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Abstract. The government of Ethiopia introduced environmental impact assessment (EIA) by proclamation in 2002. The overall objective of this study is to critically and qualitatively assess the implementation of that proclamation, considering the level of public participation and the adequacy and effectiveness of legally established laws in the EIA process. This study revealed that the role of public participation in the entire EIA stages is weak. The study also identified that both the legal and institutional frameworks have remained inadequate to ensure full effectiveness of the EIA system. Moreover, this study describes the existence of weak coordination among or between federal, regional, zonal and other sectoral units. Hence, this study recommends that its effective implementation necessarily requires involvement of the public and the issuance of more specific subsidiary instruments.
Keywords: Ethiopia proclamation no. 299/2002, environmental impact assessment, EIA, public participation, legislative effectiveness
"Laws and regulations suited to country-specific conditions are among the most important instruments for transforming environment and development policies into action".1 Development remains a high priority for all countries, particularly for developing and least developed countries like Ethiopia. For instance, Ethiopia's decision to construct a series of dams over the Gilgel Gibe River and the commencement of work on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam are manifestations of the country's development concerns.2
However, precautionary measures are needed to ensure that activities aimed at achieving development are environmentally friendly, rather than destructive. For economic development to be genuine and meaningful, it has to be sustainable. Sustainable development requires taking environmental values into account and examining the impacts of development activities on everything that surrounds us.3
The protection of everyone's right to live in a clean and healthy environment is the basic question, and begins with the consideration of the environmental values that may be impacted by a given course of action. While various measures could be adopted to protect the environment, environmental impact assessment (EIA) is one of the most important mechanisms to serve these purposes because it enables decision makers to examine the possible impacts of a given course of action on the environment before it is pursued.4 Therefore, current environmental laws recognise the importance of EIA as a tool capable of ensuring the integration of environmental values into decision-making processes, thereby promoting...