ABSTRACT
The international legal principle of sustainable development can be found in several of the world’s constitutions. It refers to development capable of satisfying the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Most nations are constantly faced with the tradeoff between economic growth and environmental protection, and for “developing countries” like Ethiopia, this tradeoff is starker, given that economic growth is paramount for poverty alleviation. When planning for and implementing environmental legislation towards sustainable development, the effective distribution of powers between the different levels of government is essential for the allocation of subject-matter jurisdictions, funds, resources, and decision-making power. There is debate among scholars regarding the best ways in which authority can be allocated between different institutions or groups of institutions in environmental decision-making. As a Global South nation, with a developing economy and competing interests over environmental resources, Ethiopia is an important test case to examine how environmental federalism plays out in practice. This is especially important given that the federal structure of Ethiopia has not been borne of colonialism, as much as regionalized tribal identity-driven provinces, called “Killiloch.” This chapter explores the nexus between Ethiopia’s federal structure and its goal of sustainable development.
