18 January 2013: Zambia, in partnership with the African Development Bank (AfDB), Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), recently hosted two workshops on the theme “Green Growth in Africa: Concepts, Tools and Strategies for Building Greener Economies and a Sustainable Future.”

The workshops, with participants from over 20 African countries, took place in Lusaka, from 15-16 January, on enabling Green Growth in Africa, and from 17-18 January, on Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEAs) and Green Economy.

At the workshop on enabling green growth in Africa, the focus was on sharing African experiences relating to green growth and on fostering donor community interaction on African green growth initiatives. Participants convened in three sessions, on: the Global Rationale for Green Growth; Green Growth at the Country Level; and Enabling Environment for Green Growth. Speakers highlighted: provision of low-cost sustainable infrastructure; effective management of renewable and non-renewable natural resources; enhancing resilience of livelihoods and economic sectors; and experiences in Ethiopia, Mauritius, Nigeria, Rwanda and Sierra Leone. In addition, Ron Benioff, Global Green Growth Institute (3GI), provided a Special Session on Green Growth Best Practices.

At the workshop on SEA and the Green Economy, representatives from both the green economy and SEA communities considered concepts, key issues, drivers and challenges. The workshop addressed: the nature of a green economy; how SEA can support efforts to transition to a green economy; effective SEA models for supporting efforts towards transitioning to a green economy; and effective SEA approaches for particular opportunities and situations. Participants heard presentations on an introduction to SEA and SEA in the context of the AfDB. Case presentations included wind and solar energy generation SEA in South Africa, and other experiences from Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania and Zambia. [Workshop Webpage]