REEEP and Austrian government launch CDM project in Uganda to reduce emissions from charcoal
If you do not have access to electricity, it makes sense to turn to the wood that surrounds you for energy. In many parts of Africa, it is not unusual to see villagers strolling into the woods, chopping down trees or branches, covering them up and lighting them. After a patient wait lasting a few days they will find that the pile of wood has become charcoal - a traditional type of biofuel.
It is an easy solution. Used throughout the continent, charcoal is a versatile source of fuel for cooking. But fumes are a serious health risk and release large amounts of greenhouse gases. Few governments in Africa, though, have taken the trouble to help people manage charcoal production and burning practices more effectively. A new capacity building project in Uganda funded by the Austrian government in the context of the Austrian Joint Implementation/Clean Development Mechanism-Programme now aims not only to do just that, but to use the experience to help earn carbon credits while also helping break through the barriers holding back more African CDM projects of different kinds.
As is well known, compared to India, China and Latin America, the continent has not attracted many CDM projects, a mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol which lets rich nations fund clean energy projects in developing countries, then claim credits back home for delivering greenhouse gas cuts. African governments themselves have called for more assistance to attract CDM investments (previous post) and the Austrian initiative could prove to be the much needed catalyst.
Gertraud Wollansky, an executive at the Austrian Environment Ministry, which is drawing on the resources of multilateral clean energy organisation the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) for the project says most of Sub-Saharan Africa is basically blank on the map as far as CDM is concerned (take this quite literally, see the interactive CDM projects map here, or click to enlarge). The ministry wants to help develop an energy efficient method for producing charcoal and avoiding methane emissions, but is also interested in hydropower, biodiesel and biogas:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: greenhouse gas emissions :: charcoal :: Clean Development Mechanism :: Uganda :: Austria :: Africa ::
The Nile experience
There are good reasons starting in Uganda, which is already pioneering one of the few African CDM projects that are not based in Tunisia or South Africa. Engineers working on the West Nile Electrification Project (WNEP) have constructed a 3.5 MW hydropower plant on the banks of the White Nile (a tributary of the main river Nile) which flows out from Lake Victoria in the heart of the continent. That project has received funding from the World Bank and other international organisations and will cut demand for diesel and thermal power as well as kerosene and paraffin. It will also avoid transport emissions from fuel trucks.
It is one of the building blocks used by Wollansky and her colleagues, giving them more knowledge, and enabling them to create another project. That in turn will provide the team with new insights, eventually perhaps creating a domino effect.
“The project that is finally selected will be a pilot in the sense that we hope that if we can demonstrate a project really works, other projects will be able to follow this example and can use the experience we’ve gained,” she explains. Three other countries, in which the Ministry is also working in conjunction with REEEP, are equally suitable candidates for similar groundbreaking projects: Ethopia, Ghana and Tanzania. In Ghana, they are interested in introducing more methane capture and biogeneration as well as helping fuel switching from oil to gas.
Dam busting
None of these countries are secure places to operate in, regardless of whether the project in question relates to clean energy or other industries. Control Risks, a consultancy that estimates the risk of investing in different countries all over the world, says Uganda and Ethiopia present a high security risk (alongside Zimbabwe, Israel and Russia) while Ghana and Tanzania present a medium security risk. The estimates are based on the effectiveness of the rule of law, government stability, likely damage to infrastructure and other considerations.
“Very few African countries have the kind of credit ratings which will allow loans to get through,” says Wollansky, pointing out one of the main financial barriers affecting clean energy development. Hence, they need support, which the Austrian government will provide by following the project right through to its final stages.
A WNEP executive elaborates further on Uganda: “the lack of a capital market available to Independent Power Producers (IPPs), the utility company’s inability to provide the required financing, the consumers’ low ability to pay, and the high upfront investment would preclude the WNEP from coming to fruition,” he explains, referring also to particularly risky energy and infrastructure sectors in Uganda as well as inflation and currency risks.
Moody’s and other agencies have not even rated Uganda, because of political and socio-economic instability. Security is an important issue considering the history of political instability in the Great Lakes Region over the last decades. But the four countries in question have been selected because they – unlike some other African countries - have a well functioning Designated National Authority (DNA) set up to deal with CDM project applications, despite their fragile financial climate.
This means that REEEP and the Austrian team will not be building from scratch and this in turn will enable them to reach their targets in the two years that are available; there are more synergies with these countries than with others in the region. Fast developing nations like China and India have set up DNAs some years ago and their institutions are better acquainted with the CDM. They also have a store of the required skills available on the spot and a less bumpy investment climate. These are core reasons why they constantly leapfrog other developing nations.
Missing links
According to Wollansky, the relations with the Ugandan DNA are “well advanced”. One of the tasks is to build links between different elements of the project – for instance between the capacity building activities (relating to administration and skills) and the actual project construction itself, or between different pools of expertise.
REEEP’s work in Africa will provide a useful source of information and act as a communication tool. “We’ll be using the network REEEP has in Africa to establish contacts to distribute the knowledge. We want to start pilots that can be multiplied on the ground, and REEEP can play a big role in the multiplication effect,” she comments.
As the WNEP executive notes, there is plenty more potential for hydropower in the West Nile region which in the first instance could help develop agricultural businesses; these pay high energy bills and experience regular power cuts at peak periods because of a lack of capacity. In the longer term, Wollansky visualises several small-scale power projects (below 15MW) as well as efficient charcoal production, though the transaction costs for these are often nearly as high as for the larger-scale projects. However, the CDM procedures for smaller projects are simpler.
“We are not exclusively focussing on small scale projects in our African initiative, we would welcome large scale as well. As it is, there are simply more small scale than large scale project opportunities offered in Africa,” says Wollansky. Small or large, by improving the disjointed work often carried out by different elements in a project’s development, it is expected that some of the transaction costs will eventually be cut.
Hat tip to Eva!
References:
REEEP: Traude Wollansky discusses CDM in Africa - s.d. [November 2007].
UNFCCC - Clean Development Mechanism: CDM projects location.
Biopact: Africa needs help to win clean energy investments - November 06, 2006
Biopact: WHO: indoor air pollution takes heavy toll on health in the developing world - May 01, 2007
Article continues
It is an easy solution. Used throughout the continent, charcoal is a versatile source of fuel for cooking. But fumes are a serious health risk and release large amounts of greenhouse gases. Few governments in Africa, though, have taken the trouble to help people manage charcoal production and burning practices more effectively. A new capacity building project in Uganda funded by the Austrian government in the context of the Austrian Joint Implementation/Clean Development Mechanism-Programme now aims not only to do just that, but to use the experience to help earn carbon credits while also helping break through the barriers holding back more African CDM projects of different kinds.
As is well known, compared to India, China and Latin America, the continent has not attracted many CDM projects, a mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol which lets rich nations fund clean energy projects in developing countries, then claim credits back home for delivering greenhouse gas cuts. African governments themselves have called for more assistance to attract CDM investments (previous post) and the Austrian initiative could prove to be the much needed catalyst.
Gertraud Wollansky, an executive at the Austrian Environment Ministry, which is drawing on the resources of multilateral clean energy organisation the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) for the project says most of Sub-Saharan Africa is basically blank on the map as far as CDM is concerned (take this quite literally, see the interactive CDM projects map here, or click to enlarge). The ministry wants to help develop an energy efficient method for producing charcoal and avoiding methane emissions, but is also interested in hydropower, biodiesel and biogas:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: greenhouse gas emissions :: charcoal :: Clean Development Mechanism :: Uganda :: Austria :: Africa ::
The Nile experience
There are good reasons starting in Uganda, which is already pioneering one of the few African CDM projects that are not based in Tunisia or South Africa. Engineers working on the West Nile Electrification Project (WNEP) have constructed a 3.5 MW hydropower plant on the banks of the White Nile (a tributary of the main river Nile) which flows out from Lake Victoria in the heart of the continent. That project has received funding from the World Bank and other international organisations and will cut demand for diesel and thermal power as well as kerosene and paraffin. It will also avoid transport emissions from fuel trucks.
It is one of the building blocks used by Wollansky and her colleagues, giving them more knowledge, and enabling them to create another project. That in turn will provide the team with new insights, eventually perhaps creating a domino effect.
“The project that is finally selected will be a pilot in the sense that we hope that if we can demonstrate a project really works, other projects will be able to follow this example and can use the experience we’ve gained,” she explains. Three other countries, in which the Ministry is also working in conjunction with REEEP, are equally suitable candidates for similar groundbreaking projects: Ethopia, Ghana and Tanzania. In Ghana, they are interested in introducing more methane capture and biogeneration as well as helping fuel switching from oil to gas.
Dam busting
None of these countries are secure places to operate in, regardless of whether the project in question relates to clean energy or other industries. Control Risks, a consultancy that estimates the risk of investing in different countries all over the world, says Uganda and Ethiopia present a high security risk (alongside Zimbabwe, Israel and Russia) while Ghana and Tanzania present a medium security risk. The estimates are based on the effectiveness of the rule of law, government stability, likely damage to infrastructure and other considerations.
“Very few African countries have the kind of credit ratings which will allow loans to get through,” says Wollansky, pointing out one of the main financial barriers affecting clean energy development. Hence, they need support, which the Austrian government will provide by following the project right through to its final stages.
A WNEP executive elaborates further on Uganda: “the lack of a capital market available to Independent Power Producers (IPPs), the utility company’s inability to provide the required financing, the consumers’ low ability to pay, and the high upfront investment would preclude the WNEP from coming to fruition,” he explains, referring also to particularly risky energy and infrastructure sectors in Uganda as well as inflation and currency risks.
Moody’s and other agencies have not even rated Uganda, because of political and socio-economic instability. Security is an important issue considering the history of political instability in the Great Lakes Region over the last decades. But the four countries in question have been selected because they – unlike some other African countries - have a well functioning Designated National Authority (DNA) set up to deal with CDM project applications, despite their fragile financial climate.
This means that REEEP and the Austrian team will not be building from scratch and this in turn will enable them to reach their targets in the two years that are available; there are more synergies with these countries than with others in the region. Fast developing nations like China and India have set up DNAs some years ago and their institutions are better acquainted with the CDM. They also have a store of the required skills available on the spot and a less bumpy investment climate. These are core reasons why they constantly leapfrog other developing nations.
African countries need to have enough resources to prepare the project and overcome several bureaucratic constraints. Even if they have the skills available, the connection to CDM-related knowledge is not often there. - Gertraud Wollansky, Austrian Environment MinistryThe consortium will be aiming to fill in these gaps in order to help lay the foundations for greater skills, administrative and intellectual capacity for more clean energy.
Missing links
According to Wollansky, the relations with the Ugandan DNA are “well advanced”. One of the tasks is to build links between different elements of the project – for instance between the capacity building activities (relating to administration and skills) and the actual project construction itself, or between different pools of expertise.
REEEP’s work in Africa will provide a useful source of information and act as a communication tool. “We’ll be using the network REEEP has in Africa to establish contacts to distribute the knowledge. We want to start pilots that can be multiplied on the ground, and REEEP can play a big role in the multiplication effect,” she comments.
As the WNEP executive notes, there is plenty more potential for hydropower in the West Nile region which in the first instance could help develop agricultural businesses; these pay high energy bills and experience regular power cuts at peak periods because of a lack of capacity. In the longer term, Wollansky visualises several small-scale power projects (below 15MW) as well as efficient charcoal production, though the transaction costs for these are often nearly as high as for the larger-scale projects. However, the CDM procedures for smaller projects are simpler.
“We are not exclusively focussing on small scale projects in our African initiative, we would welcome large scale as well. As it is, there are simply more small scale than large scale project opportunities offered in Africa,” says Wollansky. Small or large, by improving the disjointed work often carried out by different elements in a project’s development, it is expected that some of the transaction costs will eventually be cut.
Hat tip to Eva!
References:
REEEP: Traude Wollansky discusses CDM in Africa - s.d. [November 2007].
UNFCCC - Clean Development Mechanism: CDM projects location.
Biopact: Africa needs help to win clean energy investments - November 06, 2006
Biopact: WHO: indoor air pollution takes heavy toll on health in the developing world - May 01, 2007
Article continues
Saturday, December 01, 2007
AIDS, a threat to rural Africa
of her nine grandchildren, whose parents have died of AIDS.
Major findings about this devastating trend, using data for sub-Saharan Africa, home to the most-affected countries, can be summarized as follows.
AIDS is mostly a rural issue
- More than two thirds of the population of the 25 most-affected African countries live in rural areas.
- Information and health services are less available in rural areas than in cities. Rural people are therefore less likely to know how to protect themselves from HIV and, if they fall ill, less likely to get care.
- Costs of HIV/AIDS are largely borne by rural communities as HIV-infected urban dwellers of rural origin often return to their communities when they fall ill.
- HIV/AIDS disproportionately affects economic sectors such as agriculture, transportation and mining that have large numbers of mobile or migratory workers.
AIDS undermines agriculture because of its toll on the labour force- AIDS has killed around 7 million agricultural workers since 1985 in the 25 hardest-hit countries in Africa. It could kill 16 million more before 2020.
- More than a third of the gross national product of the most-affected countries comes from agriculture.
- In contrast to other diseases, AIDS mostly devastates the productive age group -- people between 15 and 50 years.
- Up to 25 percent of the agricultural labour force could be lost in countries of sub-Saharan Africa by 2020 (map, click to enlarge).
- AIDS reduces productivity as people become ill and die and others spend time caring for the sick, mourning and attending funerals. The result is severe labour shortages for both farm and domestic work.
- Labour-intensive farming systems with a low level of mechanization and agricultural input are particularly vulnerable to AIDS.
AIDS undermines the sustainability of development- People are dying before they can pass on knowledge and expertise to the next generation. A study in Kenya showed that only 7 percent of agricultural households headed by orphans had adequate knowledge of agricultural production.
- In Kenya's Ministry of Agriculture, 58 percent of all staff deaths are caused by AIDS, and in Malawi's Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation at least 16 percent of the staff are living with the disease. One study found that up to 50 percent of agricultural extension staff time was lost through HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.
- In the first ten months of 1998, Zambia lost 1 300 teachers to AIDS -- the equivalent of around two thirds of all new teachers trained annually.
- The sale of productive resources to care for the sick and pay for funerals diverts funds away from long-term development.
energy :: sustainability :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: food :: agriculture :: gender :: rural :: AIDS :: HIV :: Africa ::AIDS threatens food security
- The loss of productive members of society is severely affecting household capacity to produce and buy food.
- Fostering AIDS orphans or hosting and caring for sick relatives reduces the amount of food available for each household member.
- Evidence from Namibia shows widespread sale and slaughter of livestock to support the sick and provide food for mourners at funerals. This jeopardizes the livestock industry and longer-term food security and survival options.
AIDS affects rural women disproportionately- Women whose husbands are migrant workers are especially vulnerable to AIDS, as their spouses may have other sexual partners. The women themselves may engage in commercial sex in periods of economic stress.
- Some of the traditional mechanisms to ensure widows' access to land contribute to the spread of AIDS -- for example, levirate, the custom that obliges a man to marry his brother's widow. Unfortunately, initiatives to stop these practices may leave widows without access to land and food.
- Biological and social factors make women more vulnerable to AIDS, especially in adolescence and youth. In many places HIV infection has been found to be three to five times higher in young women than in young men.
- In several countries, studies have found that rural women whose husbands had died of AIDS were forced to engage in commercial sex to survive because they had no legal rights to their husband's property.
All illustrations credit of the FAO.References:
FAO: HIV/AIDS: a rural issue.
Article continues
posted by Biopact team at 9:12 PM 0 comments links to this post