FAO releases findings of GBEP sustainability indicators testing in Colombia and Indonesia

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) released this October the results from its project “Pilot testing of Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP) indicators for sustainable bioenergy in targeted developing countries”, which started in 2011 and was carried out in Colombia and Indonesia, with support from the International Climate Initiative (ICI) of the Federal Ministry of the Environment, Natural Resource, and Nuclear Safety of Germany.

The testing confirmed the high relevance of the environmental, social and economic issues addressed by the GBEP sustainability indicators for bioenergy. It also showed the importance of strengthening the capacity of developing countries to monitor the sustainability of bioenergy, especially with regard to complex issues such as GHG emissions and food security, as was done in the context of this project through a series of trainings and workshops.  The project confirmed that given the multi-sectoral nature of bioenergy, the monitoring and evaluation of the sustainability of this sector should be done in the context of a multi-stakeholder dialogue. For this reason, both in Colombia and Indonesia the project stimulated and facilitated a dialogue across all relevant ministries and other key stakeholders, such as producers’ organizations. In addition, regional workshops were organized in both countries in order to foster the exchange of information and experiences on sustainable bioenergy development among countries in the respective regions. The testing in Colombia and Indonesia provided also interesting preliminary insights into the sustainability of the bioenergy sector in these two countries. The analysis that was conducted appears to suggest, for instance, that so far bioenergy production and use has not triggered significant impacts on the domestic supply and price of the main food basket items in Colombia and Indonesia. This might change if more ambitious biofuel targets are put in place, as those currently under consideration in Indonesia. At the same time, it is recommended to pay more attention in both countries to the land-use changes associated with the expansion of key bioenergy feedstocks (e.g. oil palm), which may have negative repercussions on environmental and social sustainability. If conversion of land with high carbon stocks is avoided, the displacement of fossil fuels with bioenergy can lead to important GHG emission reductions.

Following the positive outcomes of this project, FAO is now exploring the opportunity to support the implementation of the GBEP indicators in additional countries, so as to gain and share more knowledge on the indicators’ practicality and facilitate their widespread use

Read the FAO reports in Colombia and Indonesia

 

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