Energy, Environment & Development Network for Africa
Project members: Stephen Karekezi (team leader), Lugard Majoro, John Kimani, Waeni Kithyoma, Nicholas Owino
About: AFREPREN/FWD is a registered Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) based in Nairobi, Kenya, with vast expertise on energy in East and Southern Africa and some experience in West and North Africa. AFREPREN/FWD brings together over 300 African energy researchers and policy makers from Africa who have a long-term interest in energy research and the attendant policy-making process. AFREPREN/FWD has initiated policy research studies in 19 African countries namely: Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. AFREPREN/FWD also maintains close collaborative links with energy researchers and policy makers from Cote D'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Senegal. The key objective of the Energy, Environment and Development Network for Africa (AFREPREN/FWD) is to strengthen local research capacity and to harness it in the service of energy policy making and planning. Initiated in 1987, AFREPREN/FWD is a collective regional response to the widespread concern over the weak link between energy research and the formulation and implementation of energy policy in Africa.
Activities in the project: AFREPREN/FWD will play a major role in the elaboration of recommendations on improved CSO involvement in sustainable energy research and policy agenda setting. It will oversee the implementation of the conference embedding e-forum and organise the consortium conference meeting in Nairobi in summer 2009. AFREPREN/FWD will essentially contribute to the elaboration and discussion of preliminary recommendations. In addition, AFREPREN/FWD will help in assessing the current involvement of African CSOs in energy policy agenda setting. It will be promoting the CSO involvement in the policy stakeholder environment and organise a regionally based event to present the "CSO Involvement Net". As contribution to the dissemination activities, AFREPREN/FWD will prepare regular policy briefs, summarizing the findings, progress and outcomes of the project.