| ProBEC advising Southern African Development Community’s biofuels task force on policy support
The Programme for Basic Energy and Conservation (ProBEC) aims to ensure that low-income population groups satisfy their energy requirements in a socially and environmentally sustainable manner. It manages various projects based on basic energy conservation in 10 member states in Southern African Development Community (SADC). ProBEC is involved in Malawi, Lesotho, South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, DRC and Swaziland.
The programme’s primary goal with regard to biofuels is that the SADC Secretariat has improved knowledge on the sustainable production and use of biofuels and their impacts for future initiatives in member states. In particular, it is advising the SADC Energy Unit’s biofuel task force, which aims to further the development of a competitive and sustainable biofuels industry in southern Africa. Its goal is to ensure coherence between regional initiatives and the development of national biofuels programmes in SADC Member States.
Biofuel sector development is high on the agenda of most SADC countries. Although only two member states have developed national biofuels policies to date (South Africa and Mozambique) others are in advanced stages (Swazi, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Botswana). Most are expected to have their national biofuels policies in place during 2010.
The SADC biofuel task force is due to meet at least twice a year and will make an extra effort to further include representation from agriculture, forest, environment, planning, finance, etc. It expects to have a Policy Support Tool and a Sustainability Framework in place by mid-2010.
The ProBEC programme lead is situated in the SADC Secretariat, Infrastructure and Services Directorate, and implementing agency is the Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Technische Zusammenarbeit (German Development Co-operation). ProBEC For more information and to sign up for its newsletter, visit the programme’s website.
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