Effectiveness of Environmental Impact Assessment vis-à-vis Investment laws in Ethiopia: The Case of Floriculture Investment
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Date
2020-10
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Focus on economic growth may bring about policies and legal regimes that encourage
investments without due consideration for the environmental consequences of investment
projects. Environmental impact assessment is conducted with the aim of avoiding and/ or
mitigating the environmental consequences of projects. In Ethiopia, the EIA proclamation
obliges projects that may cause significant environmental damage to conduct EIA prior to project
implementation. However, the same requirement is not set in the investment laws of the Country,
leading for licensing organs such as the EIC to grant permits that will allow investors to
commence their projects without being required to conduct an environmental impact assessment.
This study aims to evaluate the nexus between EIA and FDI in one of the most profitable
investment areas, i.e. the floriculture sector. To this effect, the study evaluates the policy,
institutional and legal framework of EIA and Ethiopian investment law with the intention to
investigate the legal gap created by the investment laws on implementation of EIAs and whether
or not the country’s focus of increasing FDI by calling of investors on floriculture sector have
hindered the implementation of EIA and obstructing the constitutionally enshrined right to clean
and healthy environment and building a sustainable development. To achieve the objectives of
this research, a qualitative research approach that involves focal person interviews with EIC and
EFCCC officials, as well as analysis of the existing laws and policies, was conducted.
This research found that the several policies (GTP II and Environmental Policy), the FDRE
Constitution, and other legislations (including voluntary and mandatory code of practice) tried to
create a positive relationship between EIA and investment as a whole, and floriculture
investment, in particular. They tried to do so by using a cross-reference among provisions or
sections or simply mentioning the term ‘sustainable development’. However, some of these
documents, on the other hand, tend to create an imbalance that undermines EIA over FDI. The
findings also show the lack of relation and coordination between the two key institutions, the
EFCCC and EIC in ensuring a proper implementation of EIA in FDI.
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Keywords
Floriculture, Investment, Environment, Environmental Impact Assessment, Sustainable Development.