Effectiveness Of Environmental Impact Assessment Vis--vis Investment Laws In Ethiopia The Case Of Floriculture Investment

Focus on economic growth may bring about policies and legal regimes that encouragerninvestments without due consideration for the environmental consequences of investmentrnprojects. Environmental impact assessment is conducted with the aim of avoiding and/ orrnmitigating the environmental consequences of projects. In Ethiopia, the EIA proclamationrnobliges projects that may cause significant environmental damage to conduct EIA prior to projectrnimplementation. However, the same requirement is not set in the investment laws of the Country,rnleading for licensing organs such as the EIC to grant permits that will allow investors torncommence their projects without being required to conduct an environmental impact assessment.rnThis study aims to evaluate the nexus between EIA and FDI in one of the most profitablerninvestment areas, i.e. the floriculture sector. To this effect, the study evaluates the policy,rninstitutional and legal framework of EIA and Ethiopian investment law with the intention torninvestigate the legal gap created by the investment laws on implementation of EIAs and whetherrnor not the country’s focus of increasing FDI by calling of investors on floriculture sector havernhindered the implementation of EIA and obstructing the constitutionally enshrined right to cleanrnand healthy environment and building a sustainable development. To achieve the objectives ofrnthis research, a qualitative research approach that involves focal person interviews with EIC andrnEFCCC officials, as well as analysis of the existing laws and policies, was conducted.rnThis research found that the several policies (GTP II and Environmental Policy), the FDRErnConstitution, and other legislations (including voluntary and mandatory code of practice) tried torncreate a positive relationship between EIA and investment as a whole, and floriculturerninvestment, in particular. They tried to do so by using a cross-reference among provisions orrnsections or simply mentioning the term ‘sustainable development’. However, some of theserndocuments, on the other hand, tend to create an imbalance that undermines EIA over FDI. Thernfindings also show the lack of relation and coordination between the two key institutions, thernEFCCC and EIC in ensuring a proper implementation of EIA in FDI.

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