ACEP Raises US$3M To Support Civil Society In Resource Governance Ecosystem

Ford Foundation, an independent, nonprofit grant-making organization, has supported the Ghana-based African Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) with US$3 million to set up an Extractive Industry and Climate Change Governance Fund (EICGF).

The Fund is a five-year initiative aimed at promoting and supporting more equitable governance of natural resources that lead to sustainable and inclusive development in West Africa.

Focusing primarily on Nigeria and Ghana, the Fund, which will be managed by ACEP, an energy policy think-tank, will support a network of resource governance organizations and civic actors, anti-corruption organizations, budget advocates, and grassroots and community organizations addressing inequality as it relates to the natural resources sector in the region.

Climate change reflects a fundamental failure of global development that is rooted in the extraction of natural resources.

In West Africa, the extraction of metals, minerals and fossil fuels has exacerbated inequalities and caused severe environmental damage that drives climate change.

Whether natural resources aggravate or reduce inequality depends on who controls those resources, how the benefits that derive from them are distributed across different communities, and whether those resources are used in ways that foster ecosystem restoration or degradation.

“With renewed efforts toward energy transition, there is an opportunity to transform the natural resources sector toward embracing equitable governance and sustainable practices,” Anthony Bebbington, Director of Ford’s Natural Resources and Climate Change Programme, commented during the launch of the Fund last Friday.

“An energy transition that is both low carbon and socially just will be an asset that helps economies to thrive in West Africa at the same time as it mitigates the impacts of climate change. Key to this is centring the needs of local communities affected by resource extraction and a re-envisioning of development models and energy systems that benefits communities and sustains the planet,” he stated.

With dwindling funding support and in the face of the pandemic, civil society organizations in West Africa are facing significant challenges that impact their sustainability and capacity to effectively promote policy actions that target inequality and injustice.

 “To thrive, we need a strong civil society that can help shape a more sustainable future for West Africa,” said Emmanuel Kuyole, Programme Officer for Ford’s Natural Resource and Climate Change Programme.

“As COVID-19 exacerbates deep-seated inequalities, funders must double down their support for civil society organizations to influence decisions that affect the communities they represent.”

The Ford Foundation’s $3 million investment comes from the foundation’s unprecedented $1 billion social bonds launched in 2020 to help strengthen and stabilize civil society organizations globally during the pandemic.

The Extractive Industry and Climate Change Governance Fund are in addition to Ford’s ongoing support for organizations working to advance equitable governance of natural resources in the region.

“As we viscerally face the impacts of multiple crises—climate change, deep economic inequality, and the pandemic—now is the time to invest in a recovery that puts people at the centre of solutions,” said Benjamin Boakye, Executive Director of Africa Centre for Energy Policy during the virtual launch of the Fund via zoom.

“To do this, we need a thriving civil society with capacity, credibility and courage to steer West Africa toward a sustainable and equitable future. We call on more funders to join us in this effort.”

The Extractive Industry and Climate Change Governance Fund will focus on funding civil society organizations that work to address significant policy implementation gaps and advocate for reforms in the following critical resource governance areas:

• Revenue and benefit-sharing policies – Revenues from resource extraction must be equitably distributed to meet the development priorities of citizens, particularly of impoverished communities, persons with disabilities, and communities affected by resource extraction.
• Prevalence of resource-backed debts – Governments, civil society, and the natural resources sector must advance an African solution to development finance that moves away from a model that keeps countries in debt and stunts socioeconomic progress.
• Active citizenship in resource governance–Citizens must be able to demand transparent, efficient, and effective revenue allocation, expenditure, and accounting of revenues from natural resources extraction to help promote equitable socioeconomic development.
• Resource extraction with high social and environmental standards–The extraction of natural resources must account for and mitigate the environmental and social impacts on the host communities and their inhabitants. Resource extraction should not leave these communities worse off than they were before the extractive activities.
• Strengthening civic spaces–Civic actors and advocates should be able to meaningfully engage governments in the demand for transparency and accountability in the natural resources sector.

Source: https://energynewsafrica.com