Ethiopia
| Profile | General | EIA profile | SEA profile |
|---|---|
| See also | Webpages (3) | Projects (4) | Library (8) |
SEA profile
Updated to: 26 September 2013
Download as PDFSEA background
Country contact on SEA
Contact details for the country contact on SEA.
Ministry of Environmental Protection and Forestry (established in June 2013)
The Ministry is established through a transformation of the Environmental Protection Agency whose contact details are:
Environmental Protection Agency
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Website: http://www.epa.gov.et/default.aspx
History of SEA
Brief description of the history of SEA in the country, including when it was introduced and any major milestones in its development.
SEA has been introduced to Ethiopia quite recently. The EIA proclamation of 2002 make a clear provision for the assessment of 'public instruments' (policies, strategies, programmes, laws and international agreements). However, procedures and guidelines on SEA are not in place.
Legal framework for SEA
Framework/Enabling law
Name of first enabling legislation that sets the framework for SEA.
Environmental Impact Assessment Proclamation No 299/ 2002, which also prescribes impact assessment for policies, programmes, strategies and laws.
Approving authority of enabling law
The authority that approved the enabling law for SEA.
Parliament
First national detailed SEA regulation
First national detailed regulation (procedural requirements) for SEA, through which SEA was operationalized.
None.
Recent updates and additions to the SEA legislation
Revisions of the SEA provisions in the enabling law or the national detailed SEA regulation (procedural requirements) are named. The year is listed, and the main changes since the first regulation are mentioned, if available. Also, additional relevant SEA-related legislation that has been published since the first legislation is listed.
None.
Sector specific procedures/regulations
Any existing sectoral procedure/regulations are listed here, as well as the authority that issued each.
None.
Guidelines
Any government issued guidelines on SEA (general or sectoral) are listed here, as well as the authority that issued each. Describes the legal status of the guidelines.
Guidelines on how to undertake Strategic Environmental Assessment are available on the website of the Ethiopian Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Objective SEA
The objective of SEA as stated in the above described legal basis.
Not specified.
Scope of SEA application
Describes for which planning processes (at policy, programme and plan level) SEA is required.
Policies, programs, strategies and laws.
EIA proclamation No. 229 of 2002 article 13
Exemptions from SEA application
Are any specific types of plans explicitly excluded from SEA application?
Not specified.
SEA approach
Describes the current overall SEA approach. Specifically: Has the country's SEA procedure been modeled on the existing EIA approach? Or has a separate SEA approach been developed?
EIA procedure should be applied to plans according to the EIA proclamation No: 299/ 2002
EIA proclamation No. 229 of 2002 article 13
SEA tiering with EIA
Are there any provisions for tiering of EIA and SEA?
No information available.
Institutional setting for SEA
Central SEA authority
Is there a central authority in charge of the SEA system as a whole, responsible for issuing guidelines etc? If so, is it independent or linked to a higher body (e.g. ministry)?
Environment Protection Council: The EPC is to ensure integration and harmony of environmental concerns with development policies, strategies and plans. In addition, the Council is mandated to (i) deliberate upon policy matters concerning environmental protection and (ii) evaluate and approve directives and standards issued by EPA .
Proclamation for the Establishment EPA (proclamation No. 9 of 1995). Negarit Gazeta of the FDRE, Addis Ababa, 1995. Article 10
Mandate for exemption of SEA obligation
Is there a legal mandate for a competent authority to make exemptions of SEA obligation? If yes, under which conditions (e.g. national security, disasters or no conditions/when deemed necessary)?
There are no legal mandates for SEA exemption specified.
(De)centralisation of SEA mandates
Are SEA mandates (de)centralised? Vertical decentralization refers to the extent to which the responsibility for SEA processes is delegated by the central government to the provincial or local authorities. Sectoral or horizontal decentralization refers to the reassignment of decision-making authority on SEA to government units on a sectoral basis.
Not specified.
Initiator of the SEA
Who initiates the SEA? Should the plan owner initiate and undertake the SEA or is an environmental authority responsible for undertaking the SEA. If an authority is responsible, which authority and at which level?
The EIA proclamation provides that the owner of the policy, plan or strategy is responsible for ensuring that their proposal is subjected to an EIA.
EIA proclamation No. 229 of 2002 article 13
SEA procedure
Establishing context
Implementing the SEA
Informing and influencing decision-making
Monitoring
SEA practice
Annual no. of SEAs
Gives an estimation for the number of SEAs that are produced annually in this country.
Estimated 2 or 3 SEAs undertaken per year (mostly these concern SEAs for Master Plans).
Central SEA database
Is there a central database or library where information on SEAs is kept (i.e. where all SEAs are registered and/or copies are archived). If so, what is kept there and is this information publicly accessible?
None.
Non-governmental SEA guidance
Lists any SEA manuals and good practice publications (including checklists, case studies) that have been published by parties other than government.
None.