Leveraging global partnerships
Partnership is the key word today - partnership in the development sector, in energy services, in natural resources and in community-based organisations. Under the current scenario, stakeholders in the development sector cut across industries, geographical regions, operational areas, and interests. And, the work involved in order to create a dent in the sector would be on an enormous scale. This necessitates interest groups to partner and network in order to achieve even moderate results.
An initiative launched recently and very well received in India is the Global Village Energy Partnership (GVEP). The initiative promotes information exchange on village energy models, good and bad practices, and lessons learned through village energy projects from all over the world. The focus of GVEP is on rural energy and largely on renewable energy. Inherent in the network of such partnerships are the immense capacities and knowledge of the partners that can be leveraged to address rural energy issues anywhere in the world.
Energy efficiency is another area that can perhaps benefit from such global initiatives. Energy efficiency, in particular industrial energy efficiency, requires innovative technical, financial and managerial approaches. A platform such as GVEP will provide the much-needed innovative approaches from across the world to local industry projects. This will also help create a common forum for ongoing energy efficiency initiatives in the industrial sector, which in turn will help the stakeholders to coordinate efforts across the country, and take up common issues and roadblocks impacting the energy sector.
GVEP is an excellent example of a synergistic partnership to achieve common objectives. We, however, certainly need more such coordinated initiatives in the area of energy efficiency to address its diverse issues. It is only through such networks and collaborative activities that developing countries can hope of achieving self-sufficiency in energy.
An initiative launched recently and very well received in India is the Global Village Energy Partnership (GVEP). The initiative promotes information exchange on village energy models, good and bad practices, and lessons learned through village energy projects from all over the world. The focus of GVEP is on rural energy and largely on renewable energy. Inherent in the network of such partnerships are the immense capacities and knowledge of the partners that can be leveraged to address rural energy issues anywhere in the world.
Energy efficiency is another area that can perhaps benefit from such global initiatives. Energy efficiency, in particular industrial energy efficiency, requires innovative technical, financial and managerial approaches. A platform such as GVEP will provide the much-needed innovative approaches from across the world to local industry projects. This will also help create a common forum for ongoing energy efficiency initiatives in the industrial sector, which in turn will help the stakeholders to coordinate efforts across the country, and take up common issues and roadblocks impacting the energy sector.
GVEP is an excellent example of a synergistic partnership to achieve common objectives. We, however, certainly need more such coordinated initiatives in the area of energy efficiency to address its diverse issues. It is only through such networks and collaborative activities that developing countries can hope of achieving self-sufficiency in energy.
Jami Hossain
Winrock International India
Winrock International India
