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Joe at the 9th Powering Africa Summit

JAMMA NEWS & INSIGHTS

Powering a Socially Just Energy Transition in Africa:
Perspectives from the 9th Powering Africa Summit

News and Insights

Africa is resource rich in both wildlife and energy but remains a poor continent. While responsible for only about 3% of global carbon emission, African countries will be some of the most negatively impacted by climate change.

The scale of energy poverty in Africa and the urgent need to adopt renewables is a massive challenge. Most Africans still lack access to power, an inconceivable idea to the Global North and failure of human rights. An estimated 900 million people or 80% of households in sub-Saharan Africa rely on traditional biomass for personal energy consumption. This high demand for wood fuels can drive deforestation, which causes most of Africa’s limited emissions. Meanwhile, Africa’s population growth is projected to outpace the rest of the world further increasing energy demand and potential pressures on nature.

The 9th Powering Africa Summit, hosted by Power Africa in Washington, DC, confronted the need for increasing investment and sustainable finance mechanisms to address Africa’s energy poverty, meet growing demand, and achieve climate goals. Energy Ministers from every region attended with global finance institutions, U.S. government partners, solar industry developers, sustainable development advocates, and youth campaigners.

The agenda flowed from the Nairobi Declaration and climate pledges made at the inaugural Africa Climate Summit hosted by Kenya in 2023. To realize a clean transition and energy industrialization at the scale needed, more than $2 trillion of investment (almost the size of the entire continent’s GDP) is required including through increased access to concessional loans, support from developed nations, and a diversity of innovative private capitol partnerships.

But how do indigenous peoples and local communities fit in to this revolution? Being the most rural and often marginalized, indigenous peoples’ groups likely have the least access to power while their customary lands contribute the most to climate change mitigation. Indeed, rural electrification is a major benefit prioritized by community-based natural resource management programs, for example for communal conservancies in Namibia (my area of research expertise). And what cost will this energy transition have on biodiversity or more sustainable development opportunities through wildlife-based bio-economies, including timber, indigenous plant products, or communally managed forests?

Project developers do conduct environmental and social impact assessments, but data is often lacking from the process. Indigenous peoples’ experiences with carbon markets also does not inspire hope that the right to free, prior and informed consent will be respected.

The renewable energy sector, therefore, has the obligation and opportunity to help power Africa with a people-centric approach. Indigenous peoples and local communities must also be engaged, which can be achieved in collaboration with strong youth and women’s movements already at the table calling for inclusion and equity.

 

By Joseph Goergen

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Joseph Goergen is an AWEI Research Fellow and International Policy & Public Affairs Specialist at Jamma International. His MSc thesis in Conservation Biology at Michigan State University is evaluating the environmental and governance drivers of income earned by community-based natural resource management economies in Namibia.

Jamma International fully supports this project in collaboration with the University of Oxford, Cornell University, and WWF Germany. The focus of this project is primarily on conservation areas in sub-Saharan Africa. The project is meant to crucially enable the inclusion of rural Africans, to better inform conservation and development policies in sub-Saharan Africa and internationally.
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Episode One Of The Podcast Is Now Out!

JAMMA NEWS & INSIGHTS

Episode One
Is Now Out!

News and Insights

We’re back! The Beneath the Baobab Podcast and host, Gordon Buchanan, return to explore the issue of human wildlife conflict. In this second season of the conservation and communities podcast, we will be travelling around southern Africa to meet the communities living alongside wildlife.

For the past 30 years Gordon has immersed himself in the world of documentary filmmaking, capturing narratives of the natural world, wildlife, and the intricate relationships between humans and wild animals. In an era of rapid environmental change, our interactions with certain species have become increasingly complex. Factors such as population growth, habitat loss, climate fluctuations, and policy shifts have led to a convergence of human and wildlife territories, often resulting in profound conflicts.

From simple fear to the devastation of crops and livestock, these conflicts pose not only a threat to livelihoods but also to human lives. However, amidst the turmoil, there exist stories of resilience and remarkable connections with wildlife that transcend the strife. Join us to meet the communities, the families, and the people at the very heart of the matter as we discuss the coexistence challenge Beneath the Baobab.

In our first episode, we journey to the western border of Kruger National Park, a region teeming with biodiversity and home to both iconic wildlife and resilient communities. We'll hear first hand accounts from these communities who are battling to safeguard their livelihoods.

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Our debut episode premiered on March 7th, and subsequent episodes will be released every other week until the season finale. The audio of this series can be found by searching 'Jamma International' on Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform. You can also watch the Full video on YouTube! Each episode will be released.

It’s World Female Ranger Week! This global initiative celebrates the incredible work of female rangers in protecting wildlife and empowering communities. Let’s champion gender equality in conservation and support the vital role of women in safeguarding our natural environment.

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