ECOWAS AND ENVIRONMENT POLICIES (Irene Fernández)

ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) is a cooperation's project between some states in West Africa. Although their main objective is promoting economic integration, they also advocate cultural and social issues. The economic collaboration was born with the idea of stimulating the growth of the economy in the states members. However, ECOWAS gamble on a sustainable economic development, creating agencies to promote the respect to the environment. 

The agency within ECOWAS in charge of the environment is called ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE). It was created in 2007 based on the Ouagadougou Declaration, but it was not until 2010 that the agency was officially funded. It received economic support from a variety of countries and institutions such as the Governments of Brazil, Austria and Spain or the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This organization was created due to the challenges of energy poverty, energy security and climate change mitigation that the countries of ECOWAS face. 

Although ECREEE is a specialized agency, it acts within the framework of norms and regulations of ECOWAS. The institution has an Executive Board, which approves annual work plans and inspects reports, financial states and organizes the structure of ECREEE; The Technical Committee, which provides technical guidance to the Executive Board and Secretariat of ECREEE; the Secretariat which implements activities and elaborates annual work plans, status reports and presents the documents for review and approval to the Technical Committee and the Executive Board; and the National Focal Institutions that is the intermediary between the Secretariat and the Energy Ministers from all ECOWAS Member States. 

The overall objectives of ECREE are first of all the achievement of the goals of the ECOWAS Renewable Energy Policy (EREP) and the ECOWAS Energy Efficiency Policy (EEEP). The EREP’s plan aim is to raise the energy share supplies of the Member States from an efficient use of the renewable energy sources that will permit universal access to electricity by 2030 and a more sustainable provision of domestic energy services for cooking. On the other hand, EEEP has similar objectives: to reduce losses in electricity distribution, to achieve universal access to safe and clean sustainable cooking or to establish found for the development and implementation of sustainable energy problems. In order to achieve these projects, the action plan is incentiving efficient lightening by replacing incandescent lamps for LED lamps, reducing commercial losses in electricity distribution systems or developing and adopting efficiency energy standards for buildings. The second goal of ECREE is to ensure access to energy reliable services, to double the improvement in energy efficiency and the share of renewable energy by 2030, following the objectives of the UN Sustainable Energy for All Initiative. The third one is to increase regional electric generation capacity by 2025 through hydro and gas. And the last one is the ECOWAS White Paper on Energy, which estimates that 20% of new investments in rural electrification should be generated from locally available renewable resources. 

As a more concrete plan, ECREEE is acting to promote a more sustainable cooking in West Africa. A high number of population uses traditional biomass for cooking, in an unsustainable manner and on inefficient stoves. Health problems in children and women are often due to the smoke derived from cooking. That is why the institution is trying to implement sustainably produced wood energy markets, as well as improved stoves and modern clean alternative fuels, research and development for the maturity of efficient cooking technologies and equipment, access to finance for the development of the clean cooking sector and a gender strategy for balanced and equitable development of clean cooking sector. 

Another ECOWAS's project is the facilitation of renewable energy to rural and peri-urban areas. The institution asked for proposals to develop this issue in different areas of West Africa, with the idea of spending 1 million euros. 41 programmes coming from NGO’s, governmental institutions, research centers and companies were approved. For example, in the region of Cote d’Ivoire there is a project for the installation of a photovoltaic hybrid system and the creation of a technical training workshop in issues related to renewable energy and energy efficiency. One of this workshop took place the 13th April 2018 in Abidjan. 

Portable clay cooking stove

Furthermore, another proposal, this one to implement in Guiné-Bissau, is to improve biomass use in this area through the promotion of energy efficient portable clay cook stoves in the rural households. 

There are also regional prospectus: for instance, promoting renewable energies in West Arica by exchanging knowledge with interactive online maps, supporting this way awareness raise and business activities and partnerships. 

In conclusion, ECOWAS is intensively involved in environmental issues and carries out projects through the specialized agency ECREEE. Apart from the proposals in renewable energy or sustainable cooking explained above, the agency is also an advocate for the fight of climate change. Although West Africa is still a poor region with economic, political and social problems, the several institutions working for its development are doing its job and step by step the programmes are being accomplished. 

REFERENCES



ECREEE. Ecreee.org. Retrieved 20 April 2018, from http://www.ecreee.org/

     OTHER SPECIFIC PROJECTS. Retrieved  15 April 2018, from http://www.ecreee.org/page/other-specific-projects 

     WEST AFRICAN CLEAN COOKING ALLIANCE (WACCA). Retrieved 15 April 2018, from http://www.ecreee.org/Project/wacca

     Renewable Energy Facility for peri-urban and rural areas (EREF) Retrieved 16 April 2018, from http://www.ecreee.org/page/renewable-energy-facility-peri-urban-and-rural-areas-eref

     ECREEE held its 2nd Media Workshop for Francophone ECOWAS Countries (2018). Retrieved 17 April 2018, from http://www.ecreee.org/news/ecreee-held-its-2nd-media-workshop-francophone-ecowas-countries

     ECOWAS Renowable Energy and Energy Efficency Status Report (2014). Retrieved 20 April 2018, from http://www.ren21.net/Portals/0/documents/activities/Regional%20Reports/ECOWAS_EN.pdf


ECOWREX. Ecowrex.org. Retrieved 26 April 2018, from http://www.ecowrex.org/


International Union for Conservation of Nature (2016) West Africa Environmental Policy. Retrieved 26 April 2018, from https://www.iucn.org/sites/dev/files/content/documents/policy_brief_wa_environmnetal_policy.pdf


UN Environment (2016) UN Environment Strengthens Ties with ECOWAS to Advance Environmental Sustainability in West Africa. Retrieved 20 April 2018, from https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/story/un-environment-strengthens-ties-ecowas-advance-environmental-sustainability