Sustainable Transport Action Network for Africa

Africa is the fastest urbanizing continent in the world with urban population growth rates estimated to be double national growth rates. Although urban transport environmental problems are growing, the region’s urban transport development process is still embryonic and, with modest initiatives, could be influenced for adopting a more sustainable development path. Although African countries are often considered to be low-greenhouse gas emitters, there are indications that in the not-too-distant future, the continent’s transport sector could be a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. This project preparation phase will develop a medium sized project that will establish a regional mechanism, The Sustainable Transport Action Network for Africa (SUSTRAN-Africa), that will promote the adoption of suitable sustainable transport options (NMT-Non Motorized Transport; TDM-Transport Demand Management; BRT-Bus Rapid Transit; and, LUP-Land Use Planning) which have proven successful in Asia and Latin America in African urban centers. It will be a regional networking initiative, maintained and housed by an existing local organization (s) in collaboration with other local and regionally-based institutions which have an expertise and interest in sustainable transport as well as international organizations of that nature. It will also include the identification of African urban centers that are ready to implement sustainable transport initiatives with priority given to the aforementioned four set of transport options (BRT – Bus Rapid Transit; NMT- Non-Motorized Transport; TDM – Transport Demand Management; and, LUP – integrated urban transport and Land-Use Planning) that have proven successful in other developing countries of Asia and Latin America.

Survey on urban energy and transport in informal settlements in Sub-Saharan African Cities

A comprehensive survey is to be undertaken in the urban energy and transport sectors within informal settlements in three Sub-Saharan African Cities, namely Nairobi, Dakar and Lusaka. The results of this survey will attempt to quantify and categorize mobility barriers and needs among informal settlement populations; quantify and categorize barriers to accessing affordable energy services among informal settlement populations; derive indicators for comparing mobility and energy-related pro-poor investments within informal settlements and develop recommendations on policy implications of transport/energy provision in the areas of economic, social, health and environmental considerations in these cities.

Regional policy to to promote energy access in Africa and Asia

At the regional level, engagement with African and Asian energy ministers for developing improved strategies for access, particularly within urban informal settlements. UN-HABITAT will also help identify appropriate regional policy frameworks in Africa and Asia to promote and scale up opportunities for energy access and to remove regulatory and market barriers for the same.

Decentralized energy systems and better energy environment linkages

UN-HABITAT promotes decentralized energy systems in small Kenyan towns for sustainable use of biomass to ensure affordable energy access. It also promotes urban grid extensions through the establishment of urban electricity cooperatives in Kenya to provide connections to at least 1000 households by the third year. The agency also provides Multi-Functional Platform access to selected commercial micro enterprises which cannot be directly connected to the grid. Finally, UN-HABITAT is promoting better energy environment linkages through promotion of more energy efficient cooking stoves in Thailand.