Today – April 22 – is celebrated as the “Earth Day”; this year it’s marked under the campaign slogan “Earth Day 2009: The Green Generation.” Ethiopia will join this year’s celebration for the first time – a remarkable achievement. The only difference being Ethiopia’s slogan will read: “EARTH DAY 2009: TURNING A BEAUTIFUL LAKE INTO A GREEN POISON” (see picture above).

LAKE KOKA – “GREEN IS FOR POISON IN ETHIOPIA!”

In mid-February 2009, Al-Jazeera documented about the destruction of Lake Koka in central Oromiya from industrial chemical wastes discharged from adjacent factories that had no safety and environmental oversight by the government – not because these factories were ditching the regulations, but because the government had no interest in regulating such toxic discharges. According to the Prime Minister, such regulations would deter the so-called “fast pace of development” that Ethiopia was said to have been achieving contrary to World Bank and IMF reports. The government, under its watch, allowed the once beautiful Lake Koka turn into a “GREEN” lake contaminated with deadly chemicals leading to algae infestation. As reported by Al-Jazeera, several residents had died by chemical poisoning in drinking water.

The Gilgil Gibe III Dam Project – “CARBON-FREE IS ALWAYS ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY!”

BBC reported about the Gilgil Gibe III Dam project being undertaken by Ethiopia with no credible safety and environmental studies. Beside to its political impact in communities living around the Omo River (possibly leading to wars), the dam will have grave consequences to people, environment and other species of the Omo River and downstream Lake Turkana (in Kenya). Ironically enough, the Head of the Ethiopian Environmental Protection Agency was on the record saying: “There is no human impact that is not felt by other species or by other people. Even when you walk, you kill many insects.” Therefore, he was totally fine with the Gibe Dam project leading to human deaths and environmental destruction — absurd!

One statement that seems to be consistently spoken these days by Ethiopian officials while denying their reckless destruction of the environment is: “Our development is carbon-free; therefore, we do not cause destruction.” First, all those who keep uttering this statement need to understand that carbon-based pollutants are not the only culprits in destroying the environment. The chemicals being damped into Lake Koka have no carbon in them (contaminants are heavy metals); regardless, the lake is destroyed by pollution. From the Prime Minister to the Communication Minister, they seem to be convinced that “carbon-free” means “environmentally friendly.” There was a scientific study done about the Lake Koka case, in which heavy metals were found in samples taken from the lake and adjacent factories (Read the research paper’s abstract here). Therefore, the deadly chemicals in Lake Koka are “carbon-free”, but they are NO environmentally friendly.

The Akaki River – FARMING PLASTIC BAGS

The Guardian reported back in 2008 that the Akaki River (on the outskirts of Addis Ababa) has turned from a sprightly fresh stream into a toxic sludge, poisoning not only the residents of Addis Ababa, but also the communities further downstream. Mostly due to lack of environmental and safety regulations (or the will from the government to do so), destruction of the environment continues in Ethiopia.

For Akaki-area farmers like Alemu Mengesha (pictured above), when the rainy season approaches, it is not for ploughing or sowing just yet, because they will have to spend several months clearing the fields of the carpet of plastic bags, shoes, tires and other rubbish the floods have deposited on their land. Read more articles on the environmental destruction in Akaki.

The Flowexploitation and Its Environmental Impact

Jimma Times reported about the impact of the flower industry on the environment:

Today, more than fifty flower farms operate in Ethiopia. Most of them began growing flowers in 2000. These farms are believed to have created job opportunities for thou­sands of rural Ethiopians.

Moreover, the govern­ment has given due atten­tion to the flower industry because of growing rev­enue it collects from ex­port taxes. However, the industry has brought with it much controversy: al­legations of environmental mismanagement, labor abuse and unfair land holding.

The industry uses pesticides and chemical fertil­izers. Environmentalists accuse that the industry uses too much of these elements damaging the environ­ment by contaminating the underground water. The industry is also accused of using a lot of water. The environmentalists worry that flower farms let too much inor­ganic fertilizer into soil so that the soil develops salinity. Saline soil will not grow plants. Moreover, too much chemicals kill use­ful organisms in the soil. And, if too much pesticide gets into water bodies it damages the biodiversity. Excessive use of water leads to conflict with the local community, as was the case in the Naivasha district in Ke­nya. It may also lead to depletion of water from its natural reservoir.