Bah F. M. SahoRenewable Energy Expert, ECREEE

Biofuels and Food Security in the ECOWAS

Region

BIOFEULS AND FOOD SECURITY WORKSHOP, Washington, 20

November 2014

Introduction: The ECOWAS Region• 15 countries with a land area of 5 million m2

• Climate from semi-arid to humid tropical

• Population of with 300 million people

• 60% of population lives in rural areas

• 11 of the 15 countries are LDCS and HIPIC

• >90% depend on traditional biomass

• Almost 176 million people have

no access to electricity (52%)

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Establishment Of ECREEE

• Foundation laid by Regulation C/REG.23/11/08 of the 61st Session of ECOWAS Council of Ministers in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on November 23, 2008

• ECOWAS agency with the mandate to promote RE&EE markets with its HQ based in Praia, Cape Verde

• Initial support:

• Launch of the ECREEE preparatory phase in November 2009 with support of the ECOWAS Commission in collaboration and support from the core donors Official

• Inauguration of the Centre on 6th July 2010

• Governance Structure: Executive Board/Technical Committee/NFIs

• ECREEE Business Plan with long-term vision up 2016

• Annual work plans: 2014 edition under execution

• ECOWAS RE & EE Policies adopted by the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government in 2013 and National RE & EE Action Plans & SE4ALL Action Agenda

• ECOWAS Bioenergy Policy is being elaborated www.ecreee.org

04/15/2023

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Challenges of Sustainable Energy Access

Rural

Urban

Traditional Biomass currently 70%+ of total energy consumed >80% households currently depend on biomass fuels: Forest and

health challenges = environment = food insecurity Alternatives not competitive = improved and cleaner technologies: Agro-industrial waste and other wastes: Not used Gains in the promotion of alternatives/cleaner fuels & technologies

eroded by population increases in urban areas

Rush for biofuels in the early 2000s: misconceptions about jatropha – land grabbing, etc: Bioenergy/Biofuels – Food Insecurity = NO GO AREA

No effective Policy/sustainable planning tools: capacity & technology transfer

No effective and sustainable Forest mgt• Increased live tree cutting & bush fires• Open forests, weak policy enforcement: “no ownership”

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RE & EE POTENTIALS & BARRIERS

EE potentials Wide range of options to improve supply and demand side

efficiency (including energy saving) e.g. Technical and commercial losses in the electricty system

e.g. Cleaner & Efficient production & Utilization (cleaner & efficient cookistoves)

RE (solar, hydro and wind) & EE Potentials exist & can play an important role in simultaneously addressing the energy and environment challenges in West Africa

Huge potential for all forms of bioenergy (e.g. Sustainable biomass, biogas, biofuel, waste for energy for electricity, briquettes)

Barriers: Policy, legal & regulatory, capacity and technology transfer, information and knowledge sharing and financing and investment

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ECOWAS Bioenergy Forum: 19 – 21 March 2012

• With assistance of GBEP Partners: USA UNIDO, UNEP and GACC• Regional Bioenergy Strategy Framework was elaborated &

validatedThe overall objective of the Regional Bioenergy Strategy is to improve food and energy security through the deployment of sustainability criteria in the production and utilization of resourcesBioenergy Strategy Framework: key components:• Resource Assessment, Mapping and Planning• Policy and Strategy Development • Information & Knowledge sharing• Capacity building & Knowledge transfer• Financing mechanisms and resource

mobilization Adopted by the ECOWAS Energy Ministers at the HLM Meeting in Accra, Ghana in Oct 2012

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PROGRESS TO DATEECOWAS Bioenergy Policy document is being elaborated with the support of the UNDP Regional Service Centre, Dakar

Potential Assessment of Novel Bioenergy Crops: Explore the technical feasibility of growing selected crops (Cassava, jatropha, cashew and sweet

sorghum)Capacity Building and Knowledge Transfer with GBEP• Bioenergy Week/Study Tour to Brasilia (Brazil) & Maputo (Mozambique)• Workshop on Resource Assessment

The GBEP indicators were tested in the Ghanaian context to establish their feasibility and enhance their practicality as a tool for policymaking

Projects for Regional Scaling-up• ECOWAS Integrated Biogas Programme• West Africa Clean Cooking Alliance (WACCA)• Bioethanol Cooking demonstrations in 2 countries• BiocharPlus Project with Univ. of Udine, ItalyEstablishment of a fund “West African Sustainable Bioenergy Facility (WASBEF)” to develop the sector

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Thank You! Merci! Obrigado!