Closing date: 30 September 2020
The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the Green Growth Knowledge Partnership (GGKP) will apply and customize the Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) methodology for quantifying and valuing natural capital provided by the Kagera River and the surrounding ecosystems in northern Tanzania. We will pay particular attention to how natural capital can be affected by hydropower developments. For this purpose, we are seeking baseline data and studies on natural capital/ecosystem services/biodiversity value along and derived from that section of the Kagera River.
Background
The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and KnowlEdge (KE) are collaborating with the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), one of the six thematic information services provided by the EU’S Copernicus Earth Observation Programme, to integrate world-class data on climate into the Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) methodology.
One of the pilot applications in Northern Tanzania (see map, Figure 1) is being conducted jointly with the Green Growth Knowledge Partnership (GGKP). This SAVi application will assess:
- How the development of hydropower and electricity transmission infrastructure in northern Tanzania, planned alongside the Kagera River, could impact or ideally enhance natural capital and ecosystem services delivered by the river and its surrounding ecosystem,
- How the Kagera River and its ecosystems will be affected by climate change in the years to come.
Visit the SAVi website for more information: https://www.iisd.org/savi/c3s-data/
Data required
As we are aiming to value natural capital, biodiversity, and ecosystem services, we now seek information on the following:
- Biodiversity data, including endangered species (in northern Tanzania and border region with Uganda).
- Evidence on the prevailing state (baseline data) of natural capital, biodiversity, and ecosystem services derived from the Kagera River and its path in northern Tanzania and the final section in Uganda where the river finally flows into Lake Victoria.
- Studies and projections on ecosystem services deterioration due to hydropower plants and transmission infrastructure in the area and the resulting adverse effects on ecosystem-dependent human activities, such as agriculture and irrigation, fishing, potential land-use conflicts, etc. Both the impacts during the construction and during the operation of hydropower projects and transmission infrastructure are relevant for our assessment.
- Impacts on natural capital and ecosystem services caused by constructing and operating other energy infrastructure, including diesel generators, solar PV, and onshore wind.
All information and data shared with us will be acknowledged and academically referenced.
Source: Openstreetmap, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39219728
Submission of information and data
Please send the information and data via email to Laurin Wuennenberg, IISD: lwuennenberg@iisd.org
About IISD and GGKP
The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) is an independent think tank championing solutions to our planet’s greatest sustainability challenges. With our Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi), we calculate the costs of environmental, social, and economic risks and externalities and demonstrate how these costs affect the financial performance of infrastructure assets. The SAVi assessment at hand also integrates climate data from the Copernicus Climate Data Store.
The Green Growth Knowledge Partnership (GGKP) is a global network of experts and organizations dedicated to providing the policy, business, and finance communities with knowledge, guidance, data, and tools to transition to an inclusive green economy. The GGKP, with support from the MAVA Foundation and the GGKP Natural Capital Expert Group, is facilitating this assessment to demonstrate the value of the natural capital approach to infrastructure finance and green growth.