GEOTHERMAL DEVELOPMENT AND GENDER – THE CASE OF THE GEOTHERMAL VILLAGE CONCEPT

GEOTHERMAL DEVELOPMENT AND GENDER – THE CASE OF THE GEOTHERMAL VILLAGE CONCEPT.

Geothermal and The Eastern Africa Rift Valley.

What is geothermal ?. Natural renewable resource under earth’s surface=> water and energy. Green energy source; solution for reducing CO2 emissions, climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience. Continuous and regular production, independent from climate and daily fluctuations (unlike other renewables). In Africa, primarily found along the Eastern Africa Rift Valley (EARV)..

What is geothermal ? ( contd ).

What is geothermal ? ( contd ).

What is geothermal ? ( contd ).

What is geothermal ? ( contd ).

Afar: In this arid desert , condensation of geothermal steam avails potable water.

What is the EARV? Its context. A continental rift: Part of the Afro-Arabian Rift system. A complex geological feature – includes the Red Sea and Aden oceanic rifts, extending from Jordan through Eastern Africa to Mozambique . 6,400 km long; 48–64 km wide. Enters Africa through Red Sea and into the Ethiopian Danakil plain (northern Afar, Ethiopia) and from the Gulf of Aden through the Gulf of Tadjourah (Djibouti). Then extends south & divides into 2 branches: Eastern branch (HT: electricity production) & Western branch (LT: DU applications) ( Omenda et al., 2018). Some parts of the EARV are very hot and dry/arid ( eg Afar is one of the hottest place on earth)..

D:\Mes documents\conférences\Scan4.tif. Rift Valley: Where Africa is divided A map showing geological structures and location of the Afar - Afar ( Ethiopia , Eritrea and Djibouti).

Arid , low altitude part of the Rift Valley: Pastoralists , semi nomadic populations (= yellow ) Bordered with green, fertile plateaus at high altitude: Crop farmers (= grey , dark green) Rift (= white ).

What is the EARV? ( contd ). abstract. The map shows the 2 branches: Eastern branch (dominantly volcanic; bearing high temperature systems allowing electricity production) Western branch (dominantly tectonic and bearing systems more suitable for direct uses applications) Arrows indicate spreading rates (mm/years).

Particularity of geothermal resources along the EARS.

The paradox of geothermal development along the EARV.

The paradox of geothermal development along the EARV ( contd ).

Steam naturally discharge from open fissures and vents and can be tapped at the surface, near the surface, or at depth according to project size..

Geological conditions are generally favorable for geothermal development (over 600 MWe installed in Kenya, and 5,000 MW foreseen by 2050). Presently planned to answer electricity needs of the interconnected grid ( serving mainly cities !).

Geothermal development : Serving the national grid ; by-passing local populations.

Geothermal development : Serving the national grid ; by-passing local populations ( contd ).

Geothermal development : Serving the national grid ; by-passing local populations ( contd ).

Classical Geothermal Development Approach: G aps.

The Geothermal Village Concept, Géo2D and the GV1 Project.

The Geothermal Village Concept, its History and the Motivation Behind it.

The Geothermal Village Concept: Addressing Classical Geothermal Development Approach Gaps.

The Geothermal Village Concept: Addressing Classical Geothermal Development Approach Gaps ( contd ).

Cascade use of energy and water answering local population needs.

Geothermal Village Concept – diagramatic representation.

Géo2D. F rench Limited Company set up by J. Varet in 2011. O verall objective: Promote sustainable development from geological resources. International e xperience. GS under a geologist; SS under a Social Scientist. R oles logically also reproduced in the management, design and activities of the framework of the GV concept. Recent years (at least last 8 years), most work in Africa, especially along the EARV..

GV1. Founded on GV concept ( addressing existing gaps). Response to local populations’ socio-economic needs (not national grid needs ). 14 organisations (7 AU including 2 CBOs and 7 EU) UL, AAU, UoN , SSSA, UNiTO , Fraunhofer IEG, Géo2D, ODDEG, UBO, NORCE, EDCL, SEPCO, HHGCBO and AGAP . Implementation in Kenya, Rwanda, Djibouti and Ethiopia. Géo2D conceived the project & takes active part in the Geosciences and Social Sciences, particularly concerning the gender component..

GV1 ( contd ). Objective: Introduce geothermal-based stand-alone electric and thermal energy systems to off-grid African communities, through: Providing template case-studies Demonstrating feasibility Having appropriate technology level Initial steps of realising a long-held dream, to promote geothermal in addressing socio-economic needs (especially food security) of some of most vulnerable EARV’s populations. Gender a central pillar..

Gender and the Geothermal Village Concept.

Gender and the Geothermal Village Concept. In GV, gender considered both from the point of view of gender roles and gender relations => influence on the participation of respective community members (Onyango, 2020)..

Gender and gender roles. Gender: Socially constructed norms and ideologies which determine the behaviour and actions of men and women (World Development Report, 2012). Gender is closely associated to gender roles..

Gender roles and gender relations:. Learnt role or behaviour by a person as appropriate to their gender, determined by the prevailing cultural norms; hierarchical relations of authority between women and men. Thus, gender roles can be viewed as gender functions and as behaviour learned as appropriate to a person’s gender. Defines how people should interact with others and how others relate to them, depending on their attributed gender..

Gender roles and gender relations:. Therefore gender roles brings into play the aspect of gender relations. G ender roles and gender relations therefore closely inter-related . They are a construct that tend to disadvantage women and girls..

Gender roles in terms of functions. Women and girls are often expected to perform roles in the reproductive, productive and community management domains (thus women’s ‘triple role’). Tend to take the form of tasks and activities relating to creation and sustaining of the family and the household; therefore, unpaid for and voluntary..

Gender roles in terms of functions ( contd ). Time-consuming roles (little to no time, energy or and/or space for any other productive activities; leadership roles in the community management domain). So have a negative effect on girls/women’s situation ( eg on women’s economic power). Men and to some extent boys: Prominent roles in the productive domain..

Gender roles in terms of functions ( contd ). Community management role: Men perform more visible and higher social value activities (sit in assemblies and councils => participate in administration of local justice). Women : “Less visible” activities (an extension of their reproductive role) for the benefit of the community => provision and maintenance of scarce resources of collective consumption, such as water, health care and education..

Gender roles in terms of behaviour. Culturally inappropriate for women to speak in public (barrier to participation in geothermal processes eg decision-making processes). Ironically, women in charge of water and energy provision (both provided by geothermal), so should be the most involved in geothermal processes. Gender relations tend to lead to insubordination of women and girls by men and boys..

Gender roles in terms of behaviour ( contd ). Thus, gender relations end up being power relations; and gender roles tend to perpetuate these power relations; which are characteristically based on power inequalities (Koester, 2015). Gender therefore shapes power (from ‘private’ household relations to the highest levels of political decision-making) (Koester, 2015). Power relations attributed to gender brings into play gender intersectionality..

Gender intersectionality. Gender intersectionality: How multiple-faced socio-demographic identities of individuals and groups such as race, gender, ethnicity, age, education level, marital status, socio-economic status (class), disability, etc interact to influence their experiences in given situations. B rings into question issues of oppression, discrimination and/or privilege; ie how these multi-faced identities connect, overlap and interact with one another to shape the experiences of different individuals and groups in geothermal processes. D emonstrates a multi-faced connection between race, gender, and other systems that work together to oppress while allowing privilege. These differences in experience also present within the same population. It brings into play the aspect of layers of marginalisation ..

Gender intersectionality and the GV concept. The GV framework therefore goes into local communities cognisant of the existence of layers of marginalisation , especially when dealing with IPs populations, letting this knowledge inform actions within each given population. Different from the classical approach, the GV concept therefore treats local populations as stakeholders, not in terms of “impact” (ref ESIA approach; ref Onyango, 2020); emphasis on gender intersectionality, not numerical gender balance in representation eg in attendance of meetings. Gender issue taken further and deeper..

The practicalities of addressing gender in the Geothermal Village concept.

The practicalities of addressing gender in the Geothermal Village concept.

The GV concept’s practicalities of addressing gender in the context of societal ascribed functions.

Fetching water among the Afar – a role mainly carried out by women and girls.

Steam emanating from volcanic rocks at Alutu volcano, Ethiopia. Locals condense the steam to provide drinking water Credit: Elspeth Robertson.

Fetching water among the Luo – a role mainly carried out by women and girls.

Fetching water among the Luo – a role mainly carried out by women and girls.

Fetching firewood among the Maasai – a role mainly carried out by women and girls.