Promoting Climate Justice Activism in Ethiopia

Ethiopia is one of the most drought-prone countries in the world. In the recent past, rains have become more unpredictable with rains failing completely. In the highlands, heavy rains cause flooding and soil degradation. The combination of climate change, related loss of agricultural land and aggressive economic infrastructure results in human rights violations and breed conflict. Some 1.2 million Ethiopians have been displaced due to conflict. The IOM reported that the primary causes of this displacement were conflict and climate/weather. The climate focus has been on mitigation and not community-driven adaptation.

In terms of opportunities: Ethiopia has some progressive environmental laws such as the Pollution Control Proclamation and many others.  The Ethiopian government also has policies like the Sustainable Development Agenda (2021 – 2030). The existing local adaptive capacity and indigenous knowledge is also an opportunity that can be capitalized on with the right interventions. 

This project Aims to see:

- Empowered indigenous and local communities and CSOs will provide strong grassroots foundation to build national movements promoting and advocating for climate justice and community-driven climate narratives.

- Improved mechanisms for the participation of vulnerable groups, allow indigenous and local communities and CSOs to engage effectively with climate decision-makers at national and sub-national level to develop policies and adaptation plans and claim environmental and social rights. Local and national policies and frameworks for climate justice are developed and implemented.

The Pathways:

Pathway 1 – Strengthening Movements

Pathway 2 – Developing and Sharing African Narratives

Pathway 3 – Strengthening human rights frameworks 

Pathway 4 – strengthening communities’ adaptive capacities 

Pathway 5 – Increasing political will for climate just policies