First of My deepest apologies for the overdue of this report. internet connection was down in Ethiopia

The Environmental Policy of Ethiopia (1997) is the overarching policy for the environment and natural resource management in Ethiopia. It was developed to address an identified gap in the policy framework. 

The importance of sustainable development was recognized in national policy and laws however there was no overall comprehensive policy formulation to address the cross-sectoral and sectoral issues that concern the environment and natural resource management.

 The Environmental Policy addresses this by setting out specific policy directives for different sectors concerning the environment and natural resource management. Section 3.1 and 3.2 contain specific policies relevant for the forestry sector.

 For example, section 3.1 (m) encourages tree planting such as the development of forestry on farms, around the homestead and/or eroding hillsides.  Section 3.2 is specifically directed towards the management of forests, trees and woodland resources. 

Here, sustainable forest management and participatory approaches involving state, private companies and communities is promoted. Overall, the policy contains many policy directives of relevance to sustainable development including a section on land tenure and environmental economics