Context
The Ethiopian Government's Ten Years Development Plan is the national implementation strategy of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It identifies land-use planning as an important planning tool in industry, infrastructure, and agriculture.
However, most parts of Ethiopia are seeing an unregulated expansion of settlement areas. At the same time, the government promotes investment in land for agricultural production. Combined with high population growth, these factors are leading to increasing competition for land. This causes disputes, especially in peri-urban areas.
The competition between agricultural interests and the growth of settlements in such areas means the interests of certain land uses, such as forests, protected areas and smallholder farms are overlooked, and important ecosystems are being lost.
In addition, the institutional and regulatory framework for integrated land use planning (ILUP) is inadequate and not aligned with international human rights standards.
