12 år sedan
New study by Global Challenge: Forestry For Development – how sustainable biofuel production can benefit Africa
The increasing demand for bioenergy and biofuels presents an enormous opportunity for Africa, but if it is not harnessed properly then the continent may again face the “resource curse”. This was the conclusion of the report Forestry For Development, presented on May 28th in the seminar Business for Development held by SIDA.
The think tank Global Challenge has reviewed bioenergy investments in Kenya, Tanzania, Liberia and Sierra Leone, and met african environmental organizations, agencies and energy companies. The result has been an extensive summary of experiences and recommendations, for those whom planning to invest in bioenergy in the South, particularly in Africa.
“Africa needs more investment, not less. But the investments have to consider long-term sustainability, both environmentally and socially, and the local populations have to be involved from the start” said Mattias Goldmann, author of the report.
The report states that the combination of decreasing oil extraction and the need to quickly decrease our carbon footprint could open up new opportunities for Africa.
– The climate shift is the greatest challenge facing the world, and we have to be innovative. With this study, we hope to highlight the opportunities, said Kristina Persson, chairperson of Global Challenge.
The projects that have been reviewed are among other Buchanan Renewables in Liberia, where Vattenfall and Swedfund until recently were involved, and Addax Bioenergy in Sierra Leone, where Swedfund was a co-financier together with Sveaskog, Södra and SIDA.
