BY GIRMACHEW GASHAW
Extraction of minerals from the natural earth is in most cases likely to disturb the environment. When disturbing the environment there must be careful and systemic protection of the whole system of environment that assures sustainable use of the current resource and or ecosystem that bring about either less or almost no destruction or pollution of the environment.
The mining legislation of Ethiopia, which came into effect in 1993 has a provision that requires us compulsory criteria to study, submit and get the approval of Environmental Impact Assessment from the respective Authority to develop large scale mining project.
“There is no proper environment impact assessment conducted. They just copy and paste. We don’t have a regulatory body that can check. Environment impact assessment is not conducted. Once it is conducted it is not verified by the relevant government authority” says Geologist Dr Gedion G Jaleta.
“However, proper due diligence is imperative to exploit minerals. Mineral exploitation hurts the environment due to a lack of genuine consultation and negotiation with the community or they are not part of genuine consultation and negotiation. Community interest is not respected in the negotiation” he added.
According to the old report by the ministry of mine, the common environmental issues in Ethiopia to be considered in the development of the medium to large scale mining projects are the surface and groundwater system, the physical land management (soil, rock stability, deforestation grassland, farmland, etc), spillage of strange chemicals/metals, air, noise, dust, aesthetic values of the area, cultural and tourist heritage, the communities as well as all other lives surround the mine proximity.
These days, every developer has to gain information and carry out development projects considering the three aspects of philosophy: economic value -where every developer focuses, environment value- the natural resource and the social environment as well, said Samuel Hailu, Environmentalist, who specialized in environmental and social impact studies.
There is a philosophy that says we need to start looking at the environment from different dimensions. We have got to put every being in mind. And nature has two big components – mental power and environmental power.
“Of course, we have got environment impact assessment and pollution control proclamations enacted in 2002. In general terms, these are very good proclamations to support development endeavours. However, the rapid development strategy which was issued before ten years has some gaps in ensuring sustainability” said Samuel.
The then officials were highly focused on ensuring rapid economic development. But, when they tried to bring quick development, the bureaucratic procedures took time and there was reluctance in fully implementing legal frameworks meant to protect the environment. As a result, many projects were started without environmental documentations.
Even if some projects have gone through the environmental assessment process, the processes did not pass through all the required procedures. Even if many projects have got environment assessment report with good mitigation measure, they end up on a shelf. Finally, projects commenced without reviewing the environmental aspect. So, there has been a big gap in the regulatory bodies. Investors don’t want to be responsible for the damage that occurs to the environment due to their activities.
One of the challenges in this regard is the absence of strong institutions. The other hindrance is environmentalists. We have not properly designed tools of environmental procedures and systems to produce an effective document. As a result, the impact is reflected in the community or the environment.
In the areas where we conducted this study, we observed huge environmental effects. For instance, if you see the Shakiso area, there is water crossing the city. The chemical that comes out of the gold extraction areas has polluted the water which hurts human beings as well as animals” says Dr Gedion.
The same thing has happened in opal excavation areas in Wadala and Delanta areas. While searching for the mineral these people destroy the mountain. So, a rehabilitation mechanism should be in place. By nature, when you exploit minerals it would bring adverse effects in the environment as well as the health of individuals.
The environment and society have to be protected to achieve our ultimate goal that is development. Thus, we have to be able to balance these three.
Without a doubt, this country has hope in terms of development and environmental protection. To maintain our hope, the government has to work with all the pertinent stakeholders, particularly environmental organizations and businesses. Parallel to this, awareness-raising tasks should be expanded, the expert concludes.
The Ethiopian Herald October 30/2021
