Participants at the second Regional Capacity Building Workshop in Africa, held under the theme “Barrier Analysis, Enabling Environment, and Development of Technology Actions Plans," engaged in discussions on developing measures to overcome barriers that hinder the transfer and diffusion of technologies, including the importance of addressing the root causes of such barriers.
17 February 2012: The Technology Needs Assessment (TNA) Project, which is implemented by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UNEP Risoe Centre (URC) on Energy, Climate and Sustainable Development, held the second Regional Capacity Building Workshop in Africa, under the theme “Barrier Analysis, Enabling Environment, and Development of Technology Actions Plans.”
At the workshop, which convened from the 14-17 February 2012, in Fringilla, Zambia, participants identified practical actions necessary to reduce or remove policy, finance and technology-related barriers to the development of national technology action plans (TAPs). Participants heard a presentation by the URC’s Regional Center for Africa, ENDA, on the characterization of technologies, and how to prepare TAPs through effective barrier analysis, and the establishment of an enabling policy environment through prioritizing policy options. They also engaged in discussions on developing measures to overcome barriers that hinder the transfer and diffusion of technologies, including the importance of addressing the root causes of such barriers using techniques, such as the Root Cause Analysis, the Fishbone Technique, and the Logical Problem Analysis model.
They further discussed economic assessment frameworks, and heard a presentation on cost benefit analysis. The latter was illustrated by a case study in Zambia on adaptation technology in the agricultural sector, which yielded significant benefits with marginal costs. Participants also held sessions on market mapping as a way to promote dialogue and improve understanding between market actors.
Discussions also addressed: funding available for mitigation and adaptation activities in developing countries; the potential for concessional loans for mitigation; the growing interest from private sector institutions; and private equity financing.
The TNA Project is implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on behalf of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The project implementation is carried out by UNEP’s Division of Technology, Industry and Economics (DTIE) and the UNEP Risoe Centre on Energy, Climate and Sustainable Development (URC). [Workshop Website]