Wastewater governance in the upstream catchment of the Awash Basin, Ethiopia: challenges and opportunities for better accountability

Abstract With the growing competition for water, demand for food, and the decline of freshwater resources, wastewater and polluted river waters have been increasingly used for agriculture in Ethiopia. The findings of this study show that untreated wastewater discharged from industries into the environment has been polluting rivers and the surrounding environment. Regulatory bodies did little to enforce rules, regulations, and directives provided for the regulation of wastewater. This paper examines the factors that explain weaknesses with respect to the accountability of institutions meant for wastewater governance. In doing so, it discusses task overlaps, corruption, and the absence of environmental courts that significantly affect environmental protection activities. The study found that due to poor implementation of laws and regulations, and lack of relevant information, including poor evidence of the pollution load, enforcement activities are under a great challenge. The paper concludes that urban agriculture has been expanding without concern for its negative health and socioeconomic impacts. The positive economic impacts of wastewater agriculture also need to be reassessed and improved as one livelihood option for the farming communities and calls for awareness creation and other measures to fully understand the existing benefits and impacts of wastewater on human health and the environment.