AU / UN ECA Bioenergy Programme
Mainstream African Bioenergy Policy
Framework and Guidelines
Nairobi, 16-18 September 2013
Martina Otto
Head of Policy Unit, Energy Branch
Coordinator Bioenergy
martina.otto@unep.org
www.unep.fr/energy/bioenergy
UNEP’s approach to bioenergy
Bioenergy is neither good nor bad per se;
to avoid unintended consequences in the short and long-term,
bioenergy development requires solid planning and management,
both on the national policy and strategy and the project levels.
Scientific assessments:
International Panel for Sustainable Resource Management:
Assessing Biofuels report (2009)
The Bioenergy and Water Nexus, UNEP, IEA Bioenergy Task 43,
Oeko Institut (2011)
Issue Paper series on emerging issues: Land use and land use
change ; Bioenergy and Water; Invasive species; Stakeholder
consultation; Group Certification; Facilitating Energy Access; REDD+
Assessments & Guidelines for Sustainable Liquid Biofuel
Production in Developing Countries, funded by GEF, implemented
with FAO and UNIDO, providing guidance on environmental, social
and economic performance of biofuel projects.
Finance:
CASCADe: enhancing African expertise to generate carbon credits in
the forestry and bioenergy sectors by providing technical assistance,
institutional support and training workshops.
Jatropha-based PoA: assessing the feasibility of a CDM Programme
of Activities for rural energy generation from Jatropha oil in Mali.
African Rural Energy Enterprise Development promoting rural
energy enterprises, includes a bioenergy component that allows to
demonstrate additional environmental and social benefits resulting
from ‘local production for local use’ projects.
performance of biofuel projects, using a settings approach.
Tools:
Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP):
-Methodological framework for GHG calculations
-Sustainability criteria & indicators
Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB):
-solid multi-stakeholder process
-all major issues are covered
UN Energy Decision Support Tool for Sustainable Bioenergy
(DST), developed by UNEP and FAO to provide stepwise guidance to
decision makers in governments to develop sustainable bioenergy
policies and strategies, and to assess investment proposals.
Regional and national support:
Bioenergy Policy Support Facility, providing advisory services to
governments developing and implementing bioenergy policies,
strategies and measures, mobilizing local and international experts:
targeted consultations; science-based information for decision
making; advice on legal frameworks, planning and management
tools; and guidance on processes to facilitate integrated decisionmaking.
Mapping of land suitable and available for bioenergy development:
-Methodology refined (GIS and groundtruthing)
-completed in Kenya, Uganda, Senegal
Outline
Bioenergy Decision Support Tool
Sustainability Standards
Global Bioenergy Partnership – 24 sustainability indicators
www.bioenergydecisiontool.org
a web-based tool and living document
developed by FAO and UNEP
under the framework of UN Energy
to assist countries to manage risks and challenges,
in a process anchored in each country’s specific context
step-wise guidance for strategy formulation and investment
decision-making processes; providing a decision framework
for governments to develop their own responses
repository of technical resources and
links to existing tools, guidelines and resources
guidance on identification and inclusion of stakeholders
in the bioenergy decision-making process and on adopting
transparent processes for good governance
A National Strategy Decision Tree
Feedstocks and technologies
Legal and policy frameworks
WHO
• Stakeholder engagement at the inception of
policy and strategy development
• Comprehensiveness vs. practicability
• Process, if possible tied into an existing national
development process
• Example in the region: Mozambique
design policy; housed in sounding board; feedback
the Ministry in charge
in a structured manner
Quality of engagement; Provision of
necessary information; capacity building
Listen to needs from men and women
WHY
• Different policy objectives can motivate bioenergy
development; achieving these will influence the
pathway taken in a given country/region, making the
WHY the logical starting point for any strategy and
policy development
• From objectives to priorities
Gender
Articulating Objectives – Assessing alternatives
• Judge added value of bioenergy for national and regional development goals
• Matching energy resource endowments with energy demands by end use
• Although some alternatives may be more desirable within one objective, it is
important to look across the objectives to identify multiple benefits
• This process pre-empts to some degree the next steps – feedback loops
• Example: Forests can be managed based on rural development needs, as carbon
sinks or as sources of bioenergy. Look for ways to integrate them!
WHY cont’d
• Consider external drivers to ensure that bioenergy market
can develop over time and is robust.
• Look at the strategy and policy through the lens of the
villagers and localities that will produce and use
bioenergy.
• What role of bioenergy in the Climate Portfolio, in the
Enegy Mix?
WHICH – Prioritise Sectors and applications
• Priorities set influence which demand sectors and fuels will be emphasised
• Example: significant forest resources may lead to emphasis on the heat and
power sector; the presence of significant wood product industries, forested
areas, and areas suitable for wood plantations to be explored under ‘Where”
• Example: efficient stove programme can free wood resources for other uses –
from traditional to modern biomass use
• Domestic vs export
• Example: Mauritius
Buildings Sector
End use: cooking
LPG
Electric Power
Off Grid
PV Systems
Stand Alone Generators
Biomass Gasifier & Engine
Grid
Coal-fired power plant
Cogen
Hydro
Electricity
Kerosene
Woodfuel
Imported
WHERE
• Example: Mapping processes in Kenya, Uganda and Senegal
mapping and zoning
• Building blocks for a solid mapping
methodology
The level of detail (i.e. scale and accuracy) for
each variable matters; and the optimal data is a
decision between availability and cost.
• Data collection may present a particular
challenge for developing countries.
• Data gaps have been identified, particularly
regarding biodiversity. Information on PAs
designated under the
CBD and Wetlands
under the Ramsar
Convention is easily
accessible.
A database or an
assessment tool,
such as IBAT,
adapted to bioenergy
planning would be useful.
Land Suitability
o Agro-climatic:
Water Balance
Temperature
o Edaphic:
Topography (altitude and slope)
Soils
o Climate change outlook/ adaptation
Land availability
o Environmental screening/ sensitivity
areas
o PA
o Ecosystem services
o Wildlife
o HCV
o LCV/degraded land
o Land cover
Social
o Cultural / medicinal use areas
o Current land use / Food/Fodder
o Urban
o Conflict
o Archeological
o Land tenure
Infrastructure / logistics
HOW
• ownership structures is codified in commercial law and registers
• business models and land tenure rights
• each of the three major schemes – concessions, contract farming,
smallholder – comes with its own benefits and challenges
Implementation
• Actions in relation to sectors and policies
• Requires exchange bw different ministries
Implementation
• Specific Support Mechanisms will draw on various operational
aspects of the strategy: technology/ market/fiscal and organisational
Implementation
• Key questions that should be addressed as legislation is
developed, refined and implemented, to ensure Policy Integration
• Are legal arrangements adequate to support government policies and
targets for bioenergy?
• Are there appropriate market regulations and incentives to boost
production and consumption of bioenergy?
• Have legislative measures been taken to ensure that cultivation of energy
crops to produce biofuels does not have adverse impacts on food security?
• Are social and environmental implications of competing land uses
adequately addressed?
• How can bioenergy legislation strengthen the legal framework applicable to
deforestation, biodiversity, greenhouse gas emissions and
introduction of alien species?
Implementation
•Regulatory Options
• Need to respect international conventions
• Rules for independent power production;
• Feed in Tariffs
• Blending mandates for use of biofuels in the transport sector;
• Sustainability requirements for bioenergy;
• Forest protection and rules for wood extraction in forests;
• NAMAs
• Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform
• Limits or stipulations to land ownership
• Licensing procedures
Techno-economic
background
Designing a strategy
Implementation and
operation
Project screening
Land resources
People and processes
Deployment and good
practices
Evaluating impacts
Standards
Quality assurance – product specifications
Sustainability assurance - an estimated 67 sustainability certification
schemes operational / being developed. Need for convergence and
cooperation between schemes.
Scope - feedstock specific, biofuels, bioenergy, biomaterials, agriculture
and forestry
Depth – EU RED compliant to comprehensive schemes following ISEAL
guidance, and covering all three pillars of sustainability.
The higher the standard, usually the higher the cost of compliance, but
the higher also the gains – standards are also a management tool that
reduces environmental and social as well as reputational risk.
Standards alone do not solve all the issues – national policy and
planning needs to go hand in hand to address cumulative effects. Access
to export markets / Contribution to national development.
Considered in relation to Mandates / Licensing.
Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels
Developed in a multi-stakeholder process
Serves as management tool
Enables market access
12 Principles, covering comprehensively the different environmental
and socio-economic concerns; goes beyond EU RED
Legality
Planning, Monitoring and Continuous Improvement
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Human and Labor Rights
Rural and Social Development
Local Food Security
Conservation
Soil
Water
Air
Use of Technology, Inputs, and Management of Waste
Land Rights
Price and supply of a national food basket
Access to land, water and other natural resources
Labour conditions
Rural and social development
Access to energy
Human health and safety
24 indicators
Lifecycle GHG emissions
Productive capacity of land and ecosystems :
soil quality, wood harvest levels
Air quality: non-GHG air pollutant emissions
Water availability, use efficiency and quality
Biological diversity in the landscape
Land-use change, including indirect effects
18 themes
3 pillars
Environment
Social
Economic
Resource availability & use efficiencies in bioenergy
production, conversion, distribution and end-use
Economic development
Economic viability & competitiveness of bioenergy
Access to technology and technological capabilities
Energy security
GBEP indicator 8: Land use and
land-use change related to
bioenergy feedstock production
• Total area of land for bioenergy feedstock production, and
as compared to total national surface and agricultural and
managed forest land area
sense of the size of the role of bioenergy in national LU
• Percentages of bioenergy from yield increases, residues,
wastes and degraded or contaminated land
relates to bioenergy production that does not have dLUC
• Net annual rates of conversion between land-use types
caused directly by bioenergy feedstock production, including
the following (amongst others):
o arable land and permanent crops, permanent
meadows and pastures, and managed forests;
o natural forests and grasslands, peatlands, and
wetlands
relates to bioenergy feedstock production causing LUC,
describing the patterns in LUC
GBEP indicator 5:
Water use and efficiency
• Water withdrawn from nationally-determined watershed(s) for
the production and processing of bioenergy feedstocks,
expressed:
• as the percentage of total actual renewable water
resources (TARWR) and
• as the percentage of total annual water withdrawals
(TAWW), disaggregated into renewable and nonrenewable water sources
• Volume of water withdrawn from nationally-determined
watershed(s) used for the production and processing of
bioenergy feedstocks per unit of bioenergy output,
disaggregated into renewable and non-renewable water
sources.
Water demand of bioenergy and how it compares to
availability; efficiency in use; competing uses
Cumulative effects; threat to water bodies – scarcity
Best practices to promote efficiency
Integrated Water Management and Planning
Water Resource Management
Water Policies
Enabling
conditions
institutional and legal environment in
which water is supplied and used.; e.g.
water rights, collective action (e.g. water
user associations that manage water
allocation within irrigation systems as a
group), privatization of utilities;
Marketbased
incentives
incentives to conserve water, including
water pricing, water markets (e.g. tradable
water use rights and water pollution
trading), effluent charges);
Command
and Control
water quotas, licenses and pollution
controls (e.g. water standards);
Direct
interventions
investments in efficiency or conservation
programmes, including rehabilitation and
restoration of water infrastructure in all
sectors.
Example 1
EU Water Framework Directive
WFD covers surface and groundwater, and uses a river
basin approach. It mandates supporting river basin plans
to be introduced in all Member States, deadlines for
reaching “good ecological status” for all water, and sets
emission limits and quality standards.
Implementation of the WFD strongly depends on the
development of agriculture and land use, which is
influenced by the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)
and bioenergy-related policies.
Rural Development Regulation provides financial support,
e.g. agro-environmental and agro-forestry payments, and
farm investment support.
Perennial herbaceous and short rotation woody plants
can lead to improved water quality. Hence, the integration
of such plants into the agricultural landscape has been
proposed to help achieve the WFD objectives.
Example 2
National Water Act, South Africa
In the NWA of South Africa, the impacts of land use and
land use change on the hydrological cycle and their
potential impact on water resources are recognised.
Through ‘stream flow reduction activity’, “any activity …
[that] … is likely to reduce the availability of water in a watercourse
to the Reserve, to meet international obligations, or to other water
users significantly”, the potential water use and likely impact
of biofuel feedstock production needs to be assessed
before permission is granted for production, incl .
water use license.
Production of biofuel crops under irrigation is allowed
only under exceptional circumstances by the Department
of Minerals and Energy. Farmers with existing water use licenses
cannot be prevented from converting their output from
food/fodder crop production to biofuel feedstock production, but
license applications for biofuel processing plants will not be
approved if the plants are to receive irrigated feedstock. An
industrial water tariff is considered, effectively charging
much more than the usual subsidized agricultural tariff.
Take aways
Multi-stakeholder engagement processes from strategy to policy
development and monitoring.
Policy coherence, across sectoral policies relevant to bioenergy such
as agriculture, environment, forestry, industry and trade.
Policy integration. Bioenergy should be part of low carbon
development strategies, and embedded in overall Energy Policy.
Bioenergy mandates and targets to based on bottom-up resource and
demand assessments, and flanked by solid sustainability standards.
Best to start with modest targets that can be increased over time, to
provide longer-term visibility for investors.
Monitoring and review of policies – ensure effectiveness towards
achieving the objectives. GBEP sustainability criteria. Get engaged!
Have a look at the DST website. Help us to make the DST a useful tool
for you, indicate gaps and good practices. I is a Living document.
SE4All – triple goals; reduction of traditional biomass use to access
to modern energy services – sustainable modern bioenergy can help
make this energy transition! SDGs / post 2015 development agenda