ECOWAS-GBEP Bioenergy Week

With the support of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management (BLMFUW), ECREEE is collaborating with GBEP in hosting the 5th GBEP Bioenergy Week in the ECOWAS (5^th ECOWAS/GBEP Bioenergy Week) in Accra, Ghana 22 – 24 June 2017. The event will provide an opportunity to share knowledge and experience with the ECOWAS member states in sustainable Bioenergy service delivery for increasing energy access while sustaining food security. As part of the activities of the event, an Exhibition will be organised to showcase successful Bioenergy services and field visits will be held on the 24th June 2017.

Specifically, the event aims amongst others, to:

• Present the state of the ECOWAS Bioenergy situation and efforts to improve energy access  by augmenting the regional energy mix with bioenergy;
• Present the ECOWAS Bioenergy Policy and its role and benefits in achieving the ECOWAS Sustainable Energy Goals while enhancing food security;
• Sharing the food-energy-water nexus that preserves the environment while enhancing food and energy security;
• Discuss successful, replicable bioenergy systems that provide sustainable energy services for cooking, heating and power generation; and
• Showcase available financial instruments of partners and investment firms.

The event will also provide an excellent platform for the exhibition of existing and on-going Bioenergy systems in the region and internationally.

The event is being held against the vision of the ECOWAS Bioenergy Policy that aims to promote a “transition to sustainable production, transformation, trade and use of bioenergy. This is to contribute to ensuring universal access to modern energy services with a view of creating added value and jobs, increasing food security, mitigating environmental impacts and of advancing overall sustainable development in ECOWAS”.

As highlighted in the ECOWAS Bioenergy Policy, access to modern energy services and food security are the key challenges in the ECOWAS region. Sustainable value chains that integrate food and bioenergy production are an important means of transforming these challenges into opportunities for the region, to expand modern bioenergy access and increase food security, whilst improving health and livelihoods and conserving biodiversity. A special focus will be put on bioenergy production from biogas in the region. Biogas can be considered as a win-win technology.

The following highlight the main outputs of the event:

• Participants are sensitized and capacities enhanced on the present state of art with regard to the sustainable use of biomass resources ;
• Participants are introduced to sustainability in the value chain of the sector;
• Information sharing on positive experiences on successful bioenergy projects with participants for replication in the region;

More information on the workshop can be read from the concept note attached bellow.

Registrations for this event have been closed.