Energy Environment Sustainable management of natural resources
why energy and environment For ACRA, working for the sustainable management of natural resources means working to fulfil the right to
a clean and healthy environment and an ecosystem that can support the livelihood of people, rights sanctioned by the Stockholm Declaration (1972) and by the Rio Conference (1992). Failure to guarantee these rights denies the most fundamental rights such as the right to healthcare and food. 30
ACRA
Project Focus ACRA defines structured programmes with the local communities with a view to promote
sustainable economic development and to ensure the protection of knowledge and natural resources for future generations. Therefore the programs that focus on the environment and natural resources tend to include various components with the objective of obtaining the most complete development possible where the protection of resources, income generating activities, agricultural
production, provision of basic services, education and training coexist together. In the field of energy, in line with the initiative SE4All, ACRA promotes the production and use of renewable energy to increase access to electricity, particularly in rural areas.
how we work
The communities are our main stakeholder: they become key actors in the decentralization processes that delegates the provision of basic services (energy,
water, waste management) and the responsibility of the local resources (forests, water basins, wild species) to the periphery; the sustainability of the interventions depends on them. We support local
entrepreneurs and social enterprises who promote income generating activities, using appropriate natural resources. We work to make sure everything is done with integrity, participation and transparency.
In particular, we successfully tested that the supply of electricity can be an incentive or counterweight that can foster the protection of natural resources. Access to energy has, so far, not been generally seen as a primary need, so much so that it was not included among the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Instead, our experience shows that energy can be the key to increasing access to clean water, improving the quality of education and health services and a way to augment local economic development thanks to the economic activities that access to electricity in rural areas can make possible.
In 2014 the energy program, built on the premises of interventions in Senegal and Tanzania, underwent further expansion following the approval of a major
electrification project in rural Tanzania which, thanks to its size and its ambitious goals, will allow us to test other ways to ensure inclusive and sustainable access to energy. This is the largest single intervention in terms of size approved by the European Union in the history of this organization.
social report 2014
31
Energy - Environment ongoing projects in 2014
honduras Constitution and legalization of 10 Committees for Local Electrification (CEL) with the objective of building and managing community microhydropower plants serving 990 families located in rural areas in bolivia
Promotion of forest governance for the Association of Municipalities of Centro de La Paz (Mancomunidad de Municipios del Centro de La Paz - MAMCEPAZ) duration
total value
24 months
461,879 造
nicaragua Integrated and sustainable management of urban solid waste in six municipalities in the northern area of Chinandega duration
total value
42 months
758,083 造
ecuador Technical assistance to strengthen the Permanent Integrated Solid Waste Management Platform (Mesa GIRS) and analyse the GIRS projects duration
total value
36 months
135,826 造
bolivia Small hydro-electric plants as adaptation to climate change
Note: The total value of the projects includes monetary contributions, contributions from volunteers and donations in kind. * Share managed by ACRA as project partner 32
ACRA
duration
total value
36 months
1,715,370 造
1,000 people were made aware of the Law of Environmental Protection and of the importance of protecting the Park of Zakouma, in chad
chad Project addressed to the population of the districts in the peripheral zone of the National Park of Zakouma, Aboudeia side, aimed at strengthening their ability in dealing with food security and natural resource management duration
total value
30 months
508,013 造
5,870
users were connected to the electricity line, in Tanzania
tanzania Hydroelectric Energy for 20 isolated rural villages in the Ludewa District, Tanzania duration
total value
48 months
7,568,677 造
tanzania tanzania Cultural heritage conservation, tourism and sustainable development in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania duration
total value
36 months
273,225 造*
Access to electric energy by the population of the district of Ludewa in Tanzania duration
total value
36 months
1,834,106 造
The initiative includes a number of co-financed projects by public and private donors
social report 2014
33