Masters Degrees (Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies)

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This collection contains dissertations sponsored by the Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies.

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Browsing Masters Degrees (Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies) by Author "Lagrange, Chantal V. M."

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    Carbon finance and reforestation : a survey of African cases
    (Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2010-12) Lagrange, Chantal V. M.; Stamm, A.; McDonald, I. A. W.; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. School of Public Leadership.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis addresses the topic of carbon finance in the context of reforestation and avoided deforestation. The research is based on the Nhambita Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) and Agro-forestry carbon offset project in North West Mozambique. The thesis raises important questions in terms of the relevance of carbon offset projects to human and biophysical realities in Africa. The research was conducted through the lens of ethnographic development and explores how carbon offset projects are received by recipient communities. What issues do such projects attempt to address? Are the targeted issues the „real‟ issues, as they are perceived by local populations in developing countries? Who do such projects benefit and who do they benefit the most? The thesis comprises two academic papers. The first paper is a synthesis article presenting a review of key issues with regards to the roll-out of improved cooking stoves (ICS) in the context of carbon offset projects, combined with a pre-feasibility study on the introduction of ICS in the Nhambita village. It shows how biomass will continue to play a dominant role in addressing Southern African energy needs and how a large scale dissemination of ICS could play a seminal role in alleviating pressure on threatened ecosystems. The paper, however, recognizes that ICS programmes are not a panacea and discusses the pitfalls of paradigms underlying stove-provision programmes to date. Based on a review of the pertinent literature and on the field work conducted in Mozambique, conclusions are drawn that environmental and health considerations do not constitute a sufficient „pull‟ factor from the end user‟s perspective. It appears that best channels to engage with the targeted users are economic and social rationales. This debate is of particular relevance to climate change policy but it also offers insights in terms of the acceptance of such programmes by the target communities. The second paper is related to the first in that it discusses the opportunities and challenges associated with the developmental ambitions of carbon offset projects. By virtue of the market systems that regulate them, such carbon offset projects imply an innovative developmental praxis, whereby project recipients become the owners and the sellers of a tangible good in the form of carbon credits. This innovative dimension is, however, thwarted by the fact that such projects stir welfare expectations from project participants. Such livelihood improvement expectations become the fertile ground for difficulties reminiscent of the weakness of traditional aid. The intricacies underpinning this new mechanism that combines land use changes with environmental conservation and livelihood benefits are debated in the context of private entrepreneurship and global markets. The analysis is anchored in a socioanthropological interpretation of climate change science and lays the emphasis on the risks and constraints of such projects, from the perspective of the target communities. The paper concludes by discussing the policy implications of these findings.