HAITI AND THE GLOBAL ALLIANCE FOR CLEAN COOKSTOVES FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Transcription

1 HAITI AND THE GLOBAL ALLIANCE FOR CLEAN COOKSTOVES FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 1. WHAT DOES THE ALLIANCE S NEW WORK IN HAITI ENTAIL? In partnership with the Government of Canada, the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves (Alliance) will leverage its diverse partner base and extensive experience building clean cooking markets in developing countries to design a comprehensive, costed national five-year integrated clean cooking program in Haiti. Toward this goal, the Alliance will work with key government ministries, in-country partners, influential Haitian stakeholders, local champions, donors, manufacturers, non-governmental organizations, women's groups, investors and other counterparts. Global Affairs Canada has indicated a strong interest in supporting implementation of the plan upon completion of the program. 2. WHAT IS THE SITUATION IN HAITI REGARDING COOKING, SOLID FUEL USE, AND HOUSEHOLD AIR POLLUTION? The effects of cooking-related household air pollution (HAP) are dire in Haiti, where the reliance on biomass (wood, charcoal, etc.) is the most crippling in the Western Hemisphere. Currently, 93% of households or 9.8 million Haitians use wood or charcoal as their primary source of energy for cooking. Dependence on the inefficient combustion of biomass has contributed to the depletion of Haiti s once lush forest cover and made the country more susceptible to the devastating effects of climate change and extreme hydro-meteorological events such as hurricanes, floods and drought. Specifically, the depletion of Haiti's forests has led to soil erosion, flooding, mudslides, and land degradation that has negatively affected agricultural production and fisheries, as well as the country's fragile biodiversity. The use of solid fuels also results in a range of climate-damaging emissions, including greenhouse gases and short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) such as black carbon (BC). Health impacts from the inhalation of toxic smoke (indoor and ambient air pollution) are among the top five causes of death in Haiti and result in roughly 6,200 deaths per year 1. Further, women and girls serve as the primary fuel collectors and cooks for their families, and so they are often disproportionately impacted by HAP in terms of adverse health outcomes, missed educational opportunities, exposure to gender-based violence, and loss of household income. 1 Global Burden of Disease figures, P a g e J u n e 1 0,

2 3. WHAT ARE THE ANTICIPATED GOALS OF THE CLEAN COOKING ACTION PLAN? The program is expected to lead to a broad range of environmental, health, economic, and women s empowerment benefits across Haiti. The specific goals of this program will focus on delivering measureable environmental benefits, including reduction in deforestation caused by tree harvesting for charcoal production, lessened land degradation, flooding, and erosion, reduced depletion of watershed and biodiversity, and lower emissions of greenhouse gases and short-lived climate pollutants. In addition, black carbon and other short-lived climate pollutants emitted from the combustion of wood and charcoal in traditional stoves are a potent climate forcer, and thus the substitution of clean fuels is expected to result in a net climate benefit. The application of robust stove standards and testing protocols is expected to shift the market to better cooking technologies and cleaner fuels, which will reduce black carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions. Implementation of the plan is also expected to deliver measureable health benefits including reductions in chronic and acute illness. The plan is expected to increase women s empowerment through reductions in the drudgery of fuel collection and exposure to gender-based violence and physical strain from carrying fuel, and will improve livelihoods through lower expenditures for solid fuel for cooking and the resultant health care from associated illnesses. 4. WHAT ARE THE KEY ACTIVITIES OF THE DESIGN PHASE? Based on its previous and ongoing work developing clean cooking programs around the world, the Alliance will use a series of assessments, interviews, research reports, desk studies, and stakeholder meetings to gain an understanding of the state of the Haitian household, institutional, and select commercial cookstove markets; the cultural, political, and economic barriers and incentives that have precluded a thriving market for clean cooking solutions in the past; the opportunities that exist for public and private investment to accelerate market growth and further adoption; and the opportunities to scale the market for clean and efficient solutions. These activities will provide the Alliance and its partners with a critical understanding of the factors that have and will influence acceptability, affordability, availability, and adoption of clean cooking technologies and fuels in Haiti, as well as the policy and programmatic levers that can drive a future market for clean and efficient cooking solutions. Toward this goal, the Alliance will undertake activities over seven months that will provide the data needed to design and execute a national action program for building a clean and efficient cookstoves and fuels market in Haiti. The Alliance anticipates that the plan will: Enhance demand by understanding and motivating potential consumers and users; improving the design of clean cookstoves and fuels for household, institutional, and select commercial products; providing consumers with options to finance and purchase cleaner and more efficient products; and fostering innovative distribution models to reach remote consumers; Strengthen the supply of clean and efficient cookstoves and clean fuels by improving inclusive value chains that engage relevant stakeholders, especially women; addressing trade barriers and national policies that impede local markets for clean cooking solutions; engaging investors in long-term scale-up plans; and mobilizing access to carbon finance; 2 P a g e J u n e 1 0,

3 Foster an enabling environment by engaging national and local Haitian stakeholders; building the evidence base for the environmental, health, and employment benefits of clean cookstoves and fuels; championing the sector and mainstreaming clean cooking within other Haitian development, job creation, and climate priorities; addressing trade and tax barriers as well as national policies that impede local markets for clean cooking solutions; promoting international standards and rigorous testing protocols based on ongoing Alliance work with the International Standardization Organization (ISO); and enhancing monitoring and evaluation. As such, the resulting plan is expected to serve as a blueprint for the sector with proposed roles and responsibilities for market actors. The plan will outline a mix of policies and actionable programmatic interventions to catalyze the clean cooking sector and bring measurable health, environmental, and economic benefits to Haiti. The plan will also provide a budget and timeline to guide implementation of the work with Haitian counterparts. 5. WILL THE ALLIANCE EMPLOY A MARKET-BASED APPROACH IN HAITI? The Alliance believes that building a thriving market for clean cookstoves and fuels is the best way to increase and sustain high levels of adoption of clean cookstoves and fuels, which lead to positive environmental and other outcomes over the long term. To that end, the Alliance will explore the potential of a wide range of market-enabling activities such as strengthening enterprises, attracting investment to the sector, increasing access to consumer finance, mobilizing carbon finance, supporting technological innovation, adopting standards, and developing testing protocols. Understanding the potential role of subsidies to enhance adoption in the most vulnerable communities will also be an important part of the Alliance s approach. 6. HOW WILL WOMEN BE INTEGRATED INTO THE PROJECT? The clean cooking sector in Haiti provides significant opportunities to drive gender equality and poverty alleviation for women. Addressing the needs of women and girls has long been central to the Alliance s mission and we recognize that women will be unable to reach their full potential if they are burdened with the daily responsibility of collecting fuel and tending to inefficient cookstoves, which comprise a substantial part of their day and cause devastating health consequences. In collaboration with the International Center for Research on Women, the Alliance has developed a conceptual framework, a set of indicators, and data collection tools and methodologies for measuring impacts of clean cookstoves and fuels on key factors such as livelihoods, empowerment, household finances, time use, and household well-being. This social impact monitoring and evaluation framework has been tested and vetted by the Alliance in other countries, and appropriate indicators such as those for measuring employment status and reduced drudgery associated with fuel collection may be used. By measuring a range of socio-economic impacts, enterprises working in Haiti will demonstrate to potential investors the impact of these interventions on women s economic and social development. 7. HOW DOES THE ALLIANCE PLAN TO INVOLVE ITS PARTNERS IN THE INITIATIVE? The Alliance s experience convening and facilitating private sector, government, and civil society actors from across our diverse partner base, including over 54 national government partners, positions us well 3 P a g e J u n e 1 0,

4 to foster collaboration among our 1,500 diverse partners and ensure buy-in among key local and national Haitian stakeholders. In addition, the Alliance will build on its strong cadre of sector experts, including those familiar with the Haitian context, and engage Haitian government ministries, private sector leaders, donors, entrepreneurs, researchers, and civil society organizations. If your organization is actively working in Haiti and would like to stay informed of the Alliance s efforts there, please ensure that this is reflected in your partner profile in our online partner directory. 8. WHO ARE THE KEY PARTNERS THAT THE ALLIANCE WILL BE WORKING WITH IN HAITI? Local and national buy-in will be critical to the success of this project. The Alliance plans to work extensively with relevant Haitian ministries (Energy, Health, Agriculture, Environment, Commerce, Women, Finance, and others as appropriate), non-governmental organizations, research institutions, investors, manufacturers, fuel suppliers, foundations, the private sector, UN agencies and multilateral institutions, women s cooperatives, and other appropriate stakeholders. Discussions are already underway to assess the sector and begin development of the strategic action plan. The Alliance will also utilize official documents from the government of Haiti such as the country s INDC submitted at COP21 in Paris in December HOW WILL THIS WORK BE FUNDED? Global Affairs Canada (GAC) is funding the initial design phase of the project with in-kind support from the Alliance. The Alliance will seek additional bilateral, corporate, and philanthropic support for the implementation phase of the project in order to complement GAC commitments. 10. WHAT IS THE TIMING FOR THE INITIATIVE? The Alliance began work on the scoping and mapping activities in June The plan is expected to be completed by January HOW WILL THE PROJECT BE MANAGED? Working in close coordination with in-country Alliance counterparts, partners, and stakeholders, an Alliance team coordinated under a project manager in our Washington, D.C. headquarters will coordinate development of the plan. The team will be supported by a select group of in-country counterparts, consultants, and grantees who have demonstrated expertise through collaboration with the Alliance on previous market analyses and development activities, in the Haitian context, and/or with other partners in the sector. 12. ALLIANCE EXPERTISE AND EXPERIENCE IN HAITI The Alliance has the necessary expertise and partners to design a comprehensive clean and efficient cookstoves and fuels National Action Plan to guide actions to address household air pollution in Haiti. The Alliance s experience convening and facilitating market, government, and civil society actors from across our diverse partner base, including 54 national government partners, positions the Alliance well to foster collaboration and ensure buy-in among key local and national stakeholders. In addition, the 4 P a g e J u n e 1 0,

5 Alliance proposes to build on its strong cadre of sector experts, including those familiar with the Haitian context, and engage Haitian government ministries, private sector leaders, donors, entrepreneurs, researchers, fuel providers, and civil society, to develop a plan for Haitian household, institutional, and select commercial sectors. 13. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE OTHER COMPONENTS OF THE ALLIANCE PROJECT IN HAITI? Per the requirements of the Canadian Government, the Alliance will prepare an assessment of the positive and negative environmental impacts, if any, that might be expected under the initiative and will propose appropriate mitigation measures as necessary to mitigate or address these impacts. Such an assessment may include the expected climate impacts or benefits from the use of particular fuels recommended under the initiative; employment impacts from reductions in the use of charcoal and new job opportunities created by the launch of new clean cookstove and fuel businesses, distribution networks, and training and repair and warranty programs; savings on health care costs caused by reductions in mortality, acute and chronic illness, and burns; and valuation of improvements in forest cover and biodiversity. 14. ARE THERE FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES AT THIS TIME? There are two short-term consulting opportunities posted on the Alliance website. As the planning for the project is just getting underway, there are currently no pending requests for proposals. Please check our funding opportunities page periodically for updates. 15. WHOM DO I CONTACT IF I WISH TO GET INVOLVED IN THE PROJECT? Please contact Haiti@cleancookstoves.org for more information on the initiative. *** 5 P a g e J u n e 1 0,