Institutional Arrangements and Management of

Environmental Resources in Ethiopia

review the current institutional arrangements in terms

of rights and responsibilities, planning system,

capacity, and motivation of local communities for the

management of environmental resources in Ethiopia in

general (and the forest sector in particular) and

assess constraints for the successful implementation of

policies/legislation, strategies, programs, projects and

actions at a landscape level.

Sisay Nune Hailemariam1, Teshome

Soromessa1 & Demel Teketay2

Correspondence: Sisay Nune Hailemariam,. Tel: 251-92919-4379. Email: nune.sisay@gmail.com

Introduction

The causes of ecosystem degradation are rooted in an economic

system that often rewards exploitation rather than stewardship

of natural system (World Resources Institute, 2003).

Food requirements in 2050 will increase by 70% (FAO, 2009).

Urbanization is increasing.

Increase in biomass energy usage.

Materials and Methods

Results and Discussion

References

Forty eight interviews and 56 semi structured

questionnaires were administered.

Experts, bureau heads , directors and higher

officials participated.

Purposive sampling method was applied.

1. Rights and responsibilities to mange Environmental

Resources is not clear.

2. There is no robust planning and programming system:

62% of sectoral offices responded that the existing

planning and programming does not satisfy the interest

of actors in a landscape.

3. Capacity of sectoral offices at lower level is extremely

low and weak.

4. Community property right situation is not clear.

Land use policy and forestry stood out as the two under

funded thematic sectors in all visited zones.

Between 2000 and 2013 Ethiopia lost over a million hectares of

forest to leave space mainly for agriculture (MEFCC 2016).

Knock-on effect of deforestation on biodiversity, water resources,

food and nutrition, rural livelihood is significant.

Critical review and analysis of institutional arrangements for

Environmental Resources Conservation and Management is proposed.

Knowledgeable and all rounded professionals with proper incentives

mechanisms –to respond to the ever increasing Climate Change-are

required urgently

“Think outside the Box”—coordination, collaboration and planning –

spatial planning---Synergy seems the only way forward.

Planning Reform is needed without loosing so much time—[84% are

interested to reform the existing planning and programming setup].

Increase in food consumption /Agricultural land expansion; biomass energy; urbanization

Forest and other important vegetations; wetlands; grazing lands; land degradation loss of ecosystem services

Weak synergy between different

actors; absence of land use

planning; no landscape

approach; weak or inappropriate

policy; population growth

1 Addis Ababa University, College of Natural and Computational Science , Center for Environmental

Science P. O. Box 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

2 Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Department of Crop Science and Production,

Private Bag 0027, Gaborone, Botswana :

Study Area

Conclusions and Recommendations

FAO. (2009). How to feed the world in 2050. Rome: FAO (ttp://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/wsfs/docs/Issues_papers/HLEF2050_Global_Agric

ulture.pdf, accessed on 22 November 2015).

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change [MEFCC]. (2016).

Ethiopia's Forest Reference Level Submission to the UNFCCC. Addis

Ababa: MEFCC.

Nune, S., Soromessa, T. and Teketay, D. Institutional arrangements and

management of environmental resources in Ethiopia. Environ. Nat.

Resour. Res. 2016, 6, 67–87.

World Resources Institute (2003). Decisions for the Earth: Balance,

Voice, and Power. Washington D.C. 2002: World Resources Institute.

Source: Nune et al. (2016)

The objectives were to:

Loss of livelihoods, migration, conflict, competition, GHG

emission