WHY PISCES?
The belief of PISCES is that livelihood security for the poor is contingent upon energy, water and food security - and that bioenergy is the pivotal issue at the intersection of these three factors. Today, 2.5 billion of the world's poorest people rely on bioenergy, in the form of firewood, charcoal, and increasingly biofuels, for basic energy services every day. However these practices often deplete forestry resources, contribute to the deterioration of watersheds, and promote desertification. PISCES is developing the new knowledge that can help turn this reliance on bioenergy and the resulting trade-offs into control over a sustainable energy future.
Policy Innovation Systems for Clean Energy Security (PISCES) is a five year initiative funded by the UK's Department for International Development (DfID). PISCES is working in partnership with Kenya, India, Sri Lanka and Tanzania to provide policy makers with new information and approaches that they can apply to unlock the potential of bioenergy to improve energy access and livelihoods in poor communities.
This new knowledge can also contribute to current global debate on whether and how humanity should find more of our energy from bioenergy sources, and how that pathway might assist the poor and the environment while also addressing the impacts of climate change through mitigation and adaptation efforts.
WHAT IS NEW?
FAO-PISCES report, Case Studies: Small-Scale Bioenergy Initiatives. Final report, (January 2009). Fifteen case studies from Africa, Asia, and Latin America were undertaken to assess the impacts that different types of local-level bioenergy initiatives can have on rural livelihoods. The report concludes with preliminary lessons and recommendations for future work.
| 