Fifth meeting of the Joint Committee: 2 new projects approved

Rome, January 29, 2019 - The fifth meeting of the Joint Committee was held in Rome within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Italian Ministry of the Environment, Land and Sea the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development of Democratic Republic of Congo. During the meeting, an update was provided on the various initiatives approved during the Joint Committee previous meetings.

In relation to the Bukavu Green Community as pioneers of an integral and sustainable development in the Democratic Republic of Congo project, which promotes renewable energies and energy efficiency measures in rural areas of the country that do not have access to the national electricity grid, a representative of the Sant'Egidio Community, as the project execution agency, provided an update on the activities carried out by presenting a technical and financial report, subsequently approved by the Joint Committee.

With regard to the concept note Kinshasa network of waste collectors, which envisages the construction of a facility for the collection, disposal and regular evacuation of waste in the municipality of Gombe, during the previous meeting of the Joint Committee it was agreed that the Africa Center for Climate and Sustainable Development, (ACSD), in collaboration with the Congolese Ministry of the Environment, could elaborate a detailed project proposal. This collaboration has continued and the aforementioned project proposal will be finalized in the coming months.

During the meeting, two new projects were approved:

• Systèmes décentralisés hors rose a basés sur les sources d'énergie renouvelables et les mesures d'efficacité énergétique, which will make it possible to put into operation off-grid decentralized systems based on renewable energy sources, in order to promote inclusive and sustainable solutions to improve universal access to energy. The project was developed by the UNDP territorial office, in collaboration with the Ministry of the Environment of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the basis of a concept note previously approved by the Joint Committee.

• Sustainable Energy Services for Rural DRC, which will implement a sustainable model to provide clean, reliable and affordable electricity, through an off-grid power plant, on the island of Idjwi in the province of South Kivu, in the villages of Kashara and Kimomo. The project, whose concept note was approved during the last meeting of the Joint Committee, was developed with the support of AVSI, (Association of Volunteers for International Service). Finally, the Joint Committee approved two concept notes, which will need to be further detailed in order to become real projects.

• Education and Communication Program on REDD+ and Climate Change in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which aims to strengthen public education and awareness campaigns on climate change adaptation and mitigation measures, with particular reference to the reduction of deforestation and forest degradation.

Sustainable Energy for Peace and Development in Bahavu, (Kalehe territory), and Bashali Mokoto, (Masisi territory), Chieftain ciesalong the Western littoral of Lake Kivu, Eastern DR Congo, which aims to facilitate women's access to clean and sustainable energy in the territories of Masisi and Kalehe.