their
establishment
• Pollution Control Proc. requires ongoing activities to
implement measures that would reduce their degree
of pollution to a set limit. 15
Solid Waste Proclamation (513/2007)
• Prohibits production of thin non-biodegradable
plastic bags of 0.3 mm or less.
• Requires permit from individuals & businesses
involved in collection, transportation, use or disposal
of solid waste.
• However,
 system for permits is not well established.
 risk of hazardous SWs: parts of electrical devices
including batteries, used electronic parts, etc. was not
included (made available recently, 2018).
 it doesn’t also deal with disposal & mng’t of SW in
rural environ - becoming increasingly problematic.
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Industrial Pollution Prevention & Control Regulation
(159/2008)
• Ensures compatibility of industrial dev’t with
environmental conservation.
• To assist implementation of this regulation,
comprehensive industry sector specific standards
are developed to prevent industrial pollution.
• The standards are indicators of pollution limits
beyond which pollutant levels will not be tolerated.
• Modified as per the available scientific knowledge
on the different pollutants emitted.
• Regional states can also utilize the guideline as a
platform to develop tougher standards taking into
consideration particular ecological conditions in
their localities, using these standards as basic.
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2. Legal Framework & Roles of Actors

Environment
Totality of all materials whether in their natural state or
modified by humans; their external space & interactions
which affect their quality or quantity & welfare of human
or other living beings, including but not restricted to, land,
atmosphere, weather & climate, water, living things, sound,
odor, taste, social factor & aesthetics.

Environmental impact assessment

Methodology of identifying & evaluating in advance any
effect, be it +ve or -ve, which results from implementation
of a proposed project or public instrument.
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Impact
Any changes to the environment or to its component that
may affect human health or safety, flora, fauna, soil, air,
water, climate, natural or cultural heritage, other physical
structure, or in general, subsequently alter environmental,
social, economic or cultural conditions.

Pollutant
Any substance (liquid, solid or gas) which directly/indirectly:
– alters quality of any part of the receiving environment so as
to affect its beneficial use adversely; or
– produces toxic substances, diseases, objectionable odor,
radioactivity, noise, vibration, heat, or any other phenomenon
that is hazardous or potentially hazardous to human health
or to other living things.
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Proponent
Structure of gov’t (public sector) or any person
(private sector) that initiates a project.

Licensing agency
Any organ of gov’t empowered by law to issue an
investment permit or a trade or operating license or a
work permit or to register a business organization, as
the case may be.

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Generally,
 Authorization is required to implement a
project.
 Competent Authority decides whether or not
EIA is required.
 Licensing agency demands proof of Competent
Authority’s authorization.
 Approval of EIA report or authorization
granting by the Competent Authority doesn’t
exclude proponent from liability for damage.

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 What is in the EIA Report?
 Should contain sufficient info. for decision making.
 Shall contain, as a minimum, a description of:
– Project nature, including technology & processes to be used;
– Content & amount of liquid, gas or solid emission that will be
released during implementation & operation;
– Source & amount of energy required for operation;
– Info on likely trans-regional impacts;
– Characteristics & duration of all estimated direct or indirect,
+ve or -ve impacts,
– Measures proposed to eliminate, minimize or mitigate -ve
impacts;
– Plans for reducing environmental mng’t problems;
– Contingency plan in case of accident; and
– Procedures of self auditing & monitoring during
implementation and operation

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How to Determine Impact?
 Impact of a project shall be assessed based on the
– size,
– location (to adversely affect ecosystem),
– nature (eg. -ve or +ve),
– cumulative effect with other concurrent impacts
or phenomena (slide 19),
– trans-regional effect,
– duration,
– reversibility or irreversibility or
– other related effects of the project

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 What kinds of project should undergo EIA?
 The EIA guideline lists projects in 3 categories:
– Schedule 1: Projects with significant adverse environmental
impacts & thus requiring full/comprehensive EIA studies
e.g. dams, irrigation & drainage, hydropower, resettlement, etc.

– Schedule 2: Projects with adverse environ impacts but not likely

to be significant & hence requiring partial EIA studies
e.g. mini-hydropower, ss irrigation projects, rural wss, etc.

– Schedule 3: Projects that do not require EIA

e.g. education, health, institutional development, etc.

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 The Role of the Actors?
i) Federal Environmental Protection Authority
– Evaluates an environmental impact study report & monitor
its implementation When the project is subject to:
 licensing, execution or supervision by a federal agency
or
 when it is likely to produce trans-regional impact.

– Ensures that communities likely to be affected have been

consulted and their views incorporated.

– After evaluating EIA report:

 approves projects with or w/out conditions and issues
authorization
 refuses implementation of the project if it is
convinced that the -ve impact is unavoidable
ii) Regional Environmental Agencies

 Evaluate & authorize any environmental impact study

report & the monitoring of its implementation if the
project is not subject to
 licensing, execution & supervision by federal agency
and
 if it is unlikely to produce trans-regional impact

 Where a project with likely trans-regional impact is

initiated, shall ensure the submission of the project
environmental impact study report to Federal EPA.
 After evaluating environmental impact study report:
 approve projects with or w/out conditions and issue
authorization
 refuse implementation of the project if it is convinced
that -ve impact can’t be satisfactorily avoided

 When proponent fails to implement condition of

authorization, the agency may order undertaking
specified rectification measures:

(1) Within capacity available to it, support

implementation of a project destined to rehabilitate
a degraded environment.
(2) provide any environmental rehabilitation or pollution
prevention or clean-up project with financial and
technical support to cover additional costs

(3) Ensure that public comments, in particular those

communities likely to be affected by implementation
of a project, are incorporated into environmental
impact study report as well as in its evaluation.

(4) Monitor the implementation of an authorization

conditions
iii) Project Proponents
 Undertake EIA,
 Identify the likely adverse impacts of the project
 Incorporate means of their prevention or containment
 Submit environmental impact study report to competent
Authority with other documents stated necessary.
 Ensure that EIA is conducted & environmental impact study
report prepared by experts that meet the requirements
specified under any directive issued by the Authority.
 Covers the cost of undertaking EIA
 Fulfill the terms and conditions of authorization.
 Carry out EIA in consultation with the communities likely to
be affected in any region.
iv) Licensing Agencies

 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.

 In agreement with Authority's or the relevant

regional environmental agency's decision to suspend or
cancel any authorization to implement a project,
suspend or cancel the license it may have issued in
favor of that project.
 v) The Public
The Requirements (stated already)
 Competent agency shall make any EIA report
accessible to the public and ask comments on it.

 Project Proponent should carry out the EIA in

consultation with the communities likely to be
affected.

 Competent Authority shall ensure that the comments

made by public & in particular by the communities likely
to be affected by implementation of a project are
incorporated into EIA report & in its evaluation.
 What if no comply?
 Any person who violates the provision of this Proclamation
or of any other relevant law or directive commits an
offence and shall be liable accordingly.

 Any person who, without obtaining authorization from the

Authority or relevant regional environmental agency,
implements any project subject to environmental impact, or
makes false presentations in EIA study report commits an
offence and shall be liable to a monetary fine.

 Any person commits an offence if he fails to keep records

or to fulfill conditions of authorization issued pursuant to
this Proclamation and shall be liable to a monetary fine.
 In addition to whatever penalty may be met, the
manager who failed to exercise all due diligence shall
be liable to a fine.

 The court before which a person is prosecuted for an

offence under this Proclamation or regulations or
directives emanating from it, may, in addition to any
penalty it may impose, order the convicted person to
restore or in any other way compensate for the
damage inflicted.
 3. EIA Institutional arrangements in Ethiopia
3.1 Institutional Framework for EIA
 The current system of government in Ethiopia is
organized into a federal structure - comprised of a
federal government and regional states.

 Gov’t administration of EIA in Ethiopia is thus shared

between the federal gov’t & regional states.

Environmental protection organs (repeated)

 The Environmental Protection Organs Establishment
Proclamation (No 295/2002) establishes the
institutions responsible for regulation of EIA;
1) Environmental Protection Authority (EPA)

 Is the lead federal environmental organ

 EPA is responsible for:
– establishing a system for undertaking EIA
– developing directive that identifies categories with -ve impact
– issuing guidelines on EIA preparation and evaluation
– Evaluating EIA study reports
– Auditing and regulating EIA implementation

 EPA is also responsible for giving technical support

pertaining to environmental mang’t and protection to
regional states and sectoral institutions.
2) Regional environmental agencies

 responsible for evaluating EIA study reports on projects in

regional states & not likely to entail inter-regional impacts.

 Also responsible for auditing & regulating implementation of

such projects.

 The institutional standing of regional environmental

agencies varies from region to region.

 In some regions, they are established as separate

institutions, while in others they are constituted within
other institutions.
3) Sectoral environmental units

 Mandated to be established at every competent agency

with responsibility of coordinating activities in harmony
with environmental protection laws & req’ts including EIA.

 However, sectoral environmental units are only established

in some federal institutions, such as:
 Ethiopian Roads Authority,
 Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation and
 Ministry of Water and Energy.
Sectoral institutions relevant to EIA

 These include:
– The Ministry/Bureaus of Trade: issues business licenses,
– Ethiopian Investment Agency & Regional Investment
Commissions: promote, coordinate and facilitate investment in
the country,
– The Ministry/Bureaus of Mines: Responsible for dev’t and
proper utilization of mineral resources in the country
– Ministry/Bureaus of Agriculture: Responsible for both the
development and management of natural resources
– Ministry/Bureaus of Water and Energy: Responsible for the
conservation, utilization & dev’t of water resources & energy in
the country
Financial institutions

 Should incorporate EIA into their policy and

procedures for obtaining loan,

 Currently only the Development Bank of Ethiopia,

has incorporated EIA into its loan policy.
3.2 EIA Implementation in Ethiopia:
a) Improvements
 Regarding the EIA process in Ethiopia,
– There are some indications that EIA is being applied.

– Project owners, including gov’t agencies, began to bring

their EIA Reports to Federal EPA & regional organs;

– Experiences are beginning to accumulate from current

engagements in EIA activities.

– Especially at Federal level, number of applications made

by project owners or EIA proponents is increasing year
to year.
– Gov’t has made commitment to environmental issues,
as suggested by:
 Enactment of new laws;
 Establishment of Environmental Council at Federal
level; and
 Establishment of environmental units in some
sectoral offices.

– Development Bank of Ethiopia has made EIA a

requirement for credit purposes
b) Gaps and Challenges
 With respect to EIA process in Ethiopia, the gaps and
challenges are:
– Lack of Awareness
– Problems of Capacity
– Absence of an Effective Mechanisms for the EIA
process
– Lack of Incentives
– Weak Political Commitment
– Weak Public Participation
Lack of Awareness
 Very little is known about EIA in Ethiopia.
 The lawmaking process has not been participatory.
 Local administrations & other government officials are not
well informed about EIA and its importance
 Lack of sufficient understanding of EIA led to a number
of misconceptions among key actors in the EIA process.

Problems of Capacity
 No criteria governing how EIA should be handled by
consultants & there is risk of being highly influenced by
clients.
 EPA can do little, at least at the moment, if some gov’t
offices want to disobey the EIA law.
 EI study report review process carried out is not usually
effective.
Absence of an Effective EIA Mechanism
 No specific regulations, directives or guidelines
issued for the EIA Proclamation implementation
– No mechanism for tracing projects with investment licenses.
 e.g. In 2005/2006, >300 projects were given land for
their investment projects, of which 80 were required
to undertake EIA, none undertook such an assessment.

Lack of Incentives
 Incentives are important from perspective of project
owner & experts who are involved in EIA review
process.
– Currently no system of incentives. EIA Proclamation
provides for incentives to be available for project
owners in Article 16.
Weak Political Commitment
 Despite showing some commitment to environmental
concerns, such as establishment of institutions &
enacting laws, the established institutions nonetheless
suffer from pressures to remain focused on growth.

Weak Public Participation

 According to EIA Proclamation, public must participate
at two stages:
– During the making of the EIA Report
– During the Review of the EIA Report

 Public Participation is weak in both stages.

In the next class, you will see in detail -
‘The EIA Process’
Quiz

1. Why does the environmental aspect should also be

part of sustainable development? And, how is that
possible?

2. As far as EIA is concerned, what does the World

Bank expect from countries funded by it?

3. List the 3 institutions responsible for regulation of

EIA in Ethiopia.