Environmental Policy Implementation Gaps in Ethiopia: Institutional, Political, and Capacity Constraints

Over the past two decades, Ethiopia has established an extensive environmental policy framework; however, substantial gaps persist between formal policy commitments and on-the-ground environmental outcomes. This study systematically reviews 264 empirical studies to examine how institutional, political, and capacity constraints, both independently and in interaction, shape environmental policy implementation across federal, regional, and local governance levels. The reviewed studies consistently identify fragmented institutional mandates, weak inter-agency coordination, and limited regulatory enforcement as key institutional barriers, alongside political constraints such as competing development priorities and policy inconsistency, and capacity-related limitations including shortages of technical expertise, financial resources, and reliable environmental data. These constraints interact to structurally block iterative learning, feedback integration, and responsive decision-making. To address these gaps, reforms should realign political incentives, strengthen institutional coordination, and build sustained technical and human capacity to support evidence-based, adaptive environmental management.