Forum for Environment's Annual Green Award given to individuals and organizations. in Amharic
[Ethiopian]Environmental Issues:
Problems and Solutions
Gedion Getahun, Ph.D.
In Ethiopia, there is a loss of a large amount of biomass cover, land degradation, soil erosion, and desertification. These have been observed since four decades. Drought and famine that had occurred in Ethiopia have their grass root in the political, economical, ecological mismanagements.
With an aim to shift from high-cost fossil oil to cost-effective bio-fuel, the Council of Ministers a month ago approved the utilization of bio-fuel development strategy in Ethiopia.
The 16-page strategic document, approved in September, was prepared by the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MoME) in collaboration with experts at the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoTI) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MoARD).
Global Energy Pacific, a Nevada, United States based international company run by Israeli experts, has launched a bio-diesel factory in southern Ethiopia on Friday, November 2, 2007.
When the company�s project that has four components begins production, it will have the capacity of producing 250 tons of fuel each day from caster beans and jantropha, which easily grow in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples� Region (SNNPR) of Ethiopia.
This is to invite you to the fifth public meeting which is prepared by Forum for Environment in collaboration with Water Aid, Global Water Partnership and Ethio Wetlands and Natural Resources Association.
The theme for the fifth public meeting is Water and Industry: Use, Management and Industrial Pollution in Ethiopia. The public meeting will take place at Semien Hotel in Addis Ababa, Friday June 8, 2007 from 2.00-5.00p.m.
Forum for Environment
�Unleaded Gas in Sub-Saharan Africa: The good news�
By Ambassador Yamamoto, US Ambassador to Ethiopia
� Since 2004 when the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) partnered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other donors to remove lead from gasoline in sub Saharan Africa, all of the gasoline imported into Ethiopia has been unleaded. This is expected to have significant health benefits for the people of Ethiopia, particularly children. It also has the potential to save millions in health care costs as people�s health improves.
The Ethiopian Herald (Addis Ababa)
February 8, 2007
The Ethiopian Agricultural Research Institute says Ethiopia loses up to 200,000 hectares of forest every year, and warned that if the trend continues the country would lose all of its forest resources by the year 2020.
Quote of the month from FFE's E-NewsLetter:
�The sky is held up by the trees.
If the forest disappears, the sky-roof of the world collapses.
Nature and man then perish together.�
An old North American Indian saying
The 1st Horn of Africa Regional Environment Meeting scheduled to be held tomorrow is set to officially announce a plan to establish the Horn of Africa Regional Environment Network and Centre, the Addis Ababa University (AAU) announced.
As the flower industry grows, it has become a concern for environmentalists and trade unions that the flower industry is chemically intensive and will ultimately have an effect on the environment and on the workers who are exposed to it in their day-to-day working life. As pleased as the government is of the rapid development of the floriculture industry, environmentalists are equally worried.
Rising sea levels and ocean temperatures along with other calamities that some associate with global warming, such as floods and hurricanes, have already caused massive damage in the developed world.
But they also threaten some of the world's most vulnerable people, the poorest of the poor in Africa, the continent most at-risk, along with hundreds of historic and cultural sites, according to studies issued on Tuesday.
Among Africans, residents of Burundi, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Niger and Chad are most threatened by climate change.
The new commercialization deal, which took place under the auspices of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity's Access and Benefit Sharing Agreement, gives the British company Vernique Biotech access to the plant for the next 10 years. In exchange, the Ethiopian government will receive royalty payments and profit shares, while hundreds of local farmers will have an opportunity to boost their earnings by growing the oilseed on land too poor for food crops.
Thanksgiving Coffee Company strives to mitigate the environmental impacts their business has on the planet, and this is not the first time they have taken measures to offset greenhouse gases. In 2001, they financed an assessment by the non-profit Trees for the Future to determine carbon emissions produced in the processing, delivery, and consumption of Thanksgiving Coffee, and is planting about 75,000 trees in Ethiopia-the birthplace of coffee-to alleviate those effects.
There has to be intensification in the fight against environmental deterioration. Therefore, the opportune moment at the onset of the Ethiopian Millennium can best be exploited to this end. For example, kaleidoscope institutions can act in concert with the people to help break the poverty-environment merry-go-round..
Addis hosts a two-part event on cut-flowers in Ethiopia on May 18 and May 19, 2006
Part I. International Multi-stakeholder Forum
Date: 18 May 2006
Venue: Hilton Hotel
Topic: Lessons and experiences from other countries for the cut-flower industry in Ethiopia
Part II. Panel Discussion
Date: 19 May 2006
Venue: Goethe Institute (Gebrekristos Desta Center)
Topic: Towards corporate social and environmental responsibility of the cut-flower industry in Ethiopia: Deliberations with international experts and national stakeholders
Moderator: Ms. Sue Edwards, Director, Institute for Sustainable Development (Ethiopia)
At a press conference FfE organized at the Global Hotel, Coordinator of FfE, Ato Nigusu Aklilu, told reporters that the main objective of the green award program was to initiate an annual award program to individuals and institutions involved in environmental protection and management in order to recognize, acknowledge, celebrate and disseminate good initiatives.
Hovev Agriculture Ltd, an Israeli company, has shown interest in investing 100 million dollars to produce diesel from plants.
The company is awaiting green signal from Ethiopian Investment Commission for a 40,000hct plot required for implementation.
Forum for Environment Association officially launched a Green Award Programme-Ethiopia to serve as a tool for environmental advocacy by encouraging environmental awareness and practical actions to combat environmental degradation.
Akababi appreciates the intiative and effort of Forum for Environment.
See alsoForum For Environment
According to a study by the Addis Abeba Environmental Protection Authority, 35 factories release untreated waste into the river, which starts in northern Addis Abeba and crosses 13 woredas to join the Aba Samuel Lake, approximately 30Km south of Addis. The study reveals that this has led to the destruction of aquatic life in the river. It has already been contaminated by domestic, hospital, and industrial wastes, according to the study.
The Board of the Yara Foundation has chosen to award the first African Green Revolution Yara Prize, to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi, for his contribution to improved food security and human nutrition in ways that also protect the environment. The Yara Prize will be presented by Professor Jeffrey Sachs, director of the United Nations Millennium Project at an award ceremony in Oslo, Norway on September 3.
What is your opinion regarding the environmental implication of this prize? Click here!
Dr. Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egziabher from Ethiopia � Tewolde to his friends - African Union�s chief spokesperson and negotiator for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety was denied a visa to enter Canada for a crucial conference of the parties and preceding working group meeting, which will take place in Montreal between 25 May and 3 June. Canada is not a Party to the Biosafety Protocol. The meetings are expected to shape the controversial issues of identification (labelling) of genetically modified products, and liability and redress in case of damages caused.
These issues were left outstanding at the final show-down in the 3-way negotiations on the Cartagena Protocol in Montreal in 2000: the Canadian delegate, negotiating on behalf of the Miami Group (Canada, USA, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile); Tewolde, negotiating on behalf of the developing countries including China, (with the exception of Argentina, Uruguay and Chile); and the European Commission delegate negotiating on behalf of the European Union. An impassioned, historic speech by Tewolde broke the deadlock; and the European Commission delegate came down on the side of the Africans and developing countries. Agreement was reached, leaving identification, and liabilities and redress to be negotiated and settled soon after the Protocol comes into force. Five years later, however, these issues remain unresolved.
See also "This is an emergency, and we have no time to lose.. "
The Wellbeing Index (WI) is the point on a Barometer of Sustainability where the Human Wellbeing Index (HWI) and Ecosystem
Wellbeing Index (EWI) intersect. It is expressed here as the average of the HWI and the EWI. Sustainability would be an average of
81.0 or higher.
See also Wellbeing of Nations Methodology
In his concluding remarks of the debate, Professor Shibru Tedla said: Although the government is usually held accountable in such fora, every one has his/her share of the blame. As the representative of the government said, the responsibility of the government in the main is formulating polices and laws, and to see to their implementation. The opposition parties on their parts, should look for gaps in policies and laws, inform on these gaps and work for these gaps to be filled. There are also many things that can be done at the individual level. We, individuals and organizations, have a big role in disseminating the awareness about the environment. How can programs to disseminate the awareness at a national level be integrated to the day-to-day activities of the people? How can we bring them on board? This Questions should be given due attention.
Akababi appreciates the intiative and effort of Forum for Environment in Addis specifically its hardworking coordinator Ato Negusu Aklilu.
See alsoForum For Environment
ISO 14001 is the standard set by the International Standards Organisation, which specifies the requirements of an environmental management system, which can be integrated, with other management requirements, to assist organisations to achieve environmental and economic goals. The overall aim of ISO 14001 is to support environmental protection and prevention of pollution in balance with socio-economic needs. In the general , the ISO 14000 environmental management standards exist to ensure products and services have the lowest possible environmental impact.
Akababi would like to congratulate the five factories for their achievement.
The 23rd session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) kicked off here on Tuesday to finalize a Special Report on safeguarding the ozone layer and the global climate systems.
Delegates from over 100 countries taking part in the three-day meeting are expected to adopt the report, who will also approve a Summary for Policymakers. The report was requested by the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.
See alsoIPCC's Calendar
Visit relevant links
Ethiopia has been aggressively working towards implementing the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), which it ratified in June 1997, Director General of the Environmental Protection Authority said.
Further info about Ethiopian EPA
The organization said that although a system of conservation areas were
proposed to form the basis of wildlife conservation in the country, only two of the planned 14 national parks and sanctuaries have been legally constituted. These are the Awash National Park and Semien Mountains National Park. Even these
two parks are not adequately secured, staffed or equipped. These difficulties have been exacerbated by famines, refugee problems, civil unrest, armed rebellions, and war which threaten the livelihood of people.
Feb. 22, 2005 published in LEISA MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2004
The long association with their environment and commitment to
remaining there in the future equips indigenous communities for
prudent management of natural resources � even by present day
standards. Indigenous communities have held resource
management systems under complex, often overlapping tenure
rights, which share benefits across their community and exclude
non community members.
This interview in Amharic includes different issues such as the ethiopian environmental policy, environmental impacts of investments, international agreements, the role of the international community etc. Further info about Forum for Environment
...the degradation was manifested in the form of losses of vegetation cover, losses of biodiversity, soil fertility depletion in agricultural lands, massive soil erosion, disruption of hydrolic regime which resulted in drying up of rivers, streams and springs during dry season and severe desertification process, and its ecological and socio-economic consequence.
"The tree is an empowering symbol: when you've planted one, something happens to the environment. It's not the only solution, but it's something most of us can do.
Anyone can dig a hole. And one tree multiplied several million times gives you a forest.
We need to explain it to them[Africans] in simple terms and to give them simple solutions,When a baby is born, or when someone dies, plant a tree." Wangari Maathai, who won the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize as "a source of inspiration for everyone in Africa fighting for sustainable development, democracy and peace".
Inhabitants around Hakim Gara Mountain in Harrari State said that the forest on the mountain, which was depleted, is now revived following the afforestation drive carried out by the public.
The film depicts the ever-increasing degradation of natural resources in the country, particularly in rural areas caused by man-made and natural factors and its negative impact upon the livelihood of the people living in the area.
The film is intended to motivate the public in rehabilitating the environment.
In Ethiopia they call it the Devil Tree. It is both an addiction and an affliction. In this largely pastoral country there are many people who can't do without it: it provides shelter, building materials, fencing for livestock, firewood, charcoal and shade from the fierce African sun. ....In the 30-odd years since it was introduced from Mexico, it has started to take over the rural landscape. Now it has eaten up as much as a quarter of all arable grazing land in some areas, leaching the earth of the nutrients that once nurtured the grass that pastoralists rely on to graze their cattle, their livelihood.
"Conservation is my lifestyle. It is my inherent belief that the only and highest service I can ever render to my country is to be involved in activities related to the conservation of biodiversity and the environment."
One of the great challenges of development policy for the 21st century is the combating of rising poverty, recurring famines, and environmental degradation in Africa. We should also be aware that at the close of the last century, poverty among developing countries declined, famines were mostly defeated in most parts of the developing world, and per capita income and per capital food production increased, in spite of a modest population growth.
�We have a collective and individual responsibility to create conducive environment to rehabilitate the dwindling natural resources employing our local experiences with those from external sources.�
....this species is �YeAlah Kuta New� (meaning the punishment of Alah/God). However, even pastoralists need the presence of matured tree/shrub because it is very important to tolerate sunrays, soil erosion, windstorm, salt reclamation, etc, and some people say that this species is the "paradise of the desert". Thus, it is controversial.
M. stenopetala or SHIFERAW's leaves, pods, and roots are edible; bees love the flowers; and seeds are powdered and used to purify water from muddy rivers. Its parts are actually and potentially useful to extract ingredients of medicinal value. It is truly the mother's best friend in rural parts of southern Ethiopia particularly for mothers of poor family.
Deforestation in the northern highlands of Ethiopia is becoming an unstoppable process dating back many hundreds of years. In much of the landscape of northern Ethiopia, the lush vegetation on the hillsides surrounding a church or a monastery presents a sharp contrast to the surrounding bare ridges and mountain slopes.
Kidist, Cairo
April 15, 2004
It was & still is heartbreaking. I asked God, " why you gave us all this & took it from us? Who is going to be blamed for this? " Perhaps.........
The Guassa area Indigenous Natural Management Initiative of Menz in north Showa, Ethiopia has been recently selected as a finalist for a very prestigious Equator Initiative Award 2004. The Equator Initiative selects the best community-based practises, those contribute significantly to biodiversity conservation and poverty reduction at a community level all around the Equator (tropics), and takes place once in two years.
The 100,000-hectare (247,000-acre) Wondo-Genet forest, 280 kilomtres (170 miles) southeast of Addis Ababa, caught fire on Wednesday, according to the radio, which said that many indigenous trees, some estimated to be more than 300 years old, have been destroyed. .
Police Commissioner of the Southern State, Admassu Ango told WIC that the fire [in Wondo]that erupted from two directions yesterday (March 3) at 4 p.m is now widespread and causing huge damage.
The last time I was in Ethiopia I wanted to take my share of responsibility and planted 34 trees during my six weeks vacation. Today about half of them are alive while an ignorant and unconscious people destroyed the rest. Any way the big change came one year ago, I inspired the town�s commissioner (kentiba) he started a campaign to plant trees across the whole town. I burst into tears of happiness when I heard that. More
Zelealem Tefera (PhD), Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme, Dec. 4, 2003
In the last few weeks there has been an outbreak of disease, confirmed as being rabies, among the Ethiopian wolves in the Bale Mountains. The Bale Mountains is home to the most important population of this endangered species that is endemic to Ethiopia. The current Ethiopian wolf population in Bale was estimated at 300 (of the global total estimate of 500) wolves. Since September 2003, 20 wolves have died in the Web valley within the Bale area. The Web valley is a critical core area that harboured an estimated 80 wolves prior to this crisis.
Question: People in the civil society groups in Johannesburg expressed great disappointment about the lack of forward movement at the WSSD meeting, but they spoke very warmly of Ethiopia's role in the negotiations. Why is that? Dr. Tewolde : We were not involved early on in the negotiations. That was our own problem - it is expensive, we are a poor country, and I wasn't enjoying full health; but we came in later, in relative force. There were five of us in the negotiations, and we were following all that was happening.
I am one of the victims who is suffering from asthma because of the air pollution at that time. I am also suffering from teeth decay, knee and other joint problem because of the excess fluoride in the water. My parents had knee joint problems but they passed away recently. My kids are suffering from teeth decay, cavities and staining.
Recently I visited Ethiopia and I found out that many people whom I know were sick from various disease caused from the air and water pollution. Some of my father's friends are sick and bed bounded because of the skeletal fluorosis. Many young beautiful girls of these communities hide their mouth with their hand when they smile to hide their heavily stained teeth, and those who have money replace their front teeth with artificial teeth. The sad thing is nobody knows whom to blame, or where to seek help.
"To be poor in Ethiopia is not only the inability to feed oneself or ones family. It is also lack of power, lack of access to resources, lack of freedom of choice, loss of your sovereignty, loss of environmental and cultural heritage, etc. Poverty is as much mental as it is physical.
Dechassa Lemessa of UN-Emergencies Unit for Ethiopia speaks to Surafiel Fantaye of VOA -Amharic Service on the Assessment Study done from June - September 2001 on forest fires in 2000. The full report of the assessment entitled Forest fires in Ethiopia: Reflections on socio-economic and environmental effects of the fires in 2000 is now available here.
In his part one interview aired March 19, 2002 he outlined that:
-Ethiopia loses at least 200,000 hectares of forest per year
-major cause of this much loss is forest fire
-the forest fire in year 2000 was caused totally by human made
-involvement of locality communities in protecting forest areas based on benefit sharing is important.
It is truly a revolution. An environmental revolution, which has captured the hearts of a large segment of the population, with the youth at the forefront. I am so pleased and encouraged by what I have seen. So are many people who deeply care about the welfare of this nation. The hopelessness and despair that I experienced in the past have been lifted from my shoulders. I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. New hope is emerging. The wilted desire to make a difference is slowly beginning to blossom. Seleshi has watered the garden of hope. Oh, how glorious it would be if we could use this kind of co-operation and dedication to improve other aspects of our lives. We could easily get rid of corruption. Hunger and malnutrition could be wiped out. Moreover, we could move forward towards sustainable development to ensure a better life for all our people.
In the opinion of many concerned persons in Wildlife in Ethiopia today, all the major populations of wildlife will have disappeared from Ethiopia within a decade. The only way to divert this trend is for a new system of wildlife management to be introduced in Ethiopia which will enlist the co-operation of the Ethiopians themselves.
Environment related International Agreements signed by Ethiopia
Ethiopia was a member of the League of Nations and joined the United Nations on 13 November 1945.
Ethiopia is party to twelve international environmental agreemenents.
Johannesburg Summit 2002 - the World Summit on Sustainable Development - will bring together tens of thousands of participants, including heads of State and Government, national delegates and leaders from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), businesses and other major groups to focus the world's attention and direct action toward meeting difficult challenges, including improving people's lives and conserving our natural resources in a world that is growing in population, with ever-increasing demands for food, water, shelter, sanitation, energy, health services and economic security.
The Summit will take place in Johannesburg, South Africa from 26 August to 4 September 2002. What did you observe when it comes to Ethiopia during the ten years after Rio? Share your observations with akababi.
Ethio Enviro Page will update you on Ethiopian Issues in light of to Johannesburg Summit.
Editor and manager of Akababi: Ethio Enviro Page underlined the need to work together for the youth in rehabilitating Ethiopian environment during his interview with VOA(Voice of America)- amharic service - concerning Akababi website. The interview was aired on January 26 and February 2, 2002 on the weekly program Mestawot.
The Environmental Protection Authority disclosed that as a result of the extensive deforestation in Ethiopia, some two million hectares of land in the country has now become irreversibly barren.
Almost all the forests in Ethiopia have been destroyed in the last 40 years, according to a study by the United Nations. Less than three percent of the entire country is now covered with trees - prompting fears of an impending environmental disaster - and the problem is only going to get worse. Wild fires, which in 2000 caused more than US $39 million of damage in the southern Bale and Borana regions alone, have destroyed many of the forested areas of the country.
Ethiopian
Tree Fund Foundation.
Forum For
Environment- Ethiopian NGO.
LEM - Ethiopia (Environment and Development Society of Ethiopia)
Society for Urban Development in Africa
EENGO Ethiopian
Environmental NGO
Mesob Mesob - Environment
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