Review of EIA in East Africa: Challenges and Opportunities in Ethiopia and Kenya

Abstract

Environment is vital medium for the ecosystems to be sustained, however human beings have put pressure on it, due to recent rise in populations and rapid industrialization. These have led to uncontrolled anthropogenic activities, which interferes with natural ecosystems and affects sustainability of development. For this reason, Ethiopia and Kenya decided to adopt and implement the Environmental impact assessment (EIA) tool, so as to make sure the environment is protected and sustained. This paper focuses on the common challenges in both East African nations in order to increase accountability and transparency during implementation of any project. It also comprises EIA guidelines comparison based on principles and procedure of EIA and indicates possible way out in which EIA might be used more productively in the future.