Journal of
African Studies and Development

  • Abbreviation: J. Afr. Stud. Dev
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 2141-2189
  • DOI: 10.5897/JASD
  • Start Year: 2009
  • Published Articles: 240

Article in Press

Economic Laws and Environmental Accommodation: Analysis of Environmental Accommodation and its Adequacy in Oromia Economic Laws

DULUME WAKGARI

  •  Received: 12 December 2020
  •  Accepted: 05 February 2021
Environmental protection has been evolving since 1960s. These days it seems integrated in any development endeavor all over the world. International community has agreed to sustainable development as the only viable development nowadays. To that end, 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were designed in 2015. These development goals revolve around three pillars of development [economic, environmental and social] and disregarding one of the pillars hinders the attainment of SDGs. Thus, to attain sustainable development, environmental protection, as one of its pillars, must be promoted on par with other national interests. In line with this, the objective of this paper is analyzing environmental accommodation and its adequacy in Oromia economic laws. It also investigates investment-environment interplay and how these laws should be implemented. In doing that, doctrinal research method is employed where textual analyses of different laws are made. Both Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) Constitution and Revised Oromia Constitution (ROC); Growth and Transformation Plans (GTPs I and II); Oromia economic laws and some of Federal and Oromia environmental laws are analyzed. The analysis shows that constitutions adequately accommodate environmental issues; while GTPs loosely accommodate environmental concerns. Oromia mineral resource development proclamation and Oromia Rural Land Use and Administration Proclamation (ORLUAP) has accommodated environmental issues; but not adequately. Disregarding environmental protection is not objective of economic laws; at the same time, environmental laws have no intention to disregard economic development but to ensure protection of environment in the economic endeavor. So, these laws are mutually reinforcing than competing. CaffeeOromia is recommended to amend Proclamation No. 91/2005 and ORLUAP addressing environmental issues adequately. Economy first paradigm should be changed to Sustainable Development and concerned organs (investment and environmental institutions) should work in synergy promoting both economy and ecology

Keywords: Environmental Accommodation, Investment-Environment Interplay, Oromia Economic Laws