JANUARY REGIONAL ENVIRONMENT NEWSLETTER, EAST AFRICA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 13 ADDIS ABABA 000297 SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPARTMENT FOR AF/E-JWIEGERT,OES/PCI-MGERDIN,OES/STC- TBURNS,OES/SAT-FECHAVARRIA,EEB/IFD/OMA-JWINKL ER AND EEB/CBA- DWINSTEAD DEPARTMENT PASS TO USAID JEFF HUMBER USTDA KATHRYN DORMINEY DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC FOR ITA MARIA RIVERO DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC FOR REBECCA KLEIN DEPT OF ENERGY FOR TSPERL E.O. 12958: NA TAGS: KSCA SENV ENRG ETRD PGOV ECON ET SUBJECT: JANUARY REGIONAL ENVIRONMENT NEWSLETTER, EAST AFRICA ADDIS ABAB 00000297 001.2 OF 013 -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Summary: The Regional Environment Officer (REO) spent much of January 2010 on the road. Thanks to Dovie Holland in Madagascar for a busy 10-day orientation visit complete with informative meetings and field visits. REO and the Regional Environment Assistant (REA) also travelled to Cairo to attend a Science and Technology Outreach Workshop hosted by the Office of Naval Research- Global and the Naval Medical Research Unit-3, coming away with an expanded database of S&T contacts and partnership ideas. On the margins of the meeting, REO met with Egyptian officials at the Ministry of Water who noted an willingness to delay the next Nile-COM meeting beyond March 2010 if the US and/or donor countries needed more time to conduct diplomatic efforts to avert an NBI split. After a failed "charm campaign," Egyptians may consider the idea of a joint Ethiopia-Egypt political declaration. ¶2. (U) Back in Ethiopia, the African AU Summit took place January 31- February 2, with Ethiopian Prime Minister praised for his role in Copenhagen and he was re-elected to carry-on as the African continent's lead negotiator. Meles proposed the establishment of a high level panel to monitor development countries' financial commitments. USAID held a Global Climate Change (GCC) and Food Security strategy workshop February 1-5 in Nairobi to roll out the President's FY 2011 Budget Request. REO attended the GCC portion, with a readout provided in paragraph 13-16. Ethiopia continues to send mixed signals on its geothermal sector while Kenya moves full steam ahead. To view a copy of the REO newsletter online, visit our intranet site: http://addisababa.state.gov/REO_Newsletter/ default.asp?fname=2009. End summary. -------------- EAST AFRICA ALTERNATIVE ENERGY BUZZ -------------- ¶3. (U) Ethiopia-Japanese Geothermal Workshop: Aluto Langano Expansion: Regional Environment Specialist (RES) attended a half-day geothermal workshop in Addis on January 21, 2010. Participants included the Energy Minister and the State Energy Minister, the Japanese Ambassador to Ethiopia and staff, Energy Ministry ADDIS ABAB 00000297 002.2 OF 013 officials, representatives of GTZ and the World Bank, and several other GoE agencies. The focus of the meeting was a presentation study results carried out by a Japanese firm, West Japan Engineering Consultants (West JEC). Several speakers were also featured, including the Energy Minister, the Japanese Ambassador, a Nairobi-based Japanese External Trade Organization (JETRO) official, and representatives from the Ethiopia Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo),Geological Survey of Ethiopia (GSE) and Ethiopian Electric Agency (EEA),the regulator. ¶4. (U) According to Ethiopia's Energy Minister Alemayehu, Ethiopia's installed energy capacity will reach 2000 MW in few months time and his ministry's objective is to raise that capacity to 10,000 MW in the coming years. Alemayehu said that geothermal energy exploration is at an advanced stage at the Aluto and Tendaho sites. He also quoted the country's renewable energy potential to be 60,000 MW, and expressed his agency's interest in making geothermal energy a reliable and clean energy source in the country's planned energy mix. The Japanese Ambassador complimented the GOE on its overall development endeavor (roads, schools, etc., based on observation during his travel to various parts of the country) and the achievement in the hydro-power sub-sector in particular. The JETRO representative expressed his pleasure for having sponsored the Aluto- Langano expansion study. ¶5. (U) Summarizing the results of the one year study, the West JEC representative told the audience that based on analysis of data collected over the years and that of their current assessment, the Aluto-Langano Geothermal site is both technically and economically feasible to be developed. Aluto is located in an area where cracks on the earth's crest are spreading. These structures allow the hot fluid to travel to the surface where it can be tapped. There is heat, there is water, and there are fractures; the three important elements necessary to develop geothermal power. Moreover, manifestations at the surface indicate that the water is coming in contact with the hot rocks. ¶6. (U) According to West JEC, the economically optimal amount of ADDIS ABAB 00000297 003.2 OF 013 power that could be developed sustainably at the Aluto site, based on the currently available data, is 35 MW. That is in addition to the currently running pilot plant of 7 MW, giving a total of 42 MW for Aluto. (Note: GSE at various times has been giving estimates ranging from 50 to 75 MW for Aluto. End Note.) West JEC also proposed a more simplified technology from the existing binary (complex technology) plant for the new 35 MW power plant, which would be built on a 150m X 150 land area. The cost estimate for the new plant was put at $198.79 million with a foreign currency component of 85%. It was also noted that project costs could be brought down if GSE's two drilling rigs would be available for drilling. According to West JEC, the next steps will include appraisal drilling to complete the half constructed production model (note that West JEC could not come up with a fully completed production model due to lack of historical data on the pressure status of the operational wells) followed by design and construction. According to RES' discussion with the Director of GSE, the Japanese have agreed to finance those next step actions. The Ethio-Japanese agreement on the Aluto Expansion was signed in 2008 and the consultants have been engaged since 2009. ¶7. (U) EEPCO, GSE, and EEA briefed the meeting participants on their respective plans for the development and management of Ethiopia's renewable energy sources. In particular, the EEPCO presenter stated that the country's current generation capacity is 2100 MW; currently, 3967 towns are electrified; his company has 1.87 million customers (with 350,000 customers being added every year); EEPCO operates 9,000 Km of transmission lines; and electricity demand is growing at 25% per annum. The EEPCo presenter also cited that currently industry is the number one power consumer in the country, and by 2015, the country's total installed capacity would grow to 6352 MW. To satisfy the growing demand, EEPCO plans to produce more than 10,000 MW of electricity in the next ten years, at a cost of approximately 120 billion Birr to realize that plan. Regarding financing mechanisms, Ethiopia government representatives pointed out that the GoE preference is to pursue least-cost financing methods. ADDIS ABAB 00000297 004.2 OF 013 -------------- ACROSS ETHIOPIA -------------- ¶8. (U) African Union Summit ESTH Highlights: The 14th Ordinary Session of African Heads of State and Government was held January 31- February 2 at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia under the theme "Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Africa: Challenges and Prospects for Development." The Summit Declaration reinforced a commitment to the "catalyzing role of information and communications technology in the development and integration process in Africa," adding that ICT is a driving force for the overall development of the continent. The newly elected AU Chairperson, Malawian President Dr. Bingu Wa Mutherika, stressed the need to focus on agriculture and food security, stating in his closing remarks that "no child in Africa dies of hunger and malnutrition anymore." For AU climate change updates, see paragraph 29-30. For detailed reporting on the full Summit, along with readouts of G U/S Otero and AF A/S Carson meetings, see cables from the bilateral mission and the U.S. Mission to the African Union. ¶9. (U) Green Planet LLC Seeks Partners: Regional Environment Assistant (REA) met with a member of the Green Planet Group LLC that was in Addis Ababa for the African Union Summit. Green PlanetGroup LLC has launched a sales effort throughout Africa which seeks to bring new solar technologies to the marketplace and assist rural communities. GPG partners with a range of solar technology providers in the areas of lightening and water purification to provide its technology offerings. One such partner is World Water Solar Technologies the producer of Mobile Max Pure a solar powered, stand alone system designed pump, filter and purify water. The company claims the system can provision an average of 30,000 gallons of clean drinking water each day from lakes, rivers, wells or other water sources, with as little as five hours of daily sun exposure and can be set up in less than half an hour. The system can filter both fresh and salt water. GPG and its lightening partners donated a 150 ADDIS ABAB 00000297 005.2 OF 013 solar lights to Haiti relief efforts. The current goal of the GPG is to sell lighting and water systems to local communities through federal governments assistance. The estimated cost of the fresh water purification system is $120,000 and salt water is $150,000. -------------- WATER MATTERS -------------- ¶10. (U) Nile Basin Initiative, Countdown to Nile-COM: NBI negotiations have stalled over the issue of water security; downstream riparians (Egypt and Sudan) want protection of current uses and rights; upstream nations want to abrogate existing agreements. A split between upstream and downstream countries looms on the horizon, with upstream nations expressing a willingness to approve the Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA) at the next Nile Council of Ministers (Nile-COM) meeting tentatively scheduled for March 2010, even if that means moving forward without Egypt and Sudan. ¶11. (SBU) U.S. Embassy Cairo officer Todd Watkins and REO for eastern Africa met Dr. Abdel Fattah Metawie and Ambassador Mohamed Rakik Khalil (MFA advisor at the water ministry) in Cairo on January 19, to discuss the status of the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI). According to Egyptian officials, Egypt has done everything it can, short of changing its position on current uses and rights, to negotiate a means to avoid a split, from financial incentives (trade agreements, project assistance) to providing expertise (loaning hydrologists and engineers to the region). The next Nile-COM has been postponed and is now tentatively scheduled to meet the first week of April 2009. ¶12. (SBU) A political declaration by Egyptian President Mubarak and Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles asserting support for an accord could be an appropriate temporary solution at this time to avert an NBI split. Egyptians have expressed tentative interest in this route; discussions in Washington and in Africa on this subject are ongoing. -------------- SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY -------------- ADDIS ABAB 00000297 006.2 OF 013 ¶13. (U) Interagency Synergies: S&T and Climate Change: REO attended a USAID regional Global Climate Change (GCC) strategy workshop in Nairobi, Kenya, February 1-2. During the course of the meeting, three areas for S&T engagement in eastern Africa emerged that have potential GCC linkages. The big three: Energy sector enabling environment technical assistance and policy guidance (referencing a Kenyan model),waste management with clean energy technology (Mauritius model, UNEP, EPA, or DoD expertise),and remote sensing technology. ¶14. (U) Energy Sector Reform: While Ethiopia, and much of eastern Africa, has a high potential in energy for carbon markets, they suffer from weak enabling environments. Given the regions' severe energy shortages and growing needs, it is imperative to take every opportunity when engaging host-country energy sector counterparts to press the urgency for energy sector reforms, using Kenya's geothermal sector as a model. With countries increasingly associating with the Copenhagen Accord, complying with the objective to provide $100 billion annually beginning in 2020 to the countries most vulnerable to climate change will be an issue of much future discussion. Given that a country's contribution to this figure can include private sector investment, it becomes increasingly evident that the time is now to encourage eastern African governments to improve their countries' energy sector business and investment climates. U.S. private sector investment in eastern Africa's vast, yet virtually untapped, geothermal resources alone could prove massive if much needed investment-friendly reforms devised are passed. The GCC clean energy component of USAID funding should focus on helping governments devise strategies to create enabling environments that will attract large-scale energy sector investment in clean energy along the model of KENGEN in Kenya. ¶15. (U) Waste Management: In the meantime, opportunities exist for S&T outreach in waste management, with direct linkages to clean energy development. Using a Mauritius model, and capitalizing on DoD's or UNEP's expertise (currently working with Comoros on waste management),GCC funding could be used to support S&T partnerships ADDIS ABAB 00000297 007.2 OF 013 to confront a largely overlooked waste management problem throughout eastern Africa. Engagement in this area would have positive health and environmental implications in addition to generating clean energy. ¶16. (U) Remote Sensing: REDD+ criteria currently requires that participating countries need to have updated forestry inventories, yet most of eastern Africa lacks this data and lacks sufficient capacity to collect the updated information. During the course of my REO travels through the region, I have repeatedly fielded requests for technical assistance and capacity building in remote sensing, satellite imagery, and geographic information systems (GIS). From government officials in water, energy, and forestry ministries, to universities and parastatal research facilities and wildlife authorities and meteorological institutes, science and technology remote sensing needs are both real and high. ¶17. (U) REO Joins DoD in Cairo for S&T Africa Outreach Workshop: REO and REA attended a Science and Technology (S&T) workshop in Cairo, Egypt January 19-22. The workshop was co-hosted by the Office of Naval Research-Global Division and the Navy Medical Research Unit-3 based in Cairo. It brought together participants from National Institute of Health, the National Science Foundation, Africom, Department of State, and several branches of the U.S. military. The workshop was designed to bring together researchers, scientists, and policy advocates to develop a vision and focus for partnering, collaborating, and coordinating on science and technology outreach efforts in North Africa, the Middle East, and Sub-Saharan Africa. ¶18. (U) REO presented to the group, outlining the REO function, our mission and objectives, and highlighting areas for establishing partnerships both in eastern Africa and in the North Africa and Middle East region. The workshop was an exploratory exercise, designed to examine current local capacity with an eye toward identifying potential value added partnerships. The intent was for everyone to leave the conference with ideas for collaboration. From the REO perspective, the networking opportunity with this highly specialized group of scientists was invaluable. REO will follow up ADDIS ABAB 00000297 008.2 OF 013 with ONR-G regarding maritime tracking software that governments could use to track illegal fishing vessels in their waters. A common complaint of resource-strapped governments is that they are not even aware of the extent of illegal fishing given poor monitoring capabilities. REO also emphasized waste management opportunities. -------------- AROUND THE REGION - MADAGASCAR -------------- ¶19. (U) Orientation Visit: NGOs Hang on in Madagascar: REO and REA traveled to Madagascar for a 10-day orientation visit January 6-14, ¶2010. The visit included meetings in Antananarivo with a variety of international conservation non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as Conservation International, World Wildlife Federation, World Conservation Society, and CARE. We were briefed by USAID regarding the suspension of their environment program (see page 7) and by representatives from the World Bank who stated that while no new environment/conservation programs would be approved in Madagascar due to the ongoing political crises, projects in the pipeline would not be suspended. ¶20. (U) In addition to NGOs, the World Bank, and USAID, we met with staff from the environmental offices of the two main mining operations in Madagascar, Ambatovy and Rio Tinto's QMM. Both went into extensive detail regarding their environmental impact assessments and mitigation strategies to minimize adverse environmental degradation in relation to their companies' mining activities. They noted they were continuing to operate in spite of the political crisis, filling gaps left by suspended NGO programs. ¶21. (U) We also incorporated two site visits in the trip, one in Andasibe to tour a Conservation International land restoration and a nursery project site, and the other site visit to Antahala to meet with the local prosecutor office in a region heavily impacted by illegal rosewood logging. We rounded out the visit by having a discussion with Peace Corps Acting Director Leif Davenport. Leif spent a few months in Ethiopia to help Peace Corps Ethiopia develop a new Environment Volunteer program and had much to offer in the way ADDIS ABAB 00000297 009.2 OF 013 of comparisons between Ethiopia's Parks and Madagascar's Park 15 years ago. REA will look to Madagascar as a model as he continues to liaise with the Ethiopia Wildlife Conservation Authority. ¶22. (SBU) The conservation NGOs expressed disappointment with the suspension of USAID's environment program. While they understood the need to send a message to political actors in Madagascar, they unanimously argued that a withdraw would place the country's 15-year conservation efforts in jeopardy and create a vacuum that would allow illegal logging to expand and flourish, to the benefit of the cash- strapped acting government. The NGOs said they could continue the majority of their operations without USAID's assistance, but they noted the locally-based Malagassy NGOs would suffer. We saw an example of this in Andasibe, where two nurseries were consolidated into one for financial reasons, resulting in a considerable loss of seedlings. ¶23. (SBU) The destabilizing effect of Madagascar's political insecurity seemed particularly unfortunate given that the development community appeared to enjoy an impressive level of coordination among the NGOs. The NGO's in Madagascar seemed to achieve donor harmony, with the groups agreeing to target specified regions and then focus their NGOs' efforts in their areas of particular expertise within that region. A common theme was the importance of community based development and alternative livelihoods in regard to sustainable conservation. ¶24. (U) Political Uncertainty in Madagascar Amplifies Environmental Degradation: Madagascar is recognized as one of the world's leading biodiversity hotspots. It boasts 25 families of species that exist only the island nation, it has over 12,000 species of plants, 363 species of reptiles, 238 species of amphibians, 283 species of birds, and 165 species of fish. Most famously Madagascar is home to 99 species of lemur that can be found nowhere else on earth. Madagascar's richness of flora and fauna, however, does not insulate ADDIS ABAB 00000297 010.2 OF 013 it from political realities. In fact Madagascar's current political crisis has fueled even greater natural resource degradation and exploitation. The instability of the country's government, which culminated with a military-coup in Jan 2009 that removed President Marc Ravalonana from power and installed the current president and head of the High Transitional Authority Andry Rajoelina, has lead to greater unchecked plunder of the countries natural resources. ¶25. (U) Madagascar has traditionally faced threats to it unique biodiversity through habit loss, which has and continues to occur from unsustainable subsistence practices such as slash-and-burn agriculture, charcoal production, hunting and fishing. Many of these threats were and are being addressed by an active coalition of international NGOs such as Wildlife Conservation Society, Conservation International and World Wildlife Fund. USAID's environmental program has historically planned and integral role in the environmental planning and implementation of the countries protected areas system. ¶26. (SBU) Natural resources are inevitably placed at risk during political turmoil. The political fallout in Madagascar during 2009 and the early part of 2010 has resulted in its wildlife and flora suffering to an unprecedented extent. From January to April 2009, it is estimated that over 500 containers of illegal harvested exotic woods were exported and bound for China, with least 200 more containers waiting to be exported. The collection and export of illegally harvested exotic timber continues almost unabated with continue decrees from the transitional government that appear to provide legal cover for what is illegal activity. There is speculation that much of the funds recovered by the government in fines and other levies from the illegal activity are being used to fund the current regime. The current political crisis creates an interesting dynamic in which to address the issue of illegal logging which is not only impacting the livelihoods of the Malagasy people, but threatening the viability of a globally significant areas of biodiversity. ¶27. (U) A coalition of international NGOs continue to publicize the issues, but a lack of bi-lateral engagement at the highest government levels creates a limited number opportunities to pressure the ADDIS ABAB 00000297 011.2 OF 013 transitional government. Under the current political situation, in order to comply with the Lacey Act, USAID has been forced to suspend all non-humanitarian funding and in turn has closed its environment office. The World Bank is able to continue is current project work which will run for the next months, but has halted their planning and budgeting process for future environment programs. ¶28. (U) While the international community seems limited in its ability to respond, it has brought about unprecedented activity from Malagasy civil society. Alliance Voahary Gasy, a coalition of 29 Malagasy civil society organizations, is suing the transitional government in an effort to stop the exportation of the illegal timber. While the prospects of success for the lawsuit are very low, the individuals making up the alliance are willing to assume personal risk in order to press the importance of the issue. For the latest reporting coming from U.S. Embassy Antananarivo, see ANTANANARI ¶00000053. -------------- CLIMATE CHANGE -------------- ¶29. (U) Positive Climate for Meles at AU Summit: The 14th AU Summit concluded this week in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, during which Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi presented a report to the Summit on February 1 regarding the negotiation and the outcome of the Copenhagen Climate Conference, given his role of Head of the African Delegation in Copenhagen. African leaders expressed their appreciation to Meles for his "outstanding contribution to safeguard and maximize the benefits and interests of Africa," acknowledging that he had faced tough challenges negotiating with many stakeholders. Given the positive response, Meles was re-elected to represent Africa as chief negotiator in the next climate change conference in Mexico in 2010 and South Africa in 2012. The Summit also endorsed the Copenhagen Accord and it was stated that each member state should report its consent individually for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). ¶30. (U) During the AU Summit, Meles proposed the establishment of a ADDIS ABAB 00000297 012.2 OF 013 high level panel to deal with the implementation of the Copenhagen climate summit recommendations, where the international community pledged to give billions of dollars to mitigate the impact of climate change. While holding discussions with the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, Meles said that the panel will help mobilize funds and technical support to Africa, which many countries promised to extend to Africa to tackle the impact of climate change on the continent. Meles noted in a meeting with U/S Otero that US President Obama had expressed support for such a panel. -------------- BIODIVERSITY -------------- ¶31. (U) Regional Environment Officer (REO) and Regional Environment Assistant (REA) Ira Hersh met with Dr. Kifle Argaw, Director of the Ethiopia Wildlife Conservation Authority (EWCA),and Dr. Ludwig Sieg, Chief Technical Advisor on a GTZ-GEF EWCA capacity building project on Thursday, February 4, 2010, to discuss Ethiopia's positions regarding the CITES CoP 15 USG Proposals. Dr. Kifle noted that Ethiopia's position is still under formulation, but that traditionally Ethiopia generally does not take a position on issues that do not impact the country. It is therefore likely that Ethiopia will ultimately take a neutral (abstention) or CITES position regarding the shark, coral, polar bear and bobcat proposals. Dr. Sieg, a German national and conservation consultant with an extensive background in CITES, mentioned as an aside that it his understanding that Germany will support the two proposals to list six shark species in Appendix II. ¶32. (U) Dr. Kifle took the opportunity of the REO and REA visit to highlight Ethiopia's position on Elephants, a position that matches the Elephant Coalition Proposal. With a population of approximately ADDIS ABAB 00000297 013.2 OF 013 1,000 elephants residing on Ethiopian territory, and additional migratory populations crossing borders with Sudan, Ethiopia sees this as their primary focus at CoP 15 in Qatar. Dr. Kifle emphasized that Ethiopia supports the 9 year moratorium on ivory sales and does not wish to see this opened for discussion. If it is opened, Ethiopia supports the Kenya-backed Proposal six. ¶33. (U) Dr. Kifle and Dr. Sieg invited the REO office to an international fund raising conference tentatively scheduled to take place in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, February 18, 2010. The objective of the conference will be to raise funds to facilitate the safeguarding of the UNESCO World Heritage Simien Mountain National Park and its flagship species that include the Walia ibex and the Ethiopia wolf, while also securing the livelihoods of more than 500 area households that are may be relocated from within the parks borders to alternative areas. -------------- REO UPCOMING TRAVEL -------------- ¶34. (U) The Regional Environment Office for eastern Africa will remain in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia during the month of February due to an OIG visit. The Regional Environment Assistant (REA) is planning a tour of a few key Ethiopia National Parks in March/April; Regional Environment Office (REO) will attend the next Nile-COM meeting in Egypt tentatively scheduled for March but perhaps as late as August; REO will be on R&R April 1-18; REO will attend the next Nile Basin Trust Fund meeting in Entebbe, Uganda, April 20-23; REO and Regional Environment Specialist (RES) will attend the World Geothermal Conference in Bali, Indonesia, April 25-30; RES has applied to attend the 2010 International Seminar on Climate Change and Natural Resource Management in California May 9-30, and REO is working with OES/PCI to identify a location and a date in May for the ESTH Africa conference. #YATES