The Ethiopian scientist, Dr. Tewoldeberhan Gebre-Egziabher , was born in 1940.  He graduated from the Addis Ababa University in 1963 and earned his P.H.D from the University of Wales in 1969.  He is one of the four scientists and activists who recently won the 2000 Right Livelihood Awards.  Dr. Tewoldeberhan, who has a long running academic and service career, is currently serving his country as General Manager of the Environmental Protection Authority of Ethiopia.  WIC spoke to him on Ethiopia's environmental policy and related issues.

WIC Oct 18, 2000

WIC:  This, I believe, is the first ever-environmental policy in Ethiopia. How far have we gone in terms of implementation or in preparing the groundwork for its implementation?

Dr. Tewolde: As a comprehensive environmental policy, this is the first of its kind.  Ethiopia has never tried to have a comprehensive policy.  But, there have been policies, laws, relating to aspects of the environment prepared sectorally, approved sectorally and implemented sectorally.  The idea behind this environmental policy is to have it all coordinated.  It does not change the sectoral implementing agencies.  It only tries to ensure co-ordination among them.  It, of course, means there are additional environmental activities that emerge as the need for coordination becomes obvious.  In order to implement the policy, we have taken three parallel steps.  The first is to have the policy discussed in each of the regions to ensure that the regions are aware of the specifics of the policy and to get the commitments on how they see each of the policy items implemented, who is to implement them (in their view) at the regional level and also at a national level.  We re now developing an overall list of principal organizations for specific policy items that way, monitoring, which is one of our main responsibilities becomes possible.  This has taken a long-time.  It only was finalized a few months ago.  So, we expect to have a national compilation that is approved by everyone to enable us follow-up, monitor and regulate the implementation of the policy.

Another parallel direction is helping regions develop capacities for implementing the policy.  This has largely been done in some training, short-term training and assistance in identifying their environmental issues.  For example, through funding we have secured for them each region has developed its own conservation strategy.  And each region has now something in writing about how it should deal with the sustainability of the use of natural resources in its development efforts.  Following that, each region can prepare its own legislation.  And as a consequence, many of the regions have now draft laws in establishing their institutional structures for managing the environment, for monitoring environmental activities and for regulating it.  Some of them have already approved the laws, while some are in the process of approval.

The third line of that parallel system I mentioned is that of developing laws, standards, systems in federal level both for use when the issue is of a federal jurisdiction and to help regions identify and develop their own when it's regional in nature. We have a draft law on pollution and a draft law on environmental impact assessment together with guidelines for environmental impact assessment…  The most serious problem we have is land degradation.  And the land degradation in Ethiopia is mostly be small peasant farmers and small pastoralists.  And if you want to apply an environmental impact assessment system, it just can't be even thought of.  You would have to get a farmer obtain permission before he ploughs his land or makes a structure to protect the soil. … So, it's not through law enforcement.  There will be some general laws.  They're meant only to stay very general.  The actual work will have to be done through awareness raising and teaching, informing about specific conditions and specific technologies to deal with the solutions.  That's why the environmental education department is an important department with us.

WIC: No doubt, raising awareness about environmental protection among communities plays an important role .  What is the Authority doing in this regard?

Dr. Tewolde:  There are various methods.  The most obvious is providing information, taking up every opportunity created by the mass media, printing leaflets and distributing them, encouraging clubs formed for the protection of the environment and so on.  Perhaps, the most important aspect of awareness raising is linked with policy issues.  When we were discussing the policy in the regions , one of the major aspects of the workshops we have had has been to raise awareness so that the regions themselves can continue to be awareness raising agents themselves. We also liaise with non-governmental organizations and give them ideas, interact with them so that they can develop their own ideas in awareness raising.  Awareness raising is a tedious and long process.  And it cannot be done through one programme alone or one institution alone.

WIC: What do you think is the most serious threat or source of threat to the Ethiopian environment?

Dr. Tewlde: In our country, land degradation is the most serious problem.  By land degradation we mean the vegetation cover disappears.  Species of plants, animals and microorganisms get reduced. 

WIC: - Many factories (in Addis) dump their waste material into rivers.  Are there any measures taken to prevent such activities? Pollution resulting from cars is also another problem area.  What do you envisage to stop this problem?

Dr. Tewlde:  This factories were put in place when there was absolutely no environmental consideration, no environmental impact consideration in Ethiopia.  In fact, parts that are meant to reduce problems to the environment have in many industries dismantled.  So they don't function.  And they simply dump their waste into rivers or on to the soil.  This has to stop.  Ideally, it stops in two ways.  One is we collect waste and use it as a resource.  For example, the organic waste collected by municipal lorries can be made into excellent fertilizers.  The factories that discharge waste can often reuse part of the waste if they add a small investment to retrieve the raw materials from the waste.  In fact, it is interesting that the Chemical Society of Ethiopia and the business community together had some courses with regard to this.  They invited various industries and gave them information and suggestions on what could be done.  A number of them went back and not only have they made their factories cleaner but they have made them more profitable by retrieving some of the raw materials. This is referred to as cleaner production method.  Most of the factories, preferably all the factories, will be capable of modification to be clean.  When I say clean, especially of the existing ones, we have to be very realistic.   Ethiopia is not, on the while, a highly polluted country even though the Awash River upstream and the Akaki River must be one of the most polluted waters on earth.  We will bear in mind the low level of pollution when we deal with what individual existing factories should do.  For the future though, new ones coming will follow the environmental impact assessment system and they will remain within acceptable limits for sustainable development.

You also raised the question of air pollution from vehicles (mostly from vehicles here) eventhough there are some minor pollutions from power generations and mills.  The problem is still fairly low.  In global terms, the atmospheric pollutions here are negligible.  And we wouldn't worry at all.  It becomes a problem only in the context of health.  For the people who live in Addis Ababa at the moment, there is no other city, which is as bad as Addis Ababa.