Author Description

The Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP) has produced a set of 24 indicators for the assessment and monitoring of bioenergy sustainability at the national level. The GBEP indicators are intended to inform policymakers about the environmental, social and economic sustainability aspects of the bioenergy sector in their country and guide them towards policies that foster sustainable development. FAO, which is among the founding members of the Global Bioenergy Partnership, tested the indicators in Colombia and Indonesia, with generous support from the International Climate Initiative (ICI) of the Federal Ministry of the Environment, Natural Resource, and Nuclear Safety of Germany. These reports provided the countries in question with an understanding of how to establish the means of a long term, periodic monitoring of its domestic bioenergy sector based on the GBEP indicators. Such periodic monitoring would enhance the knowledge and understanding of this sector and more generally of the way in which the contribution of the agricultural and energy sectors to national sustainable development could be evaluated. The testing in Colombia also provided a few lessons learned about how to apply the indicators as a tool for sustainable development and how to enhance their practicality.