UN Division for Sustainable Development

Case Study Detail Record

Organization type:	Intergovernmental Organization

Name of Organization:	United Nations Development Programme

Name of Focal Point:	Laurent Coche (laurent.coche@undp.org)

Initiative Title:	ECOWAS/UEMOA: Regional policy for access to energy services to meet the Millennium Development Goals

Internet links:	http://www.energy4mdg.org http://www.energie-omd.org

Scope:	Regional: - Africa

Status:	Ongoing

Timeframe:	Start: December 2003 End:

Lead Institution:	Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

Stakeholders/Partners:	Economic and Monetary Union of West Africa (UEMOA), 15 West African States, France, Austria, UNDP and the European Commission

Relevent issues:	- Capacity-building in energy policy formulation and management - Energy and rural development - Increasing access to energy for the poor

Objectives/Challenges:

Despite the critical linkage between energy and development, access to modern energy services for the poor has received insufficient attention in national poverty reduction strategies. As a result, access to energy services remains very low in rural areas and energy poverty is a significant impediment to the achievement of the MDGs in developing countries.

Barriers to integrating energy considerations into national strategies for poverty reduction include the following:
- The impacts of rural energy development are not well understood: policy decision-makers often do not recognise the importance of access to energy services in achieving overall development objectives, including poverty reduction, resulting in a lack of a national vision for rural energy development.
- Budgetary allocations focus on centralised power: energy investments tend to focus on relatively expensive, centralised power generation, instead of cost-effective investments in improving access to modern energy services for the rural poor.
- Insufficient cross-sectoral coordination and cooperation: greater sharing of best practices to promote the integration of energy access into sectoral strategies and national budgets and targets is needed to create a policy environment that can support a comprehensive national strategy for rural energy development.

In December 2003, ECOWAS was mandated by its Member States to define a Regional Policy for Access to Energy. Alongside UEMOA, a regional framework was created in consultation with multiple sectors to ensure dialogue between Member States and the region. This framework is made up of National Multi-sectoral Committees for each country, grouping all the sectors concerned. Each of the committees is represented by the 2 members in charge of energy and the PRSP within the Regional Multi-sectoral Committee. The participatory process put in place allowed the White Paper to be drawn up for a regional policy for access to energy services for rural and peri-urban populations. Based on the consensus as to the necessity to develop access to energy and to put in place national strategies necessary supported by the regional framework, the White Paper proposes an action plan and investment programme. It was adopted by ECOWAS’ and UEMOA’s Heads of State and Government in January 2006.

Lessons Learned:

Key lessons from case studies in Africa include the following:
- Specific linkages between energy and development must be well understood at a policy level: Communicating evidence from local level projects of the impact of energy services can promote examination at national and regional levels as to how energy needs can be approached to help achieve the MDGs.
- A strong, multi-sectoral process is needed: To formulate the policy and budget allocations required to successfully expand access to modern energy services to rural and peri-urban populations.
- Energy must be prioritised by national and regional governments: The integration of energy services into national and regional strategies works to align partners behind and prioritise external assistance for these set national priorities.

Policy Options:

Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) White Paper

The "White Paper for a Regional Policy geared towards increasing access to energy services for rural and peri-urban populations in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals" seeks to engage ECOWAS Member States and the Region in an ambitious regional policy to increase access to modern energy services for rural and peri-urban populations to achieve the MDGs.

Objectives:
- Reinforce regional integration, by the pooling of best practices, development of a regional information system and cross-border cooperation to build and strengthen capacity.
- Promote harmonized political and institutional frameworks (e.g. PRSP, MDGs, monitoring frameworks) that regard access to energy services as one of hte key national priorities for ensuring human development and the achievement of the MDGs.

Expected Results:
- Access to improved domestic cooking services for 100% of the total population by 2015. This is equal to approximately 325 million people or 54 million households.
- Access to motive power for at least 60% of the rural population
- Access to individual electricity services for 66% of the population, including 214 million people living in rural and peri-urban areas.

Summary:

Through the establishment of a regional policy on expanding energy access for rural and peri-urban populations, ECOWAS has taken the lead in integrating the energy-access agenda into its strategic-development frameworks, clearly defining the energy needs of the poor and setting time-bound regional targets necessary to achieve the MDGs. This is a significant step to provide access to modern energy services for the poor to fight poverty and build sustainable development in a region where over half the population lives on less than a dollar a day.