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Due to environmental impacts from anthropomorphic climate change, countries from around the world are committed to an energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable and sustainable energy sources. The heating and cooling sector represents the largest share of total energy consumption globally, not only for domestic use but also for commercial and industrial purposes of which only 11% is covered by renewable energy. One renewable source, geothermal energy, has the potential to cover much of this demand, particularly heating demand, for the agriculture and food sector. Geothermal use in the agri-food industry continues to be positive overall, yet slow adoption and inconsistent growth have not met its potential as claimed by experts. This trend may be explained by a lack of coherent policy and initiatives from regulating government bodies. This research explores the relationship and the degree of correlation between government support, expressed in terms of policy incentives, and the growth of geothermal energy use in the agri-food sector. Two hypotheses are constructed to test this relationship. The first assumes that government support through policy leads to positive growth in geothermal argi-food, and the second assumes that no relationship exists. The research is a multiple case study of twelve countries from 2010 to 2020. Methods used in this study include Likert summative scale, a statistical and content analysis of secondary sources such as policy documents, laws, and other government acts. The results show a strong correlation between policy incentives and adoption of geothermal energy in agri-food sector. However, only 23% of growth in capacity in case countries can be explained by the levels of government support. Additionally, not all policies hold equal weight in that they are implemented on different levels of governance (global, national, and local). The study observes that between these three levels, national policies have the most correlative effect on geothermal energy adoption, while global and local policies do not seem to have significant influence. These effects vary but the overall market trends are influenced heavily by leading performers. Countries that show the most growth are – Hungary, Iceland, the Netherlands, and Türkiye. They all share strong government support on a national level, targeted policies for geothermal agri-food, and geothermal energy is economically competitive when compared to other forms of energy.
With the increasing consciousness of the value of wetland ecological and environmental functions and its fast rate of decline in the size of this important and rich ecosystem globally, the Niger Delta ecosystem has been reported to be undergoing tremendous change, hence the need for this research, to identify the challenges and proffer solutions. This study focuses on ascertaining if a change has occurred in the Upper Orashi Forest Reserved wetland, to know and evaluate the policies used in managing the wetland in the region and Nigeria. To ascertain the wetland change, land cover change detection was carried out using Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing to produce paradigm or data to detect change occurrence in the wetland area. Supervised classification of land use and land cover change was carried out using LANDSAT data from 2002, 2008, and 2019. Thereafter, the land cover transition was mapped for the period 2002 to 2019 and this was computed for the net land cover change for the period of study. The site was classified into three different classes and each class was analyzed using the land use and land cover change model formula. The result from this part shows that there is a consistent decrease in the wetland area for the period under review and in the other two identified classes, some interchangeable compositions were observed for the period of study. To validate this result, the opinion of experts and the host community is needed. Two sets of questionnaires were designed for experts and local community dwellers to sample their opinion in relation to the wetland and its management. The information collected was analyzed using Microsoft excel and the result shows that changes have occurred in the wetland of Upper Orashi Forest (decrease in size and other challenging issues with respect to policies and regulations). This study has identified critical challenging issues facing wetlands in the region or driving factors of wetland loss in the study area. Thereafter making recommendations that will help address these issues to actualize environmental sustainability and sustainable wetland in the region and Nigeria at large.
Possible synergy between FLEGT-VPA & REDD+ towards improving forest governance framework in Cameroon
(2023)
Illegal logging is seen as a serious impediment to achieving sustainable management of forests in the tropics. In addition, deforestation contributes in increasing carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere, resulting to biodiversity loss and climate change. Illegal logging and deforestation have affected Cameroon’s forest ecosystem negatively since the mid-1980s as a result of the economic crises, which intensified the exploitation of forest resources for multiple purposes. In response, some policy initiatives came up such as FLEGT-VPA and REDD+ to fight against the threats. It is due to the above background that this study was designed to examine the possible synergy between FLEGT-VPA and REDD+ towards improving the forest governance framework in Cameroon. The first part of the study assesses FLEGT-VPA in Cameroon with the application of interviews of key informants who were involved in the negotiation process of the EU-Cameroon Voluntary Partnership Agreement. The second part of the study assesses the management of Bimbia Bonadikombo Community Forest (BBCF), as one of the REDD+ pilot project sites around Mount Cameroon in the South West Region of Cameroon. The use of surveys, content analysis, and observations seeks to assess these two initiatives in their role in improving forest governance in Cameroon. The first part of the research reveals that since Cameroon ratified the FLEGT-VPA in 2011, there has been progressed concerning stakeholder participation in forest-related issues. Again, the study also reveals challenges faced with the setting up of a system to verify timber from legal origin as recommended by the European Union. The research further reveals a lack of commitment by the government in revising the current forest policies and re-organizing the domestic market for timber trade as part of the commitment made by the government during the ratification of the FLEGT-VPA. The second part of the study finds that the management of BBCF is not governed by the provision of the Cameroon community forestry manual or by its bylaws posing doubts if community forestry can halt emissions of greenhouse gases caused by deforestation, thus helping REDD+ achieve its objectives. The study recommends the need for rapid policy reform and a cross-sectoral transformation to enable FLEGT-VPA and REDD+ to synergize for a better policy outcome on issues concerning forestry and climate change.
The Nigerian government has commenced the development of minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) as part of measures to achieve the energy and emissions savings target established in Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the Paris Agreement. It is expected that the implementation of MEPS will also help to address the challenges of unreliability of electricity supply and facilitate the desired energy-efficient appliance market transformation. The MEPS currently covers the three most energy-consuming electrical products in households (lighting, refrigerators, and air conditioners). This research relied on data collected from the survey of 384 households in the case study area of Enugu to study the policy impacts of the current MEPS and identify the potential for its improvement. The research also, empirically, investigated policy and institutional barriers against appliance energy efficiency improvement in the country. Three different policy scenarios were conceptualized to model the policy impacts of current MEPS: a scenario assuming no MEPS or a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario, a policy scenario (PS) that considers the current MEPS, and an aggressive policy scenario (APS) that assumes the scaling up of the current MEPS to more stringent levels. The policy analysis modeling system (PAMS) was adopted to study the impacts of MEPS considering a policy implementation period of 2019 through 2030. The United Nations’ integrated policy framework was also adopted as evaluation criteria to identify policy gaps in the existing policy measures and the identification of possible policy overlaps was conducted using content analysis. Based on the results, the implementation of the current standards would reduce annual residential electricity demand in the surveyed households by 37% compared to BAU. National-level policy impacts show that the implementation of more stringent MEPS would contribute about 11.3% of the national emissions reduction target reached in Nigeria’s NDC. The research also finds out that key policy instruments (such as financial incentives) are still in their planning stages. Furthermore, the result from the content analysis reveals that the assigned institutional roles for the advancement of end-use energy efficiency are in some cases, not based on the statutory mandates of the respective institutions which create room for possible overlaps. To close the existing energy efficiency gaps and achieve effective energy-efficient appliance market transformation, the research underscores the need for a large-scale appliance market assessment to understand current baseline efficiency levels which will guide future policy designs and ensure that MEPS remain effective. The research also recommends key possible frameworks that can guide the design and implementation of financial incentive instruments to make energy-efficient investments more attractive.
Tanzania is the land which has extensive Limestone Caves along the Swahili Coast of East Africa. Many of these Limestone Caves believed to be formed about 150 million years ago during the Jurassic age when these areas were underwater. For a long time, Swahili communities along the coast of East Africa used the Limestone Caves as the places of worship, praying and conducting ritual practices. These Limestone Caves have been regarded as the Mosques, Churches or Temples by these Swahili communities who have been associated with the Caves for a long time before colonial time in 17th-19th Century. After independence in 1961, the Tanzanian government took over many of the Limestone Caves to manage and protect them as the national heritage under the Antiquities Divisions and other heritage governing bodies. However, in Tanzania the protection of Limestone Caves as Sacred Heritage Places have been only through modern laws which were inherited from colonial masters and are yet to produce satisfactory results on the best practice of these places, even after amendments. Other problems facing Sacred Heritage Places in Tanzania are lack of management plans, lack of freedom in worship and failure of Antiquities legislation to recognise traditional beliefs. These problems led to growing concern of different stakeholders regarding the government strategy to ensure prescriptions for best practices of the Sacred Heritage Places in Limestone Cave areas regarding the use, management and conservation.
Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to examine the use and management of Sacred Heritage Places along the Swahili Coast of the Indian Ocean in Tanzania. Data were obtained through focus group discussions, interviews and observations while legal documents were reviewed and analysed using thematic analysis to investigate research themes. The results indicated that there were ritual practices, strict taboos and customary laws used to control access into the Limestone Cave area but tourism and research activities have interfered with the sacred space creating a disconnect between the local communities and their heritage. This disconnection has driven people from their traditional religions into religions like Christianity and Islam.
Finally, the thesis proposes MTRCC Framework for a heritage plan for best practice in Sacred Heritage Place in Limestone Cave areas; to be adopted by the Tanzanian Antiquities Divisions and other heritage management authorities to ensure that local communities have access to spaces crucial to their religious life. Also, MTRCC Framework ensures that there are no conflicts or
interference from tourism, education and research activities that could result in negative effects for the heritage sites and stakeholders can have equal opportunities to experience these places.
Malawi is a Least Developed Country located in Southern Africa to the East of Zambia. Malawi has a low electrification rate of 9%. Furthermore, unreliable and inadequate power supply are estimated to reduce Malawi’s GDP by 7%-9%. These energy sector challenges diminish the country’s prospects for sustained growth, poverty reduction, and improved delivery of health and education services. Various studies have been undertaken to determine how Malawi can improve it's energy sector through the deployment of renewable energy. However, these studies have not specifically examined how climate change related financing mechanisms such as the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) could be utilised to mobilise financing and capacity development for renewable energy deployment in the country. This is despite the assertion that developed countries are committed to jointly mobilising US$100 billion per year by 2020 to support climate change mitigation and adaptation activities such as renewable energy deployment in developing countries. Through the use of questionnaires, case study analyses, policy reviews, academic literature reviews and interviews, this research sought to determine Malawi’s regulatory and institutional challenges and prospects for enhancing renewable energy deployment through climate finance instruments.
Among some of the research findings was that Malawi has relied on external support in order to develop capacity in the field of climate finance, hence in the absence of external assistance there are limited opportunities to incentivise various stakeholders to implement projects and to enhance awareness about climate finance. The study also discovered that Malawi’s climate finance determinants resemble a non-market seeking Foreign Direct Investment profile, hence the presence of opportunities for cheap and abundant emission reductions could improve climate finance investment patterns rather than the opportunities for emission reductions and co-products such as electricity through renewable energy technologies. The study therefore recommended that Malawi should create a renewable energy and climate finance promotion agency to assist with soliciting funding for renewable energy projects from concessional and non-concessional sources and drafting and implementing renewable energy policies. Another recommendation was that the country must create a Renewable Energy Fund to reduce the funding constraints that the media, project implementers and financiers have in undertaking various roles related to enhancing renewable energy deployment. Lastly, the study concluded that Malawi’s prospects for accessing various forms of climate finance and deploying climate finance projects can be improved through improvements in Malawi’s renewable energy and climate change institutional framework, and the modifications of climate finance instruments and methodologies to encourage flexibility and reduce institutional constraints.
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) is now a significant piece of the international climate agreement. This present dissertation aims to investigate the overall framework of REDD+ development as a national strategy in Brazil. Moreover, it focuses on identifying the major challenges and policy constraints of this development design process. A further aim is at the end of the research to proffer pathways for improvement of domestic forest governance in Brazil. Using the sustainable forest landscape governance approach as the overarching conceptual for an effective REDD+ implementation within the Brazilian context and, building on this analysis, the conclusions advance some considerations on what features should be prioritized in the development and establishment of the Brazilian REDD+ national strategy. This dissertation is a grounded theoretical analysis and is centered on the conception that although REDD+ is strongly treated by the Federal Government as an expansion of it’s actions with regard to sustainable development, by turning forests into an economic asset and strengthening institutions and laws, it is much more likely that Brazil can deal with the environmental challenges it has been facing.
Nanotechnologies allow for the production of completely new materials in a wide range of industries and technical fields and are also recognised as one of the most important technological sectors for the future. The growing nanotechnological industry is rapidly generating new forms of materials; however, little is known about the behaviour of these substances, in particular their particle form and their impact on different ecological systems and the life within them. Concerns have been raised about the safety and regulation of nanomaterials, following a number of studies that indicated that some nanomaterials are able to cause adverse effects on living objects. This data, as well as increasing production volumes and commercialisation, the capability of crossing biological barriers and the increased physico-chemical activities of nanoparticles, when compared to their bulk counterparts, have triggered concern (Baró et al., 2001; Kear et al., 2012) about their impacts on health and safety.
In Germany, nanoparticles, nanotechnological products, their production processes and their disposal are generally subject to the prevailing law of the German legal system, especially with respect to the authorization of equipment, permissions regarding chemicals and other product groups, and the protection of employees and the environment. With regard to nanotechnologies, however, the question arises as to whether the present legal regulations are adequate, and/or whether regulative gaps occur because of specific new products, materials or process characteristics. Accordingly, based on the analysis of the relevant state-of-the-art technology and science, and an evaluation of existing, as well as projectable, future national legislation on this matter, this work aims to identify regulative gaps in the relevant standardisation procedures and to point out possible adjustments.
Although nanomaterials are covered by the general scope of many of the existing legislative frameworks, it is often unclear if current regulation is actually applicable for specific questions of nanomaterials and their diverse applications. In particular, there is a lack of sufficient knowledge of the risks, which could lead to imbalanced legal protection against any threats that may arise. However, it is recognised that adjustments are needed, and legal amendments have been repeatedly proposed by expert committees, policymakers, industry members and non-governmental organisations (European Parliament, 2009). Nonetheless, very few revisions have been made to date, so the existing regulations are not considered adequate to deal with all kinds of nanomaterials in both the short and long term. Current legislation needs to be adapted immediately to reflect the challenges posed by current nanomaterials and their applications.
The German government has set ambitious targets for wind energy expansion and has implemented policy schemes aimed at facilitating market deployment of wind-generated electricity. Data on German wind energy market has shown that, wind energy generating capacity is increasing correspondingly towards the targeted values. Germany is the largest wind energy market in the EU (wind energy accounting for about 10% of the total electricity consumption in Germany) with an installed capacity of about 38.2 GW onshore by the close of 2014. The success of these policies has prompted other countries globally to adopt similar support schemes for renewable energies. However, the rapid growth of wind energy generation in Germany equally faces numerous challenges. Some of these problems are inherent to the wind energy technology while others are caused by the very policies instruments used to support wind energy expansion, such as limited availability of designated areas for wind energy development, non-uniform regulations, and rising prices. The objective of this research, therefore, is to assess the impact of the German energy and environmental policies on onshore wind energy development and to explore implementation options of the German model in Cameroon.
This research has examined the German onshore wind energy sector from a policy perspective based on existing literature, semi-structured interviews with major stakeholders, a case study of Brandenburg and a survey, with the aim of investigating the acceptance of wind energy and challenges the developers are facing.
Based on the study results, it can be affirmed that the future growth of the German onshore market will come from flexible government policies, which may offer fewer incentives to investors. Indeed, the cost of electricity from renewable energy technologies in Germany is in some cases already below retail rates. There is the need, therefore, to pursue strategic programmes that enhances market integration of wind energy. Furthermore, the study results equally shows that the German feed-in tariff based support scheme in its current form, cannot be implemented in Cameroon. This is because, the purchasing power of the Cameroonian population and the economic constraints of the government, makes it difficult or even impossible to adopt the current EEG model in Cameroon where often, basic needs are subsidized.
The rapidly developed Information and Communication Technology (ICT) products have made great contributions in various application areas. However, the related problems in the consumption of household ICT appliances are crucial to economy, environment and society. As concluded from literature review of practice, assessment and legislation, there is obvious lack of information and understanding of the household consumption pattern of the ICT appliance in a more systematic “life-cycle thinking” approach – from purchase, usage to end-of-life, in environmental-social- economic three dimensional perspective. This deficiency could lead to ineffective policy programmes and implementation.
This exploratory study tentatively develops a measurement and benchmarking method, named as Sustainable Consumption Index (SCIndex) model, aiming at improving knowledge and holistic understanding of consumption patterns of household ICT appliances along the value chain in global or regional consumers’ households. This dissertation accomplishes the preliminary design of the SCIndex model and its pilot application with a global Internet survey on consumer behavior for detailed analysis, such as, cross-cultural comparison, three stages analysis (purchase, usage and end-of- life), and total SCIndex score benchmarking and analysis.
This study identified that overall consumption patterns of household ICT appliances in the developed countries are not necessarily more sustainable than in the developing countries, if all the stages of consumption are overviewed. The findings contribute to the gaps in knowledge of underlying behavioral factors that influence sustainable consumption of household ICT appliances entirely or in any stage; furthermore, they sketch out the national profiles and improvable aspects on the path of more sustainable consumption. The SCIndex model and pilot application stress the importance and provide empirical evidence to support concrete modelling with a multifaceted approach in measurement and benchmarking of household ICT appliances’ life-cycle consumption for “going beyond GDP”. The model is suggested to be optimized in sampling, design and structure, data analysis methods and the implementation.
To efficiently promote sustainable consumption of the household ICT appliances, the pilot application provides further recommendations to the engaged stakeholders that include: i) sufficiency in purchase; ii) efficient usage; iii) responsible disposal; iv) smooth channels for reuse; v) further in-depth researches and projects.