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Natural resources mostly are ownerless as they exist in their natural state and they are considered as common property of the public. Due to this, they are subject to unwise utilization. This leads to forests depletion, loss of wild life and land degradation. Currently in Ethiopia, particularly in Tigrai region there is accelerating rate of deforestation, soil erosion and other social and economic problems. It is also proved that the forest cover of the Tigrai region is less than 1%. Due to this the public with the government have to think over on how to protect the remaining patches. Deforestation was one of the reasons to enact environmental legislations in the ancient times. The development of environmental law demonstrates that the best way to ensure possible protection forests is to assure their preservation and development by legislation. The policies and laws issued to conserve forests are not properly implemented and enforced to protect deforestation and land degradation. Due to lack of enforcement of the relevant laws accelerates serious problems of deforestation land degradation,soil erosion,drought, famine and desertification, loss of wild life, ecological threat, etc.

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Habtu Gulbetie Amne has received his LLB from the Ethiopian Civil Service College and his LLM from the Amsterdam University Law School. He is now working in the Bureau of Justice in the Regional State of Tigray, Ethiopia.

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