Through the support of Climate Mali Network and as part of Mali's new environmental pact, AMADE Pelcode are advocating for use of a fuel efficient stove to minimise the degradation of Mali's dwindling forests. Working with the producers of the stove, AMADE Pelcode are lobbying tertiary education and government to support the project.
Background to the environmental pact
In recent years, Malians have vented their frustration and asked for more change in the management of their country. Civil society, through the "Climat Mali" network, of which the NGO AMADE PELCODE is a member, answered the call by proposing an "environmental pact" to the different candidates in the 2013 presidential election.
The pact was designed to function as a moral contract between Mali's citizens and its future leaders. Its goal was to ensure that sustainable management of the environment and sustainable development were key priorities for the future government.
The pact is composed of ten principles that are designed to support the concept of innovation based socio-economic development. It focuses on job creation; energy policy; sustainable development; pollution monitoring; the "polluter pays" principle; biodiversity conservation, research; and international and domestic politics.
To support the environmental pact, of which it is a founder, AMADE PELCODE launched an advocacy project on the transition to alternative energy at the end of 2013. The project was primarily designed to salvage the potential of Mali's forests - which have been heavily degraded by the excessive chopping of wood for local energy needs.
For more information about the environmental pact visit Environmental pact for a new Mali.
The LORENA stove project
This advocacy project was financed by CAN WA (West Africa Climate Action Network) and aimed to demonstrate that realizing the ten principles of the environment pact was possible but that putting pressure on policy makers to take immediate action was required, given the urgency of the matter.
A core objective of this advocacy project was to share information and raise awareness of the fuel-efficient LORENA stove and to help revitalize its producers – L'Union des Coopératives des Artisans et Forgerons du Mali (UNICAF).
In total, twelve urban and rural localities have been targeted as part of the advocacy project. Six localities used a single cooking pot, while six used multiple cooking pots.
According to the users, the fuel-efficient LORENA stove allows for a 50-60 percent saving of wood in comparison with traditional stoves (which are composed of 3 stones). In Mali, a typical basket of wood costs between 1,500 FCFA to 2,500 FCFA. In a traditional stove, this basket would last approximately 20 days. But with the LORENA stove, it can last from one month to a month and a half.
The workshop to lobby change
AMADE PELCODE recently held a half-day workshop with UNICAF to discuss the project. The workshop was an opportunity to get to know the UNICAF organization and to better understand their objectives. It also included a review of their actions to date, as well as the challenges that they continue to face when trying to improve fuel efficiency and reduce the pressure on forests by local communities.
At the end of the workshop a joint letter was issued. It was sent to different public institutions and asked that UNICAF be taken into account when constructing national energy policies. It also asked for UNICAF to be given more assistance to allow it to meet its statutory requirements (which include organizing its management committees in a timely manner and producing action plans up-to-date). In order to improve governance, UNICAF also require favorable political and administrative rules.
These institutions that letter was sent to, were the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Handcrafts, the Ministry of Trade, the Ministry of Environment and Water Sanitation, the Chamber of Commerce and the National Engineering School.
