Environment 

In Ethiopia, where over 85 percent of the population lives in rural areas and depends on smallholder agriculture, livelihood is strongly linked to the exploitation of the natural resources base (land, water and forest). The pressure of intense human activity and improper farming and management practices however pose serious threats to the sustainability of the natural resources and maintaining ecological balance. There is a widespread problem related to intensive cultivation, overgrazing, deforestation and loss of biodiversity, soil erosion and soil fertility decline, water scarcity and pollution; and high livestock feed and fuelwood demand. These factors often interact with one another and result in a reinforcing cycle of a “poverty, food insecurity and natural resources degradation trap”.

Unless deliberate efforts are put in place, market oriented agricultural development could have a significant negative impact on the environment. The IPMS project will endeavour to respond to these issues through project activities which take into consideration environmental issues and farmers’ capacity to invest in low-cost, environment-friendly, innovative agricultural technologies. The Project is committed to introducing sustainable and innovative agricultural practices which will enhance crop and livestock productivity and farmer’s livelihoods while caring for our natural resources. This was reflected in the different diagnosis and programme design reports developed for each Pilot Learning Weredas (PLW) using appropriate PRA tools, where many stakeholders were involved.

Following these reports, the project also developed Environmental Screening and Assessment Reports (EASRs) based on the interventions in each PLW where environmental impacts are expected. Three types of potential impacts of the programme of intervention are considered in the EASR for each PLW:

• Principal environmental impacts, defined as potential effects directly attributable to the concerned IPMS activity;
• Cumulative environmental impacts, defined as the possible long-term effects of the concerned activity, including the accumulated effects of multiple activities that may arise in association with, or encouraged by, the concerned activity;
• Impacts of the environment on the performance of the concerned activity. 

A follow-up program to ensure that the recommended mitigating measures are implemented as required will be conducted by the staff of the Environment and Natural Resources Unit in the Wereda Office of Agriculture, with support from IPMS as appropriate. To help accomplish this, Environmental Monitoring Plans (EMPs) were then prepared for IPMS interventions with possible environmental impacts in each PLW.