| Activities
Development of UN Energy/Africa Web site and electronic
forum
The web site aims at facilitating information sharing among
the members and promoting joint programming. The e-Forum is
a useful tool for discussion on current or emerging energy
issues, and for posting a history of discussions held within
the collaboration. A beta phase of the UN Energy/Africa web
site was launched at (www.uneca.org/unregionalconsultations/INFRASTRUCTURE/infrastructure_energy.asp)
and the electronic discussion forum was made operational at
www.dgroups.org/groups/unea.
Messages sent to unea@dgroups.org
are distributed to all focal points and alternate focal points
of UNEA.
Mini/Micro Hydropower Capacity Building and Investment
Project in Africa
The project aims at developing capacity in
designing and managing micro/mini hydropower plants and promote
investments in these systems, in order to increase electricity
access for rural people in sub-Saharan Africa. This estimated
$47m project (including $18.5m approved by the GEF) involves
11 African countries in its first phase. UN-Energy/Africa
participants are UNDP/GEF, ECA, UNIDO, UNEP, and ADB.
The second steering committee of the first mini-micro
hydroelectric power capacity-building and investments was
held on April 27-28, 2005 in Vienna. The steering committee
reviewed progress made in the project development; defined
the modalities for functioning and launched the mini/micro
hydropower network.
Making Africa's Power Sector Sustainable
ECA, in partnership with UNEP, in the framework of UN Energy/Africa
carried out an in-depth analysis of the economic, social and
environmental impacts of power sector reforms in Africa. The
study titled "Making Africa's Power sector Sustainable"
also maps the way forward for making Africa's power sector
more sustainable with regards to social and environmental
objectives. It covered 14 countries in various depths, and
was completed in Dec. 2005. It is to be published in early
2006.
The findings of the above-mentioned study were presented
during a high-level multi-stakeholders policy dialogue forum,
co-organized by ECA, UNEP and UNDESA. High-level decision-makers
and senior officials from power sector ministry/departments,
regulatory bodies and utilities from 19 countries (Burundi,
Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho,
Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan,
Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe), and representatives
from 9 regional and international organizations (African Union
Commission, ECOWAS, SADC, COMESA, IEPF, AFREPREN, UNDESA,
UNEP, and ECA) participated in the forum. The Forum adopted
a policy summary on "Making the Africa's Power Sector
Reform Sustainable", and a "Policy statement
on power sector reform in Africa" to be presented
at CSD-14.
Capacity building in Integrated Resource Planning (IRP)
Joint programming activities between IAEA and ECA (exchanges,
video conferencing, etc.) were held in order to review the
objectives and to design a strategy to jointly implement IRP
training, at regional level, in Africa. An agreement was reached
on objectives, strategies and an implementation timeline for
2006.
Unleashing Energy Access: Fostering Rural Energy for
poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development
The project seeks to promote the mainstreaming of good practices
in rural energy development in Africa, and assess the feasibility
of an African Rural Energy Development Facility (AREDF) which
will be comprised of a capacity development service, an investment
funds for decentralized energy systems, and micro credit service
in rural areas. AREDF would address the main issue of improving
energy services in rural areas for poverty reduction in Africa.
This important activity is to start implementation in 2006-2007.
Publication: "UN Energy/Africa: African Energy
for Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development Report for
CSD" |
Infrastructure Development