4466 Environmental Crimes in Ethiopia.indd

Rose Mwebaza, Philip Njuguna Mwanika and Wondowossen Sintayehu Wonndemagegnehu
a very fast rate. Generally speaking, invasive alien species
are ’threatening agricultural land and protected areas,
aggressively invading pastoral areas, destroying natural
pasture, displacing native trees, forming impenetrable
thickets, and reducing grazing potential’. 14
Unsustainable agricultural practices are also threatening
most ecosystems in the country, such as investments
in massive agricultural projects in the vicinity of protected
areas, wetlands, wildlife habitats and corridors.
There are allegations that current agro-fuel schemes have
been carried out without proper impact assessments on
the natural environment.
Wetland ecosystems are continually under threat.
The functions of wetlands are not well understood and
they are being drained in search of arable land and in an
attempt to destroy mosquito hatching areas.
In terms of chemical usage and pollution, the country
has accumulated a remarkable amount of obsolete
pesticides. These were mostly imported for agricultural
use, but as their shelf-life lapsed they were dumped in an
unsafe and environmentally unsound manner throughout
the country. The National Implementation Plan 15 that
was prepared as a requirement under the Stockholm
Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants has indicated
that some of these accumulations are contaminated
by toxic chemicals, whose application was restricted
under the Convention.
A major environmental concern in urban areas is
pollution. There is a serious scarcity of waste disposal
facilities and latrines in urban areas. Despite recent efforts
by municipalities in most cities to implement sanitary
waste management systems, people are still disposing
of their waste in public places, waterways, at roadsides
etc. Banned plastic bags 16 are still being used widely as
a cheap, replaceable wrapping material. According to
reports by the Ministry of Health, with an estimated
30 per cent, Ethiopia has some of the lowest sanitation
coverage in the world. 17 High concentrations of fluoride
are responsible for reduced water quality, particularly
in the Rift Valley region. Despite some efforts to ban old
cars from the roads, air quality has declined greatly in
urban areas over the last couple of years. This is alleged to
be causing eye diseases and respiratory tract ailments in
some parts of Addis Ababa. 18
Situation Report 5