Global Sustainable Biomass Fund

Period 1: 1st October - 31st December, 2009

>> Focus on energy and climate change

The Global Sustainable Biomass Fund is commissioned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and implemented by NL Agency. www.agentschapnl.nl/globalsustainablebiomass This publication belongs to: NL Agency NL Energy and Climate Croeselaan 15 PO Box 8242 | 3503 RE Utrecht T +31 (0)88 602 92 00 www.agentschapnl.nl NL Agency | May 2010 Publication-nr. 2DBMX1001 NL Agency is an agency of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs responsible for the implementation of sustainability, innovation and economic development programmes for various governmental bodies. NL Agency is a department of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs that implements government policy for sustainability, innovation, and international business and cooperation. It is the contact point for businesses, educational institutions and government bodies for information and advice, financing, networking and regulatory matters. The division NL Energy and Climate change strengthens society by working on energy and climate solutions for the future. NL Agency also carries out two related grant regulations: the Sustainable Biomass Import Fund that aims to enhance the import of sustainable biomass and the Daey Ouwens Fund for small-scale renewable energy projects

The Fund
The Global Sustainable Biomass Fund supports developing countries in making their biomass production for energy purposes sustainable. Thus it enables them, for example, to access the local or international markets for sustainable biofuels. The target countries are all countries qualifying for Official Development Assistance (ODA), but the focus lies on Mozambique, Indonesia, Mali, South Africa, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Vietnam, Nicaragua and Colombia. The tenders of the Global Sustainable Biomass Fund are now completed. In total, 26 projects were accepted and a total amount of 12.5 million Euros was granted. An overview of the projects supported by the Global Sustainable Biomass Fund is presented in this factsheet. By mid 2013 all projects must be finished.

This is the first factsheet of the Global Sustainable Biomass Fund. The half-yearly factsheets will provide a regular update on the progress and results of the projects in the Global Sustainable Biomass Fund to enhance the insight of all stakeholders into the sustainable production of biomass.

The intention
The overall goal is to support sustainable economic growth and the improvement of peoples living conditions. The fund fits into the Netherlands wider purpose of contributing towards the

achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The Global Sustainable Biomass Fund is part of the Promoting Renewable Energy Programme, of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs/International Cooperation. The specific biomass goals are formulated in the policy paper Action Plan for Global Biomass (July 2008).

The issues
Using biomass for energy purposes was and still is a point of debate because of possible negative indirect effects. Over the past few years, a lot of effort has been put into formulating criteria for producing biofuels in a sustainable manner. In this respect the Cramer criteria for sustainable biomass are leading in the Netherlands. These criteria address social, environmental and economic aspects and pay attention to indirect effects as well. The Global Sustainable Biomass Fund intends to counteract the unsustainable production of biofuels by supporting pilot projects that apply sustainability criteria in their daily practice. A broad range of projects focusing on the primary production of various crops, processing residue streams and testing specific sustainability criteria will enable all the stakeholders involved to learn from their experiences. Thus, it will become clearer what obstacles and challenges exist in order to reach an ecologically sustainable and economically viable production of biofuels.

Programme goal of the Global Sustainable Biomass Fund Support developing countries in making their biomass production for energy uses sustainable Rendering the biomass chain sustainable Preliminary progress has been reported on enhancing the sustainability of biomass production. In South Africa, for example, the Bio2Watt project that sets up an anaerobic digestion process has received a positive record of decision by the Department of Environmental Affairs, becoming an example to all dairy farmers in the region who are currently polluting the water. Positive preliminary results have been received from Widjajatunggal Sejahtera in Indonesia as well, who planted a first testing field of sweet sorghum. It is expected that sweet sorghum can turn into a sustainable and economically viable biomass chain because its suitable both for bio-ethanol and for livestock fattening. Certification of the sustainable biomass chain The project of the Jatropha Alliance in Mozambique aims at preparing plantations for certification of Jatropha biofuels. An interesting report on existing sustainability standards and their suitability for Jatropha growers was developed, as well as a practical questionnaire to prepare the participating plantations for certification according to European standards. An interview with project leader Matthias Spoettle is part of this factsheet (Project highlight). The Brazilian project of Solidaridad, focusing on improving the sustainability of cane ethanol, has to deal with producers that are not very keen to certify their ethanol. However, this was calculated beforehand and promising progress has been made, as stakeholder meetings have been held with several labour union representatives, the Better Sugar Cane Initiative and an association of sugar mills. Solidaridad has even found a supply partner that is willing to be a first mover and certify its ethanol, enabling them to start developing an actual guaranteed sustainable supply chain of ethanol. Counteract undesired indirect effects and monitoring of macro effects of biomass production So far, no projects have started yet that work towards this goal. Key success factors of the Global Sustainable Biomass Fund Connecting with local initiatives and social embedding Connecting with local initiatives and ambitions and social embedding are key success factors for the sustainable biomass pilot projects. Significant headway has been made in this regard. Mali Folke Center for example, is setting-up a pilot biofuel project to agree on sustainability criteria for government agency ANADEB (Agence Nationale de Dveloppement des Biocarburants), established to enhance sustainable biomass production in Mali. ANADEB is actively involved and is supporting the project forcefully. Macha Works also reported that the involvement of key stakeholders in Zambia is running smoothly as they visited surrounding communities and started the training of local farmers who received Jatropha seeds. In addition, a Cooperative Society will be set-up, in which these local farmers will be united. Similar cooperation with

associations takes place in the Tequendama project in Colombia, where the national association Fedepalma is intensively involved in setting-up a biogas plant running on palm oil residues.

health care to their workers, for instance by giving out malaria drugs, says Spoettle. This might make it difficult, especially for small farmers, to eventually be certified. A less intense and complex methodology might be considered. With regard to the legality of the plantations, a compliance check is required. In Mozambique, this is a complex process due to bureaucracy. A lot of documentation is needed and some of the paperwork still isnt finalised. For instance, the process of the duat, i.e. land rights and stakeholder consultations, covers a broad field and has to be approved on the local, regional and national level. Every application for an extension of the number of hectares has to follow the same procedure again. Says Spoettle: A positive aspect for our project is that Mozambique is at the forefront with biofuels. We have had meetings with local stakeholders, the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment. They are interested in cooperation and in the empirical expertise we can provide. Sustainability is about people, planet and profit. Jatropha has the potential to satisfy all these aspects. Our project is an initial step to assess that potential for the first time.

Project highlight:
Towards sustainability certification of Jatropha biofuels in Mozambique We believe in sustainable biofuels Jatropha Alliances Matthias Spoettle: Jatropha is a good source for biofuels. We want to make sure that Jatropha is produced in a sustainable manner. In Mozambique, we are assessing the sustainability of Jatropha crops for the first time ever. The goal of the project is to build up knowledge for a future certification based on high standards. Sustainability is a key success factor for biofuels. In addition, certification will be required to get access to the European market.

Method
Our method is based on sustainability standards that are already in place, Spoettle continues, such as the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) and the Round table on sustainable biofuels, version 1, which is one of the most developed standards, but has not been applied in practise yet. Together with our partner, the Dutch organisation Partners for Innovation, we developed a questionnaire for assessing sustainability, based on the standards mentioned above. The project started in October 2009. In March 2010, we went on a field trip to Mozambique to go see the crops and to work on the questionnaires with the three Jatropha plantations that are participating in the project. The first tangible project result is a report featuring an inventory of the most suitable sustainability standards for Jatropha growers in Mozambique. The plantations visited in Mozambique operate on different scales: a small-scale operation (65 ha), a farmer (40 ha) and a large-scale operation (2.000 ha) one of the most advanced plantations in the Jatropha sector. The plantations have different approaches. Whereas the farmer focuses on producing biofuels for his own energy supply, the small-scale operation applies intercropping with forestry and the large-scale operation aims at producing biofuels for local and export markets. In the process of developing a methodology for sustainability assessment, it is a definite advantage to have these different types of participants.

Participants
Jatropha Alliance is the lead applicant in this project. The Global Exchange for Social Investments GEXSI is managing and coordinating the project in Mozambique. Partners for Innovation are developing the methodology for the sustainability assessment and support the companies on the ground in implementing the methodology. Sun Biofuels, Elaion Africa Lda and Agro Pecuaria de Manica are the local partners in Mozambique who are assessed within this project.

Results of the Global Sustainable Biomass Fund

The projects of the first tender of the Global Sustainable Biomass Fund started in September 2009. This factsheet is based on their reporting over this very first period, up till 31st December, 2009. Therefore the results reported so far are mostly in terms of building and strengthening partnerships, investing in social embedding, setting-up premises and plantations, creating start-up documents and acquiring permits. Policy goal of the Global Sustainable Biomass Fund Make a contribution to MDG 1: eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Number of people benefiting from sustainable biomass production Income growth as a result of sustainable biomass production Major positive effects of the projects on peoples lives werent expected in this phase yet. Most projects do report that they expect such positive effects to occur later in the projects life. It is more surprising and promising that in Zambia, where a new and certified Jatropha biomass chain is being set-up, it is reported that over 600 people are benefiting from the project already and have received a small premium of 50 Kwacha (0.05 Euros) on top of their normal income. Implementing organisation Macha Works expected only 250 workers to be interested in this phase.

More information
For more information on the Jatropha Alliance: www.jatropha-alliance.org. Report Selection of a sustainability standard for pilot assessments of Jatropha producers in Mozambique.

Outcome and lessons learned

The outcome so far is that complying with and assessing sustainability criteria might not be problematic; the participating plantations already have implemented many social and environmental aspects. However, a lot of documentation is needed to actually prove that these principles have been met. Every single aspect needs to be justified by specific documents, so it is not sufficient for the plantation managers to tell us that they provide

Sun Biofuels Jatropha workers - Chimoio, Mozambique