ERCS holds an environment workshop

The National Environment and Social Impact Assessment Guidelines for Irrigation and Mining validation workshop, organized by the Ethiopian Red Cross Society (ERCS) was held from October 5-6, 2020 at the ERCS Center for Capacity Development for Humanitarian Services (CCDHS).

The guidelines are produced to direct the preparation of Environment and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) for Irrigation and Mining projects as well as to guide Environmental Forest and Climate Change Commission of Ethiopia (EFCCC) and its line sectors in making decisions and approval of proposed Mining and Irrigation projects.

Opening the workshop, Engda Mandefro, Deputy Secretary General for Disaster Risk Management Program at ERCS said the guidelines are the first of its kind at the national level and will help reduce the risk expected while implementing irrigation and mining development in the community.

“Environmental and climate calamities in Ethiopia and in the world are the result of the unhealthy interaction of human beings with the environment and the guideline should direct the implementer body to work on it designed to create a healthy human interaction,” said Shewaferaw Negash, Director General of Environmental Forest and Climate Change Commission of Ethiopia.

Issues like the process of ESIA, policies and legal frameworks, roles and responsibilities of stakeholders, impact mitigation measures and management plan, environmental and social monitoring plan, and environmental and social auditing are boldly discussed in both guidelines.

Experts from Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Mining and Petroleum, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Commission, Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Ethiopia among others participated in the workshop.