The Role of Environmental Protection Authority in Guaranteeing and Protecting Environmental Rights in Ethiopia
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Date
2009-03
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The concept of environmental Protection and environmental ri g ht s are the recent
developments in the world . It is after the 1972 Stockholm conference on human
environment that the world became aware of the necessi ty of env ir onmental protection
and the relationship between environment and human rights . Since then s ig nificant
number of instruments are deve loped and adopted in different times in the world to make
the environment safe for the health and wellbeing of mankind .
Similarly in E thiopia since the formation of modern state or government , there were
provisions under the laws protecting the environment. Especially beginning with the
regime of Emperor Menelik II, and onwards until the coming in to power of the EPRDF
led government in the year 1991 , there are provisions under the laws that o ne way or the
other protect the environment. However, they are criticized as inadequate, dispersed,
lacked comprehensiveness and focused on the economic advantages of the natural
resources than focusing on the health and wellbeing of the society.
Taking the weakness of the previous regimes and the global development of the
environmental protection efforts into considerations, the [PROF led government enacted
the FDRE Constitution in the year 1995 which g uarantee and recognize environmental
rights of the people both in substantive as well as procedural manner. That means, it
recognize the right to clean and healthy environment as substantive right as well as the
right of the people to participate in environmental decision making together w ith access
to information and access to justice as a procedural environmental rights . These
constitutionally guaranteed rights of the people are n.lrther elaborated by th e EPE, the
CSE and by the environmental leg islati ons such as [lAP, [PCP and SWMP . However ,
the mere constitutional guarantee of the rights does not mean that the right s of the people
are respected . There has to be the mechanism and in stitu tion for the implementation and
the monitoring of the same. As a result , the EPA is established a t the federal level to
monitor the implementation of environmental laws in Ethiopia . In so doing the authority
has to play number of roles which among others are playing the role of leadership in
establishing strategies and priorities, in formulating practicable environmental standards,
in assigning environmental inspectors, in in stalling so und technologies and the likes.
When we see the practical application of the roles of E PA in monitoring the
implementation of environmental laws, the writer can say the authority is not effective in
performing its role of monitoring the implementation of en viro nmen tal laws that would
protect the environmental right s of the people. That is due to external as we ll as internal
sources of problems which need measures to be taken on the part or the government on
the one hand a nd on the part of the auth ori ty on the other.
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Keywords
Role of Environmental Protection Authority, Protecting Environmental Rights in Ethiopia