Environmental and Social Impact Assessment - Gibe III

Gibe III – Environmental and Social Impact Assessment 300 ENV R CS 002 C - A9003099
new office and not well organized. Although EMU currently carry out environmental management and
monitoring programs on hydropower projects, the office has serious limitations in undertaking these
activities mainly due to the insufficient numbers of trained staff, inadequate budgets, office facilities and
equipment.
In view of the key role the power sector is likely to continue to play in the economic development of
Ethiopia, there is a need for training to strengthen EMU’s capability in the area of environmental
management and monitoring of projects in the water resource sector.
It is recommended to carry out capacity building measures and this appears to be appropriate in relation to
the current environmental management and monitoring capabilities within EEPCo and the implementation of
several hydropower projects by EEPCo.
Training courses in this field are provided at different institutes and universities; among these are the
Environmental Impact Assessment Centre of the University of Manchester (UK) and the Institute for
Housing and Urban Development Studies in Rotterdam (the Netherlands). In Nairobi (Kenya), the African
Institute of Technology arranges tailored courses in the field of ESIA.
CESI SpA - Mid-Day International Consulting Engineers Page 271