Iternational Conference: Bioenergy for Sustainable Development in Africa -
Date
and Time:
24-25 November 2009
Location:
Brussels Belgium
Objective:
The main objective of this conference is to identify cooperation opportunities between stakeholders and policymakers from European and African countries to contribute to the exploitation of bioenergy resources for sustainable development in African countries.
Recent bioenergy initiatives, programmes and projects in African countries will be presented and discussed with respect to their social, economic and environmental sustainability. Furthermore, partners from the COMPETE project will present lessons learnt on ensuring value creation and sustainability of bioenergy development in Africa in order to:
Exploit the benefits of innovative bioenergy solutions with respect to sustainable rural development and improved livelihoods, increased energy access and income generation, alternative markets for agricultural products, security of energy supply, and diversification of energy sources
Avoid the dangers of negative social and environmental implications , with regards to land competition, land ownership, insufficient value creation for local farmers, and the ‘fuel versus food' debate