Environmental Impact and Sustainability of Aggregate Production in Ethiopia

Abstract

The production of aggregate for the infrastructural development of the country has been increasing for the last three decades due to the high urbanization rates in the main cities of the country and the ever-growing demand for basic infrastructural facilities. The environmental impact of both fine and coarse aggregate production is now hard to ignore especially on the outskirts of the main cities. These impacts are clearly seen on the degradation of landscape and land stability, pollution of water resource, pollution of the atmosphere due to dust, and societal impacts. There are clear local and international laws that protect the environment from the negative impact of any project, whereas the observed fact from abandoned and functioning quarry sites shows these rules are not followed strictly.