Seite - (000226) - in Evaluating Climate Change Action for Sustainable Development

ideas and expectations are being transmitted. In these cases, itwould be appro- priate for theMinistry ofCulture, or its equivalent, to be involved so no rules, customsor traditions are beingviolatedormisinterpreted. 6. Especially for hydroelectric projects of any scale, an integrated watershed management vision ought to be implemented to ensure the well-being of the entire watershed and that users of the lower watershed do not suffer negative impacts of activities carried upstream. 7. Despite thepovertyalleviationgoalsofmanyDREprojects, thisobjective isnot always achieved. In some cases, the poverty level of the beneficiaries hampers thelong-termsustainabilityof theprojects. In thecaseofsolarPVprojects,users are not always able tomaintain and/or replace their batteries or other compo- nents. In the case of hydroelectric projects, the poorest families can not afford the initial connection cost. Some of the case studies showed how this can increase the inequalitygap and leaves open thequestion if another aidprogram will eventually provide the service for those unserved homes. Based on this, governmentsmight need to consider subsidizing the electricity service for the poorest segment of the population to avoid increasing inequality in rural com- munities.Likewise,asubsidyforsocial servicescanalsobeconsidered.Asseen intheprojectofElBote, ruralschoolscannotbenefit fromtheelectricityservice because the parents can afford neither the connection nor themonthlybills and theMinistryofEducation rules indicate theycanonlycover thecostsof schools located inmunicipalities (Krause andNordstr€om2004). 8. Some case studies pointed to one key element that is often timesmissing from projects andwhich can prevent them fromattaining the triple objective:moni- toringandevaluation. Inoneof theprogramsevaluated, theADIMPVproject in Guatemala, I was able to see the evolution of projects of one developer over 10years and such lessons learneddo exist. I identifiedfivemain reasonswhy theprojects didnotmeet the triple objective. Thefirst one is level of poverty as people are too poor to afford the service (in the caseof thehydroelectricplants)or save foroperationandmaintenance (in thecase of solar systems) and access to available capital becomes important, if not neces- sary, for systemupkeep.Government schemes, suchas the loanof solar systems in Guatemala, seemed toworkverywell, except that thepoorestpeoplecannotafford necessarybattery replacement.Whethergovernmentorprivatelyowned,an impor- tant factor is the inclusionofproductiveuseapplications thatcanhelpfamiliesgain more income that couldhelpmaintainanavailable cashflow.Thesecond reason is inconsistency between users’ expectations and donor’s objectives. If users are not happy; it cancreate conflict, leading to systemsneglect.The third reason is lackof community involvement: userswere not satisfiedmainly in those projects inwhich community involvementwasminimalornon-existent,as in thebiggerprojectswith funding from multilateral development entities or private sector. Based on the different conceptions of community involvement, a recommendation is to gauge with the community how they envision their role to be throughout the project. Unreliable energy is the fourth reason: with multiple or constant blackouts, the 210 D.Ley