This Rural Land Use and Administration Policy of the Afar National Regional State seeks to provide an answer to the following problems: The traditional land administration and use system is not in line with the formal government land administration and use system.

The present Ministerial Order by the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations provides for the implementation of Ecosystem Based Management (EBM) on forested lands in the Great Bear Rainforest (GBR). It establishes legal objectives pursuant to section 93.4 of the Land Act, for the purpose of directing forest practices implemented under the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA).

The Ministery of land and forests shall be responsible for the management of public land, as well as for the management of the timber and forests belonging to public lands.

The Act consists of 115 sections divided into 13 Parts: Preliminary (I); General principles and objectives (II); Environmental impact assessment, audit and monitoring (III); Environmental quality standards (IV); Pollution control and licensing (V); Guidelines and standards for the management of the environment and natural resources (VI); Protection of biodiversity, natural heritage and the ozone layer (VII); Environmental restoration Order (VIII); Inspection, analysis and records (IX); International obligations (X); Information, access, education and public awareness (XI); Offences (XII); M

Meeting Name: African Forestry Commission
Meeting symbol/code: FO-AFC/69/REP.
Session: Sess. 2

Meeting symbol/code: NERC/16/INF/7 Rev.1
Session: Sess. 33

1. Degradation of natural resources is a significant constraint to sustainable agricultural development in many developing countries. In particular, water scarcity is a major threat to achieving food security and reducing poverty. Better water management, therefore, is critical to reaching international targets to halve the proportion of people without access to drinking water by 2015.