Fourth Congress of the Association of African Historians

President Girma calls for issuing uniform land use policy

Addis Ababa( Sept. 04) : President Girma Wolde-Giorgis said the government needs to issue a uniform land policy in order to be able to protect land degradation.

While inaugurating a documentary film entitled 'Witinkit [Morass]: poverty and environmental Degradation' here on Saturday, the president a 'the state should issue immediately a national policy on utilization of land that would enable demarcate arable and non-arable lands to reduce the destruction of  the country's natural resources.'

"I know the government has an intention to issue such policy," President Girma said. "Although there are certain regions that have land use policy, they are not uniform," he added.

Dessalegn Rahmato, manager of Forum for Social Studies (FSS), which produced the documentary film, on his part said the country's potential to ensure food security is being weakened due to the depletion of natural forests. Environmental degradation has also exposed the country to periodic drought.

Lack of clear forest policy, which could serve as a framework for the conservation of forest resources on sustainable basis, absence of land use policy that can allocate land for appropriate activities, lack of a sense of responsibility on the part of the society and population explosion are the main causes of land degradation, according to FSS study paper.

Up to 200,000 of woodlands are being mercilessly destroyed per annum resulting soil erosion and costing the country to lose 2 billion tons of soil annually, it said.

The farming communities lose up to 30,000 hectares of farmlands annually as a result of soil erosion, FSS paper indicates.