Forum promotes renewable energy

A national forum in Niger has adopted a plan of action to promote solar, wind and other types of renewable energy to reduce poverty and improve lives especially for women in the Sahelian Agadez region, UNDP reported on Tuesday.

The forum, UNDP said, called for the creation of a national renewable energy policy, a legal and financial framework that encourages private sector initiatives and renewable energy options in all development projects.

The plan of action also called for a system to provide loans to women to promote small businesses based on renewable energy, promotion of renewable energy technologies and a public information campaign to raise awareness about their advantages.

"The Ministry of Mines and Energy has set the goal of having renewable energy supply 10 per cent of the country's power. Energy sources such as windmills for irrigation and solar power for heating water are already in use, but their potential has hardly been tapped," UNDP said. "Only six percent of the people have access to electricity, and energy consumption per person in an economy based on farming and raising livestock is among the lowest in the world. The country depends on outside sources for much of its power, with Nigeria providing three quarters of its electricity."

Participants at the forum included the Niger government, UNDP, the Food and Agriculture Organization and others from around the country, France, Mali, Morocco, Norway, Senegal, Spain, Sweden and the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CLISS).

UNDP Resident Representative Steven Ursino said the forum supported Niger's national poverty reduction strategy. Renewable energy, he noted, could ease the heavy workload of women in rural areas and offer new opportunities for improving livelihoods.