Professional experience in the field of sustainable environmental management and the Clean development mechanism since 1995.

 

A. Support and advice as to the implementation of an agroforestry project that contributes to the fight against climate change and deforestation through afforestation with the support of the Congo basin forest fund and private technical and financial partners

 

1. Dates: regularly since beginning 2009

2. Location: Kinshasa and Bandundu provinces, the DRC

3. Organisation and parties involved: Novacel – Nouvelle société d’agriculture, de cultures et d’élevage, in charge since 2008 of the implementation of a project in the frame of the Clean development mechanism (CDP & Kyoto protocol) managed by the Bio Carbon Fund and monitored by the World bank. This programme is registered as such since 2012 (by the UN convention on climate change) and has mainly being executed in the Ibi-village station (cf. www.ibi-village.cd) in the eastern part of the Kinshasa province some 140 km from the city centre; In a first stage, it will consist in valorising over 6.400 ha (24.71 sq. miles or 15,814.65 acres) of land on which trees (almost 2 million to-date) and cassava are being grown (90 metric tons / week). A similar programme, amounting to €3.8 million, supported by the Congo basin forest fund and monitored by the ADB (African development bank), started in April 2012 in the southern part of the Kwamouth territory (province du Bandundu). In both cases, the implementing partners are private investors, such as Danone Inc, Suez Environment and Umicore to mention the most significant ones, the Congolese NGO GiAgro, established on the Ibi site and the Brussels based NGO, (Service laïque de coopération au développement - SLCD).

4. Position: as a consultant specialised in international project cycle management as well as in business administration, technical partner at various stages of the project execution and member of the Novacel advisory board.

5. Responsibilities:

As an integrated project, the programme being implemented by Novacel and its partners at à Ibi-village aims to build on all components of human development in the frame of poverty reduction. Andraman’s role consists therefore in making sure that the project follows the OECD/DAC recommendations as to capacity reinforcing with respect to the human ones (health, education…), the economic ones (employment creation, commercial opportunities, local markets etc.), the societal ones (culture, community development…), the environmental ones (fight against land degradation, deforestation, clean charcoal production, the institutional ones (learn to manage the common good and thus building the State reconstruction…), security (trough providing opportunities to communities and social groups living in precarious situations) and gender equality (through the alphabetisation of women and education of girls).

In close collaboration with the project promoters, Olivier Mushiete (managing director of Novacel and on location), his family and employees, their technical and financial partners, Andraman’s responsibilities range from the formulation of projects bound to be supported by the odd donor (multilateral or bilateral), the following up of the tender, the monitoring of the eventual implementation once the contract awarded, which includes providing advice as to management control or future developments.

 

6. Major activities and achievements:

The nature of this kind of commitment involves a very regular commitment from Andraman, for long periods occasionally since 2009. However the following contributions can be highlighted:

6.1. Project formulation and drafting of tender dossiers in the frame of call for proposals, which includes an administrative follow up

Since September 2009, drafting (or contribution to it) of several tenders, mostly for the EC (ENRPT and Energy facilities, Food security) as well as for the above mentioned Congo basin forest fund (supported by the UK and Norway) or the King Baldwin foundation often in partnership with the Belgian NGO ‘SLCD’ and the Congolese one, GIAGRO. As a reminder, the support from the CBFF was secured in 2010 and the implementation of the project (Ibi-village and southern Kwamouth) begun in April 2012. The award for the Congolese entrepreneur with the best governance practices was granted to Novacel by the King Baldwin foundation in March 2012.

6.2. Support and advice in business administration and logical framework approach;

Several logical framework workshops were conducted to those mainly involved in managing the programme at Ibi-village as to restructuring it and reinforcing its management information and monitoring & evaluation system; all parties involved were gathered at a major workshop organised late October / early November 2011 in Brussels. Support also includes being involved in various encounters or negotiations with public institutions (e.g. the French National forest office), private investors or technical partners on a regular basis.

 

7. Skills and experience acquired:

This experience allowed Andraman to reconnect with the programmes born in the wake of the adoption of the Montreal (1985) and Kyoto (1997) protocols, which translated into actions on the ground in Zimbabwe, notably when Roland Deschamps was there between 1995 and 1998 on behalf of UNIDO – United nations industrial development organisation (cfr this experience below in B as well as under the « Austral Africa »). At the time some projects involved setting up a « Cleaner production » or a « Clean PPP – Private-public-partnership », both in close collaboration with both the private sector and the academic world (and related research institutions).

Andraman finds it a real pity that, the private sector is often left aside when public aid funded programmes are being engineered or implemented in the name of petty or narrow-minded reflexes in spite of what is stated in major reference texts such as the Cotonou Partnership, which clearly dwells on the necessity of making it an driving engine of sustainable development.

On the contrary, the Clean development mechanism and the Bio-Carbon fund put entrepreneurship and private initiative at the rightful place and support numerous projects worldwide accordingly. However, the project being implemented in Ibi-village had to rely mostly on private support since 2008 (and even before) although it is the very first of its kind and of such a scale in Sub-Saharan Africa. As indicated earlier, it is only in 2012 that the project was officially registered as a CDM one by the UN framework convention on climate change. In the meantime, notable results were achieved and being very knowledgeable of the realities of the private sector in Africa, Andraman could only be very fortunate to be a partner of such an extraordinary initiative.

 

B. In charge of monitoring all programmes and projects financed by the United Nations industrial development organisation in Zimbabwe

1. Dates: June 1995 – September 1998

2. Location: Harare, Zimbabwe, Vienna, Austria and Johannesburg, South Africa

3. Organisation: United nations industrial development organisation (UNIDO). An agency which purpose is to support industry in general in countries that are developing or with economies in transition. Head quarter in Vienna, 169 member States and present in some 35 countries. In 1998, staff amounted to almost 800 and could mobilise some $375 million yearly on top of its own overhead budget (+/- $200 m.).

4. Position: Junior professional officer (seconded by the Belgian ministry of Foreign affairs and international development).

5. Responsibilities:

In charge of the UNIDO within the local UNDP representation in Harare, Zimbabwe, monitoring 4 other austral Africa countries (Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa to some extent).

My role comprised promoting, coordinating and monitoring various programmes that aimed at improve and optimize the management of natural resources across the industrial landscape.

I would regularly organise project evaluation missions, economic missions, conferences and trainings. I would report to the « Africa » director in HQ (Vienna) and the regional director based in Lusaka (Zambia) as from 1997. I took part in the UNDP management committee and in the coordination meeting of all UN agencies present in Zimbabwe.

6. Achievements:

For 3 years, I oversaw and monitored the implementation of over 15 projects of various sizes amongst some 30 being programmed between 1995 and 1998 in Zimbabwe and neighbouring countries. These programmes would operate following a three-folded strategy:

 

1. Promoting industrial waste minimisation techniques (« Cleaner production mechanism » - Montreal and Kyoto protocols); this included improving cost control, retreatment planning in order to aim at more efficiency and effectiveness;

 

2. Industrial restructuring of SME that would sometimes be sister companies of greater international entities (Anglo American, Delta Corp.) within specific sectors such as the leather industry (“from the animal to the shoe”), agro-industry or metal works;

 

3. Promoting foreign investment, notably by introducing financial incentives and marketing techniques linked with support to public sector and scientific research in the areas concerned by the above components.

 

Main projects

 

6.1. National cleaner production program for Zimbabwe (budget +/- $ 3.75 m.):

Started in 1994 with the collaboration of the greater industrial companies operating in the country (Anglo American, Delta Corporation etc.);

- Member of the programme’s steering committee;

- In charge of promoting and monitoring the implementation of waste minimisation techniques and cost control in a sugar refinery, a brewery, a food plant (tea, coffee, cereals) and a tannery;

- In charge of monitoring a industrial waste bio-methanisation pilot unit;

- In charge of promoting centralised resource management within an industrial park.

 

6.2. Support to the leather industry (budget $1 m./year between 1985 et 1998):

Very important UN Programme across the world geared at restructuring industrial units throughout the whole process (from the slaughter house and tanneries to the shoe maker) as well as vocational training.

- Overall coordination of the programme in Zimbabwe and member of the monitoring committee within the National leather institute;

 

6.3. Support to the implementation of Agenda 21 & the Montreal Protocol ($250,000 /year): Recycling of CFC gases implementation of environment safe techniques in the refrigerating, air-conditioning and fire-fighting equipment sector:

- In charge of monitoring the execution of the programme.

 

6.4. Zimbabwe investment promotion & competitiveness improvement programme ($300,000/year).

- Liaising with the Industrial Development Corp. –IDC), main player in manufacturing sector (automotive construction, glass, cement, electric cables etc.)

- Monitoring of the launching of a vocational training programme in 1997-98.

 

6.5. Metallurgy sector restructuration programme of COMESA member States ($800,000 /y.) included an important component for Zimbabwe and Zambia. Zimbabwe developed an autarchic metal works industry during the Rhodesian civil war.

 

7. Skills and experienced acquired between 1995 and 1998:

 

- Expatriation in Southern Africa

- Working for a UN agency and within a multicultural environment;

- In charge of an office with quite a large degree of autonomy;

- The coordination of projects in varied industrial sectors and areas;

- The development of a network of contacts within the scientific and industrial planet throughout:

- Multilateral agencies (e.g. European development fund of the EC) and bilateral co-operation ones (Belgium, Netherlands, France, UK, Scandinavian countries, Germany, Japan, Canada, Italy, United States etc.)

- UN agencies et programmes (UNIDO, UNDD, WFP, FAO, UNIFEM, UNFAP, World bank group – IBRD, IFC, MIGA et IDA, UNV, WHO, UNHCR, WLO-IWB, UNICEF, UNEP, etc.);

- NGO, consultancies and specialised firms in the area of EPCM (project engineering, procurement, contracting and management);

- National and international media.

 

Besides, as co-ordinator of the mission of the UNIDO director for Africa at the SUO summit in Harare in June 1997, that brought together African heads of States (Mandela, Kabila L-D., Museveni..) and other world leaders, high level diplomats and top officials amongst which the UNO Secretary general Mr Koffi Annan, I organised his programme and took part in press conferences and radio /TV interviews; I also had the opportunity to assist Mr Bé, Special envoy of the UN SG in Angola, during his stay while attending the summit, as well as his wife.