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the flow

INDIGENOUS-LED WATERSHED MANAGEMENT AT 2ND ASIA PARKS CONGRESS

5/30/2022

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Indigenous peoples have a wealth of knowledge and long-proven environmental governance systems that support healthy watershed ecosystems. In turn, Indigenous-led watershed conservation can contribute toward biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation and climate resilient hydro mini-grids. 

HPNET Board Member, Hon. Adrian Banie Lasimbang, recently brought this important message to the 2nd Asia Parks Congress, which was held at the Sabah International Convention Centre from May 24-29, 2022.  Hon. Lasimbang is an Advisor for TONIBUNG and JOAS and a Board Member for the Right Energy Partnership (REP).  At the congress, Adrian presented a paper on the ways in which Indigenous-led watershed conservation contributes to biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation, highlighting the role of the Tagal system in watershed management, through a case study in Ulu Papar, Sabah.  Tagal refers to the watershed stewardship system/protocols of the Orang Asal Indigenous communities of Sabah. 
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Hon. Adrian Banie Lasimbang presenting at the 2nd Asia Parks Confress. Source: B. Lasimbang.
Read More:
  • Kickoff Session: Climate Resilient Solutions to Hydro Mini-Grids – Featuring Hon. Adrian Banie Lasimbang sharing perspectives on climate resilience, the water-energy-food-forests-livelihoods nexus, and Indigenous rights, traditional knowledge and stewardship protocols.
  • Earth Voices Blog: Featuring Kampung Buayan, Ulu Papar
  • TONIBUNG (friends for village development) - HPNET Member Organization
  • Jaringan Orang Asal SeMalaysia (JOAS) - The Indigenous Peoples Network of Malaysia
  • Right Energy Partnership
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FIELD-BASED WORKSHOP IN KALINGA, PHILIPPINES

4/25/2022

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We recently launched the SEEED Accelerator to unlock the full potential of hydro mini-grid practitioners and communities.  The knowledge exchange aspect of the Accelerator incorporates E-Learning and impact-driven, customized capacity building to facilitate hydro mini-grid sustainability and optimal socio-economic benefits.  To this end, we launched the SEEED E-Learning series with support from Skat Foundation, DGRV, GIZ, and WISIONS.  So far we’ve hosted three virtual courses (with more to come) focused on community hydro fundamentals, climate resilient solutions, and agroecological benefits.  In conjunction with the virtual E-Learning courses, iwe recently supported local experts to conduct a field-based workshop in Sitio Gawaan Proper, Kalinga Province, Philippines.  ​
The workshop was designed to build the capacity of micro hydro communities to strengthen the long-term viability of their systems, while building resilience to the impacts of climate change and leveraging benefits at the nexus of water, energy, food, forests and livelihoods.  

Across the Philippines, communities are increasingly affected by stronger and more frequent typhoons and volatile weather due to climate change.  Micro hydro communities in Kalinga Province and elsewhere have seen their mini-grid infrastructure damaged by destructive storms and the reliability of their electricity source threatened by fluctuating stream flow.  The people of Kalinga Province are very keen to build climate resilient energy access through nature-based solutions, building upon long-proven Indigenous knowledge and governance systems.  As one participant noted, “our watersheds are truly connected to the life of the community hydro system, as we have seen and experienced before”.  

The workshops addressed the need for ecosystem restoration and strategies for building for climate resilience, while also building capacity to ensure long-term financial viability and agroecological benefits.  The approach of the workshop and connected E-Learning courses emphasized the need to develop integrative solutions addressing the water-energy-food-forests-livelihoods nexus.
Next Steps

Next steps include working with community leaders and appropriate local and regional experts to facilitate steps towards resolving challenges expressed by workshop participants, including:
  • Continue to unite against the development of mega dams repeatedly proposed to be built on indigneous territory but benefitting external populations
  • Demonstrate the viability of Indigenous-governed micro hydro against the sporadic and expensive central grid
  • Alleviate common pitfalls of community-scale hydropower by integrating methods for greater climate resilience and agroecological benefits.

​More broadly, the successful workshop in Kalinga has led us to reflect on possibilities for future HPNET workshops.  While E-Learning has enabled us to reach practitioners in over 40 countries this year, overcoming pandemic-related challenges, we were thrilled to also resume support for field-based capacity building with the workshop in Kalinga Province.  We see much potential for further hybrid formats going forward. 


Learn More

To learn more about community hydro in Kalinga, check out StreamSide Chats Edition 4, in which we take a virtual tour of the Balbalasang micro hydro project and discuss the Indigenous governance systems that support its success. 

You can also check out the SEEED E-Learning platform to explore course offerings and read more about the SEEED Approach.
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E-LEARNING: CLIMATE RESILIENT SOLUTIONS + AGROECOLOGICAL BENEFITS OF HYDRO MINI-GRIDS

3/6/2022

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Beyond electricity access, community-scale hydro can have far-reaching socio-economic and ecological benefits. When managed with sustainability in mind, hydro mini-grids can support climate resilient watersheds, sustainable food production and thriving rural economies.  To support practitioners and communities to unlock these possibilities, we are offering two new E-learning courses:
  1. Climate Resilient Solutions to Hydro Mini-Grids (March 21-25, 2022)
  2. Agroecological Benefits of Hydro Mini-Grids (March 28-31, 2022)

Offered at no cost, each course consists of a live kick-off session followed by independent learning on our SEEED E-learning platform with a live Q&A session and peer-to-peer dialogue. Build your knowledge through interactive content, real-world examples and expert insight. The courses are aimed at community hydro practitioners who wish to leverage climate resilient solutions and agroecological benefits; however the content is also beneficial for those not well acquainted with hydro mini-grids, who wish to learn more about nature-based solutions for development. A technical background is not required. 

Register your interest for one or both courses no later than March 18, 2022 at the link below.
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REGISTER HERE
Curugmuncar Micro Hydro Village, Pekalongan Regency, Central Java, Indonesia.  Credit:  Asosiasi Hidro Bandung

A household rice mill powered by a hydro mini-grid in Shan State, Myanmar.  Credit:  D. Vaghela
Climate Resilient Solutions to Hydro ​Mini-Grids
​From March 21-25, 2022, we are pleased to offer a 5-day course on climate resilient solutions to hydro mini-grids. Sign up to learn how watershed management can build resilience to climate change and sustainable energy access in rural communities.

Key topics include:
  • Watersheds, climate adaptation and the water-energy-food nexus
  • Governance and environmental stewardship in Indigenous and local communities
  • Watershed management from baseline assessment to maintenance and monitoring
  • How to integrate watershed management with hydro mini-grid planning and implementation
​
Estimated time commitment:
  • March 21 Kickoff Session: 1.5 hour (Optional)
  • March 25 Live Q&A and peer-to-peer dialogue: 1.5 hour (Optional)  
  • Self-work: 5-7 hours (Required)
Agroecological Benefits of Hydro Mini-Grids
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The next course will take place from March 29-31, 2022 and will focus on agroecological benefits of hydro mini-grids.  Learn how community hydro electricity and watersheds can support sustainable food production and exchange ideas in an interactive 4-day course.

Key topics include the following, as they relate to hydro mini-grids:
  • Elements of agroecology
  • Water-energy-food nexus
  • Food forests as a regenerative solution
  • Agri-processing end uses of electricity
​
Estimated time commitment:
  • March 28 Kickoff Session: 1.5 hour (Optional)
  • March 31 Live Q&A and peer-to-peer dialogue: 1.5 hours (Optional)  
  • Self-work: 5-7 hours (Required)
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SEEED E-Learning Series

The current course offerings are part of an E-learning series that we launched earlier this year, with support from Skat Foundation, DGRV, GIZ, and WISIONS.  Hosted on our all-new SEEED E-learning platform, the first course took place over 6 weeks, focusing on the fundamentals of community-scale (<1 MW) hydro mini-grids. 

The SEEED E-learning series is part of our Social Enterprise for Energy, Ecological and Economic Development (SEEED) Accelerator, an initiative to unlock the full potential of hydro mini-grid practitioners and communities in the Asia Pacific, Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa.  The SEEED Accelerator utilizes a 4-step strategy to generate impact from knowledge exchange and advocacy activities, as shown below. 
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The SEEED approach focuses on hydro mini-grid sustainability to enable climate resilience and community empowerment beyond kilowatts.  Alongside reliable technology, sustainable watersheds are a foundational element of SEEED – because without healthy forested watersheds, reliable electricity generation is not possible, nor is sustainable community empowerment. 

Sign up for our upcoming E-learning courses to learn more about the full social-environmental potential of hydro mini-grids and best practices for getting there! 
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WATCH:  STREAMSIDE CHATS - EDITION 4, SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL RESILIENCE IN KALINGA, PHILIPPINES

12/16/2021

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We are delighted to present the fourth edition of our video podcast series, StreamSide Chats!  The podcast features deep-dive conversations with grassroots innovators and international experts of small-scale hydropower, offering insights from the ground, framed within multi-thematic analysis. 
​In this edition, we take a closer look at social and environmental aspects of community hydro, discussing small-scale hydropower from the perspective of Indigenous communities.  Through the case of a cluster of 12 micro hydro projects in Kalinga Province, Philippines, we explore important connections between community-scale hydro, Indigenous rights and livelihoods, and environmental stewardship. 
We had the privilege to speak with Ms. Jade Angngalao, Coordinator of the Renewable Energy Program at SIBAT.  Jade has worked with micro hydro communities for eleven years, focusing on various technical, social, and environmental aspects.  We learn from Jade how micro hydro is supporting socio-environmental resilience in Kalinga, bolstered by long-standing, robust self-governance structures and traditional ecological knowledge.  Don’t miss this chat, featuring a “streamside” tour of the Balbalasang micro hydro system and community! 

PART A: ​
In Part A, Jade reflects on her experience growing up with micro hydro and shares about the ways in which her social and cultural context influenced her view of ‘development’.  We learn how projects are developed and managed by Indigenous communities in Kalinga province, and discuss how local governance structures and traditional environmental protocols support sustainable energy access, climate resilience, and community development.  Jade shares about key challenges and future priorities, highlighting the opportunity for various stakeholders to support and uplift Indigenous-led, nature-based solutions like the community hydro initiatives in Kalinga.
​​Highlights:

03:44 - Cultural and environmental values
05:41 - Natural resource management
08:48 - First exposure to community hydro
12:04 - A rewarding role
13:40 - Productive end use 
15:48 - Rights and self-governance through community hydro
17:33 - 'Lapat' environmental protocols
21:00 - Governance structure
21:45 - Climate change and watershed restoration
26:00 - Challenges
28:50 - Load management
34:20 - From villages to towns
35:38 - Micro hydro versus the grid
38:05 - Need for government support 
40:00 - Nature-based solutions and climate finance
PART B:
​In Part B, join us for a tour with Ms. Jade Angngalao, Coordinator of the Renewable Energy Program at SIBAT, Eng. Ver Ian Victorio, Head of Micro Hydro Power Turbine Testing Center, Univ. of Rizwal System, and Eng. Roy Andrada, the Project Manager of the URS-MHP Program.  First, Jade shares an overview of the Balbalasang micro hydro project, including its technical components, evolution, and local impacts.  Next, the team shows us around the project, chatting with key community members along the way.  From a computer lab at the local high school, to hostels and a carpentry workshop, the tour offers a glimpse into the various community assets enabled by the micro hydro system.
Highlights:

02:11 - Project location and governing body
02:53 - Technical layout, components, and evolution
04:30 - Project funding
05:03 - Community contribution of labor and land
05:21 - Productive end use and impact on local economy
06:43 - Social services end uses
07:58 - Household end uses
08:23 - Load Management
09:15 - Opportunity to upgrade the system
10:15 - Community-initiated fund for upgrade
11:09 - System running for two decades
11:46 - "StreamSide" tour of the project!
In case you missed it

Check out earlier editions of StreamSide Chats on our YouTube channel.  
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  • In Edition 1 we spoke with decentralized renewable energy specialist, Divyam Nagpal, and Director of Clean Energy at Winrock International, Bikash Pandey.  We discussed the role of micro hydro in contributing to long term rural economic recovery and resilience in the pandemic era.  

  • In Edition 2 Bikash Pandey spoke with Ashoka Fellow and micro / mini hydro developer Bir Bahadur Ghale from Nepal, where over 3000 small-scale hydro projects have been developed, supporting local job creation and economic resilience, even in the aftermath of the devastating 2015 earthquake.

  • In Edition 3 we focused on Pakistan’s unique small-scale hydro sector, which has been scaled up over several decades.  We spoke with Sherzad Ali Khan, the Coordinator of the Aga Khan Development Network (or AKDN) for Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral regions.  We discussed gender-aware planning, productive end use, successful management practices, grid interconnection, climate finance and more. 

Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to stay updated on future releases!
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“HIDDEN NO MORE”: REFLECTIONS ON COMMUNITY ORGANIZING WITH VICTORIA LOPEZ

12/14/2021

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Our Hidden No More interview series spotlights women small-scale hydro practitioners who have transformed gender barriers to generate energy access for marginalized communities.

In this edition, we feature Victoria (Vicky) Lopez, former Executive Director of SIBAT (Sibol Ng Agham At Teknolohiya) and founder of RESILIENCE, in the Philippines.  Vicky has been a micro hydro practitioner and advocate for 27 years, and community mobilizer for even longer.  Reflecting on her journey, Vicky shares important insights on the power of community-led change-making, the role of women in micro hydro planning and implementation, the importance of climate resilience, and more. 


PictureMs. Vicky at HPNET's 4th Annual Gathering of Practitioners, hosted by SIBAT. Credit: HPNET, 2019.
To start, can you share a bit more about yourself, Ms. Vicky?

I've been a development worker for most of my life, for about 27 years to be exact.  Before that I was a faculty member at the National Institute of Physics at the University of the Philippines.  I joined SIBAT in 1991 as its Executive Director.  SIBAT is built as a network of many local NGOs doing appropriate technology for communities.  Development work meant being directly involved in developing appropriate technology innovations on the ground with communities.  There were two areas that I worked in: sustainable agriculture and renewable energy.  I led in developing these programs at SIBAT.  I took the lead in developing innovations in establishing and expanding sustainable agriculture in many rural parts of the country among farming communities and then we started focusing on energy in the year 2000.  We decided to focus on micro hydro because, at the time, solar was quite an expensive technology and not very appropriate for the needs of farmers; conversely micro hydro could really provide not just home lighting for the community, but also support livelihood needs. 

You’ve worked in a diverse context over your 27 years in the rural development sector.  For example you were a professor and also a community mobilizer.  How were you able to bridge the different worlds?

I got my Master's in Physics and went on directly to teach Physics at the university.  Before that I was in engineering, which focuses mostly on applications, but I loved basic theory.  With physics you can really delve into scientific concepts and theories.  Most importantly, it helped me to understand the theory of change, which has an implication or impact, not only in technology, but in society as a whole. 

When I was at the university, it was a time of social upheaval in my country.  I took part in the youth movement and activist movements – the university took part in that.  So, that was my baptism into the world of change.  Through school I learned that change is constant, and in society everything changes, and we were taught that we should participate in change-making. That was the most important lesson: that you should be confident in your ability to contribute to change for the better.  The importance of people in this change process also became very strong in my understanding of things.  So I got involved in community organizing and that helped me appreciate even more their role in change-making. 

Was there a particular person or situation that inspired you to focus on renewable energy and community hydro?

I became part of a movement, doing advocacy work in objection to big dams.  The World Bank was funding huge dams in the Northern part of the Philippines.  Well, the objection was led by communities.  They fought over several years and the people won, and the World Bank withdrew from the area.  It wasn’t only the dams, but issues related to logging as well.  When Ferdinand Marcos was president, under martial law, he allowed his cronies to exploit the resources up in the mountains, the watersheds.  And again, the Indigenous people in that area resisted and they won – the big corporation withdrew from the area.  So, I witnessed this and that, of course, was immense and very important to me.  I realized that only the people can make change.  Actually, it was a tribal community (the Butbut tribe) who articulated and requested  that a small-scale hydro be built in their community, as the alternative to the big dam. They realized the importance of hydropower, but at a scale that would not hurt them, that would not displace communities.  So they provided us the insight on what to do and that was the birth of the community-based micro hydro.  Reflecting now, I think that was, in fact, a key element of our framework for renewable energy development. 

So, basically, it was in that region where the micro hydro work started.  We provided the technical support and the community contributed as well, and that became our framework going forward.  And we leveraged this to reach out to funding agencies such as the UN Development Programme Small Grants Program and the Department of Energy, who then supported a number of our projects.  Then that experience in that area inspired other tribal, Indigenous communities in the North to build similar systems, which in turn set an example for other Indigenous provinces to do the same.

I built a team of effective people.  Not all were engineers; we especially paid attention to involving people from the ground.  In time they all learned the theories behind the civil works.  And, most importantly, we built all of the micro hydro components locally.  We were in collaboration with a university in the North, who had good people who understood community-based work.  There was one very good engineer, who has since passed away, who  really provided strong, technological knowledge to our team, who we are very thankful for.  

That was a period in the Philippines when policies were being drawn up to embark on renewable energy.  We advocated for a community-based approach, but the government was influenced by the big energy companies coming in.  So we continued our work even without policy to support us and, in the Cordillera Region, we built 27 micro hydro systems in collaboration with the communities and with local government units who recognized the role of the communities.  The people, women, men and even children, came to do the physical construction work.  The micro hydro organizations were built coming from the collective work in construction,  and each organization formulated and enforced the policies to maintain and sustain the plant over these many years.  The community organization provided the guidance to manage and sustain the micro hydro.  Certainly, women have important roles to play in managing the micro hydro organizations, such as enforcing policies, and collectively sustaining the waterways and hillsides along these. 

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Following a period of rehabilitation after some 10 years or more, all the projects there are further improved and made to function up to the present, delivering the required energy per household and per community, providing 24-hour lighting, use of household appliances and powering livelihoods.  
“With that understanding of the need to protect the water source…the communities have been able to sustain their systems for about 20 years now.”
​So we started with resisting the big dam and won.  And then the anti-logging struggle also played an important role in making the people understand the importance of defending their forests.  In that province, where most of the micro hydro projects were implemented, the communities experienced a learning process around watershed protection.  This strengthened the lappat system, the traditional system of forest protection in the indigenous communities.  With that understanding of the need to protect the water source to enable electricity generation, the communities have been able to sustain their systems for more than 20 years now. 
What kind of changes have you seen in the sector since you started out?

There are more and more people in the science and technology sector, including students and professionals, who are interested to volunteer and come with us to the field and take part. ​
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SIBAT's 2015 CBRES strategy event held with GreenPeace and the Climate Action Network. Credit: SIBAT, 2015.
​In addition, the government’s energy programs are very strong and they look down at what we’re doing; but in recent years we’ve been able to show the economic impact of our approach.  In 2018, we convened a conference addressing the impact of about 20 years of work.  Looking back, earlier on a number of us were working on advocacy in our organization but not very systematically. Of course, we wrote papers and convened big, national conferences, especially at the start when we were trying to promote our work nationally; but now there is evidence we can leverage, standing side by side, something we can show the big systems of the government. 
A few years back you established a new organization called RESILIENCE. Can you tell us about RESILIENCE and what led you to initiate it?

So, this was after my work in SIBAT.  I thought of broadening the focus to embrace climate change because that is a very big threat to societies and it will have a very adverse impact on resources, and even on the micro hydro systems that we were advocating for.  SIBAT already focused on sustainable agriculture, so we had that framework for addressing how different issues are connected, but climate is something that had to be addressed.  So I organized RESILIENCE with a few people, but it will take us some more years to develop.  With the pandemic it really had slowed down due to movement restrictions; but once the situation improves we will get back to it.  And it will involve connecting with organizations that focus on climate change and us contributing our strength in sustainable agriculture, in watershed management, as well as renewable energy.  It has yet to take off strongly, but the concept is there.
​
Why is climate resilience important in micro hydro communities?

Well, it's for the protection of the systems themselves against landslides, the lowering of the water level – all those aspects that affect the resources in the communities.  Now communities are seeing an increase in specific impacts of climate change, such as typhoons and landslides.  When these things happen we have to rehabilitate the systems, strengthen the civil works, and strengthen the role of the communities in conserving the forests and maintaining the water channels.  In micro hydro communities, climate resilience encompasses a lot – the lives of the people and the protection of their innovations, successes and achievements.
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We’ve heard from other colleagues in the Philippines how Indigenous communities have long traditions of environmental stewardship.  How does that come into play?

We have seen many communities that lead in this – they have formulated community policies that govern watershed management, including the cutting of trees and protection of resources in the watershed area.  But there are communities that still have to formulate theirs. So the traditional system that’s at the forefront of sustainable watershed protection is called lapat, which is a very important policy that people hold sacred and that they abide by. That is a great tradition being sustained up until now, but not all communities have done that.  And only Indigenous communities have that; others should learn from them.

What challenges have you faced as a woman practitioner? How did you overcome these obstacles? 
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​Of course, men dominate this field, but I am intrinsically strong and I have to keep showing that strength in order for other women to be strong.  So, I have built small women’s groups in the city and while in the rural areas.  And I have tried to show by example that you can speak, that you can act, that you can contribute to the discussion and take the lead where you are needed to take lead. I think mobilizing women is my strength.  When I go to a rural community, the first people I engage are the older women.  
“Of course, men dominate this field, but I am intrinsically strong and I have to keep showing that strength in order for other women to be strong.”
You have to keep yourself strong and not be intimidated, by organizing more women to add to their number in the field.  And I've seen my former students really take strides in leadership in community work.  So reflecting back, I think it’s about leading by example.  I am also a member of the national women's organization here; I was part of building it during my younger days.  So the importance of the role of women is very strong in me.  
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Ms. Vicky (centre) at HPNET's 2nd Annual Gathering of Practitioners in Bandung, Indonesia. Credit: HPNET, 2015.
What do women leaders have to offer in energy access efforts? 

Access to energy has an impact within households on women and children.  Women are really impacted by everything that energy is used for inside the home, because of the care work that they do.  So, I have seen rural women speaking very strongly for the sustaining of the micro hydro, and even taking a strong role in the physical maintenance of the hillsides, keeping the water channels clean.  They're quite strong in that because it has an impact on their life.  Electricity reduces their work in the household, it allows the children to study longer hours, and they can go to the fields with less risk because there is light outside the homes.  

Traditionally, women are often not present at community meetings and instead stay home to care for the kinds.  But when it comes to rural electrification, we’ve seen that women are quite strong in community meetings.  The mothers come even together with the children and that provides insight into the importance of energy access to women, and the important role of women within these innovations.
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PictureMs. Vicky (left) at HPNET's 2nd Annual Gathering of Practitioners. Credit: HPNET, 2015.
What solutions could we employ to address gender challenges in the sector?

Well, the livelihood opportunities that energy access enables should be more accessible to women.  And during my time in SIBAT we worked on innovating on some machines so that women can handle them easier, with less physical strength required.  And when it comes to maintenance of the powerhouse, women can do that.  So first help develop a fair opportunity for them to be part of what is supposedly a men’s domain, especially in livelihood matters.  You can develop a specific approach to address that; maybe a women’s committee can be formed among other committees in the community, in order to address women’s particular needs.  It’s important to look at technical matters, as well as the broader impacts.  Always consider how women are affected and strengthen these aspects. 

Within SIBAT, I have advocated for technical training for women and, although we have more men, we do have women engineers.  But renewable energy development is not just technology and from the start of designing a program you have to look at the projected impact.  So, you should not leave out the participation of women, especially in designing their livelihood paths.  For example, sugar cane pressing, which is traditional in the mountain areas – with electricity they can develop the sugar industry, beyond just pressing.

Food is important to rural women, it is important to households.  So agriculture can also be strengthened by micro hydro, for instance by enabling electric machines and equipment.  Such activities have always concerned women in particular because of their role in sustaining the household.   

​What brings you hope for the future?

Again, that there will always be change.  And I know if people can really work together then they can encourage the authorities to involve them.  Right now during the pandemic, when the roles of local people are being addressed, there should be room made for community-based initiatives to build the change. I know that in my more than 30 years in this, when I began as a student activist in a small corridor of the university doing science, there had been great changes already.  But not very structurally.  But you could see the people’s minds do change. 

And our efforts in micro hydropower development should – at least up to the municipality level – make them realize that community-based efforts should be a big, big part of the Philippines national program for development.  In the mountains of Abra in Kalinga, there are 30 micro hydropower systems, not resulting from the initiative of the government, but from the initiative of the people. And there are those coming to a realization that this is something that they should study and perhaps multiply.  My hopes for that are high.​

Is there anything we have missed about your journey that you would like to share with our readers?

I look forward to seeing what big collective efforts will come about through the work of RESILIENCE, looking at all aspects, from water, to energy, economics, agriculture.  That’s something that I hope to be a part of.  
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NICARAGUA: A WELL-SPRING OF BEST PRACTICES FOR WATERSHED RESTORATION

8/18/2021

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Based on regional hindsight and best practices from local practitioners, we have identified several core elements that enable hydro mini-grid sustainability; these interlinking elements provide the basis for our initiative Social Enterprise for Energy, Ecological and Economic Development (SEEED).  Sustainable watersheds are the foundational element of SEEED because hydro mini-grids rely on, and can contribute to, the health of forest landscapes.

Healthy forested watersheds support consistent flow year-round, mitigate erosion and landslides, and contribute to climate resilience.  Small-scale hydropower can incentivize communities to tap into and revive traditional ecological knowledge, in order to protect and restore watersheds and enable reliable energy access.  (See our Earth Voices feature series for examples of indigenous communities that are harnessing the interconnected benefits of watershed restoration and small-scale hydro.)

To better understand best practices for integrating watershed restoration and community hydropower, we look to insights from Nicaragua.  In the video presentation provided below, we had the privilege to present the exemplary work of the Rural Development Workers Association Benjamin Linder (or ATDER-BL) and the Association for the Development of Electrical Service in Bocay (or APRODELBO).  ATDER-BL and APRODELBO have been advancing rural energy access in Nicaragua since 1987, while restoring many acres of watersheds in partnership with local communities.
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Bocay and El Cuá mini hydropower sites on map of Nicaragua. Source: UNIDO, 2019.
   
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A cacao plantation supports the health of a micro-watershed and increases farmers’ incomes. Credit: ATDER-BL
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Clearing sediment from the reservoir as part of a watershed restoration effort in El Bote. Credit: ATDER-BL
​We hope that the presentation will inform and inspire watershed restoration efforts among practitioners, elsewhere.

Presentation developed by ATDER-BL, APRODELBO and HPNET 
Presented by HPNET Secretariat member Jorge Nieto Jiménez
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INDIA: GRAM VIKAS' INITIATIVE TO STRENGTHEN SPRINGS

10/7/2020

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PictureWatershed being rehabilitated in Odisha, India. Credit: Gram Vikas.
The power output of micro hydro projects depends on the water flow and the head. The source of the flow is often a spring or a tributary of a river. Both types of sources depend on the watershed, which forms a catchment area for the micro hydro system. The terrain and forests of the watershed form the catchment area of the micro hydro system. 

In this regard, micro hydro is truly a nature-based solution. Healthy forested watersheds result in sustainable micro hydro systems, where the flow is consistent throughout the year and also resilient to climate change. In addition, healthy forests also help to control erosion during monsoon seasons, which can negatively impact both the micro hydro system and the community. Further, vibrant forests lend themselves to enhanced rural livelihoods, which in turn can benefit from access to electricity, e.g. local processing of agri-forest products.

Because of these linkages, we are connecting micro hydro practitioners to watershed experts.  Our network is fortunate to have a few members that focus on both. Gram Vikas, based in Odisha, India, is one such organization.  
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In fact, the focus on watershed restoration goes beyond micro hydropower for Gram Vikas. Its flagship and award-winning water and sanitation program for rural and marginalized communities strongly highlights practices for watershed (ridge to valley) and springshed (valley to valley) strengthening. 

One of the several solutions in this area that Gram Vikas is pioneering is recharging springs. Read on to learn more!  For additional articles on watersheds and micro hydro, please see here.


​SPRINGS:  NATURE'S BOUNTY FOR WATER SECURITY

Sustainability of Springshed-based Water Sources

Mountain Springs are the main water source for most of the tribal population living in the Eastern Ghats range of Odisha. Many of the villages, in the region, are over the hilltops, in the form of scattered hamlets. They get little or no access to streams flowing down to the valleys. About 60% of the population in these hamlets depend upon spring water for basic needs like drinking, domestic use, and for agriculture and livestock.  Despite their significance, springs are drying up due to variations in rainfall patterns, changes in land use and reduction in forest cover. Many have become seasonal with low discharge. There are also apparent changes in the quality of water available. Only about 30% of the water sources are estimated to be functioning without any apparent decrease in water availability. ​
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Barren hills due to felling of trees and slash and burn cultivation. Credit: Gram Vikas
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Gram Vikas team assessing health of springs in Odisha, India. Credit: Gram Vikas
The Springs Initiative

The Springs Initiative aims to develop community-led efforts for springshed management, spring rejuvenation and establishment of water systems by harnessing the potential of perennial springs sustainably. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India and UNDP India support the initiative. Gram Vikas took up the initiative, in partnership with village communities and with technical support from ACWADAM, in selected blocks of Gajapati, Kandhamal and Kalahandi districts of Odisha.
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Land treatment facilitated by Gram Vikas to increase springshed re-charge.  Credit: Gram Vikas

​​Spring Water Atlas

The Spring Water Atlas is an online repository of information on springs, spring-sheds and spring-scapes to strengthen springs management for addressing water scarcity issues for tribal communities in India.  The tool is GIS-based, providing maps, spring health, water quality, and discharge, among other properties.  The knowledge tool is hosted by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and UNDP India.   It can be access by the public here:  thespringsportal.org.
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GIS-based data available on the Spring Water Atlas: https://thespringsportal.org/

Community Cadre

A community cadre of para-hydrologists, a mobile application and GIS technology converge to make the portal a rich storehouse of information on springs in India. Users can find information on the number of springs mapped and their health including water quality, discharge capacity and other physical, chemical and biological properties. 75 young men and women from 42 villages in 10 gram panchayats, have been trained and deployed as barefoot para-hydrologists, identify and map springs, and undertake measures for their rejuvenation and protection. Using the mWater application in their smartphones, these para-hydrologists collect data on the local hydrogeology and chemical properties of the spring source. This is then fed into the portal, Spring Water Atlas. The para-hydrologists were trained from November 2019 to February 2020.
The Springs Initiative works towards ensuring water security for remote tribal communities by changing the perception of springs from a ‘source’ to a ‘resource’. An integrated solution, the initiative will address the water needs of these communities for drinking, domestic and agriculture purposes. The harnessing of springs as sources of safe and adequate water, the initiative has the potential to improve the health, nutrition and livelihoods of these communities.
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WHY WATERSHEDS MATTER

9/22/2020

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Our initiative Social Enterprise for Energy, Ecological and Economic Development (SEEED) aims to support local practitioners and communities to transition to a sustainable approach to micro hydro.  It aims to unlock the potential for hydro mini-grids to bring long term environmental and socioeconomic benefits — to support empowerment that goes well beyond kilowatts.
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As we continue to develop this initiative, we want to facilitate a closer look at the core thematic elements that constitute SEEED.  Last quarter we shared about the foundational aspect of reliability, and the role of manufacturing standards to ensure technical reliability.  Today we share about an equally important aspect to micro hydro reliability and also sustainability -- healthy watersheds.  The article is developed by HPNET member and watershed expert, Ms. Koto Kishida.

PictureCredit: Gram Vikas
​​Watersheds and Climate Resilience

​There are a number of accounts of negative impacts of climate change in rural communities where our members work. Many of the communities have known the importance of healthy watersheds, as they are the source of drinking and irrigation water, as well as timber and non-timber products that provide food and livelihood. 
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Those communities have traditional rules to sustainably manage their natural resources. HPNET members who work on local community-based hydropower also understand that building resilient watersheds is key for the communities to sustain and regulate stream flow, secure clean drinking and sanitation water, as well as forest resources that could support sustainable rural development.  Gram Vikas’ work in Odisha, India is one such example.

PictureU Zaw Min, an MHP practitioner in Myanmar, maps a watershed. Credit: D. Vaghela
Watersheds and Micro Hydro
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In addition, healthy watersheds are the foundation to sustainable community-based hydropower that is also highly beneficial socio-economically.  

Hydropower requires a consistent water supply to generate electricity year-round. Seasonal fluctuations in stream-flow, as well as topography and changes in forest cover all impact a system’s energy output, making some systems more vulnerable. When the forest above hydropower intake is logged, the retention capacity of the soil and stream-flow is altered.  This could result in greater variability between wet and dry season flow rates, and increase the risk of flood and landslides that could damage hydropower structures.  Increased siltation can also clog intakes and wear down turbine runners, incurring additional maintenance costs.
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Maintaining and establishing mature forest cover alleviates the impacts of seasonal variability in flow, reduces landslide risks, and can help build resilience against the impacts of climate change. The potential for the communities to access stable sources of electricity provides communities with hydropower an added incentive to protect their watersheds.  Community-scale hydropower reinforces environmental traditions by incentivizing watershed strengthening, which, in turn, enables reliable and sustainable power supply. (Examples of this can be found in our feature series, Earth Voices)

Watersheds and Reforestation
A plantation site supported by Gram Vikas in Kalahandi in early 2000s before getting the watershed treatment. Credit: Gram Vikas
A plantation site supported by Gram Vikas in Kalahandi after getting watershed treatment in 2018. Credit: Gram Vikas
The key to thriving watersheds are forests. Establishing and maintaining mature forest conditions as a way to mitigate and adapt to climate change could be achieved through conservation and restoration of watersheds informed by local knowledge and best practices. Thriving watersheds with forest cover could significantly mitigate the negative impacts of climate change by offsetting carbon emissions and build resilience against severe weather events and other climate change impacts. Forest conservation in community-based hydropower watersheds could be valuable for climate mitigation because the watersheds tend to be in the upper basins where forests provide the cleanest water and provide habitat for diverse flora and fauna. 

Many rural communities in the global south have traditional rules around resource management. Competing land use pressures such as farming, logging, and development by community members as well as external entities make observing such rules challenging. The communities can keep each other accountable by negotiating a plan to prioritize land uses and conservation goals. If all parties commit to implement the plan as a management guide, it could facilitate data collection, fundraising efforts, evaluation of the impact of the plan, and opportunities to adjust management strategies for more impact. Depending on the scale and land ownership of the hydropower watersheds, community would be easier with support from a CSO or a project manager. 


Community Micro Hydro + Reforestation

Integrating community-based hydro with reforestation will have dual benefits for rural communities.  In addition to the reasons provided above, access to electricity supports income generation of rural households and communities -- the lack of which can exacerbate deforestation.

Due to the inherent nature of community-scale and community-based hydropower, rural communities accessing hydropower are often already organized with active committees for management of the system as well as its load. The committee members often include those with in-depth knowledge of watersheds who could contribute local knowledge to forest conservation and enhancement efforts. 
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There are cases of reforestation activities affiliated with community hydro projects as well as the communities pledging to conserve watersheds in a form of contracts between funding organizations and the communities.




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EARTH VOICES: FROM SHAN STATE, MYANMAR

7/17/2020

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Our blog series Earth Voices sheds light on the connections between community-scale hydropower, indigenous-led conservation and sustainable development. Each edition highlights a different community, aiming to highlight that which makes each unique, while emphasizing a common thread – a worldview in which environmental sustainability is no new concept, but rather a reality which has underpinned community well-being and resilience for millennia. Earth Voices explores how community-scale hydropower reinforces environmental traditions by incentivizing watershed strengthening, which, in turn, enables reliable and sustainable power supply.
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Cattle grazing in the Shan Highlands.
This year, we embarked upon the “UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration” -- a designation that reflects a dawning realization that nature-based solutions are critical to achieving a sustainable future. Needless to say, it’s been a challenging start thus far. The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a wrench in agenda setting, resource flows, and action on conservation and climate. Out of necessity, the world’s attention has turned to the immediate concerns of the global health and economic crisis. Yet, the urgency of the climate emergency continues to escalate, and ecosystem restoration remains imperative to planetary health and social-ecological resilience. In fact, in addition to combating climate change, forest conservation and restoration can prevent the emergence of new zoonotic diseases and future pandemics.

With all this in mind, it’s evermore critical to highlight local communities and indigenous peoples who have been championing conservation and regenerative solutions for millennia. While political leaders grapple with COVID-19 recovery efforts, and international actors face funding and travel restrictions, local communities continue to push forward nature-based solutions. 

For this 3rd edition of our Earth Voices feature series, we bring you one such example from Shan State, Myanmar. This edition shines a light on one village where local change-makers harness the interconnected benefits of watershed restoration and community-scale hydropower. Read on, to learn how eco-restoration supports reliable power supply and cultural resilience, and to gain a glimpse into the vision and journey of  an inspiring community mobilizer.

Please note:  Following the February 2021 coup in Myanmar, this article has been updated to protect the safety of HPNET's local partners, with names and specifics removed.

Myanmar’s locally-grown off-grid energy sector

Ethnic conflict and political strife have affected Myanmar for many decades, and the country  only recently opened up after a half-century of Military rule. This context has posed various challenges for Myanmar’s energy sector. Decentralization has been ineffective in practice, meaning that region and state governments have little or no control over energy policies, plans and budgets. Additionally, areas controlled by armed groups are present in many regions and sometimes have their own infrastructure. Corruption and foreign export of generated energy further complicate matters and impede progress within the sector. [Hivos Myanmar 2019]

Despite these challenges and conflicts, Myanmar has a long history of locally developed, small-scale renewable energy technology, which has proven its efficacy over the past 30 years. To date, more than 6,000 small-scale hydro systems and 10,000 biomass gasifiers have been implemented by local developers, without donor support, foreign technology or enabling policy. Solar power has also emerged in more recent years, supporting agricultural end uses, with significant benefits for rural farmers across the country. These clean, low-cost energy solutions are attributed to a thriving community of grassroots entrepreneurs, whose resourcefulness has brought transformative impacts to thousands of rural communities. 
This video provides a glimpse of Myanmar’s indigenous community hydro sector, featuring the pico hydro systems discussed in this blog post and 3 other community-scale hydro systems. 
The region and people

The village is located in an ethnic self-administered zone, in the picturesque Shan Highlands. The region is home to a government-recognized ethnic group in Myanmar, who have a long history in Shan State. The people have their own language and practice Theravada Buddhism. Their unique culture is hinted in legends such as the Prince Kummabhaya, whose bow and arrow rescued seven princesses trapped in the caves by a giant spider. 
In addition to being rich in culture, the region is rich in environmental resources and fertile  land. A productive and profitable agriculture sector provides a key source of income, supporting local livelihoods in rural communities. International organizations such as USAID, Winrock International and GIZ have invested extensively in agri value chains in the area, particularly in tea-leaf and coffee production. Today, the region's coffee is sold in Seattle and elsewhere around the world.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, local producers have seen a significant drop in the selling price of tea-leaf and other crops, such as fruits. This has negatively impacted the local economy, however some are less severely impacted than others, in that they aren’t as dependent on external markets.
Rice paddy in Shan state.
Green paddy nursery and strawberry field in Shan State.
Environment, conflict and resistance
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The region’s fertile land has also supported poppy plantations – the plant from which opium derives – fueling long-standing conflicts. Poppy plantations existed in the region until the late 1960s to early 1970s, at which point a UNDP initiative substituted the plantations with tea-leaf growing. Major townships of have since eradicated poppy growing, however it persists in other areas within Shan State. Some armed ethnic groups still exist in these areas and conflicts between the military and community groups persist in this ‘triangle’ linking eastern, southern and northern Shan.

That said, the ethnic people of the region strive to maintain peace in the region. Residents have heard that the military has plans to establish a base camp in a watershed area in the region, but the local  communities don’t accept military entering the area.

Other challenges also persist in the region, stemming from natural resources. For instance, the area has attracted mining and widespread logging, with devastating consequences for local communities and ecosystems. Mining has negatively impacted watershed ecosystems, while deforestation has resulted in frequent landslides and increasing water scarcity in summer months. However, local communities continue to resist natural resource exploitation on their lands. For instance, steadfast local resistance prevented a mining company from establishing itself in a village with an important watershed, which provides drinking water to 20 nearby villages. Across the region, the people continue to work to build back what has been lost, applying indigenous knowledge, innovation and determination to restore and conserve local ecosystems.
Landslide resulting from deforestation. Credit: MEE Net (Myanmar Team).
Deforestation has affected much of the region.
Eco-restoration, land stewardship and hydropower

In 2000, the government mandated a Forest Conservation Department to lead conservation efforts in the area. However, local communities assert that the department is corrupted by profit motives and is ineffective, with limited human resources. According to local conservation leaders, “only bamboo remains in the government’s forest conservation area”; this is juxtaposed against thriving forest ecosystems that are stewarded by local communities, as per traditional knowledge.

It is the ethnic people themselves who continue to conserve the primary forests, as they have always done, and who endeavor to restore ecosystems that have been degraded by logging and extractive industries. The communities carry an intricate understanding of local ecological systems, and the environment is very much intertwined with their culture and beliefs. In one area, there are, in fact, plans in the works for a “forest conservation festival”, carrying religious significance, connected with Buddha’s teachings around living in harmony with nature.

The establishment of pico and micro hydropower has further strengthened pre-existing environmental stewardship practices among the ethnic people. Small-scale hydro systems have been developed in at least 15 villages, bringing extra incentive to protect the forest, since watersheds provide the perennial source of their electricity. As such, community-scale hydro has become intertwined with reforestation and conservation efforts across the region. 
Local animal populations benefit from community-led resource management. Credit: MEE Net (Myanmar Team).
50 kW micro hydro system. Credit: MEE Net (Myanmar Team).
People-powered pico hydro

One village provides a bottom-up example of an integrated approach to forest conservation and small-scale hydropower – in this case, largely attributed to the vision of one dedicated community mobilizer.  [The name of the village is purposely not being provided to protect the safety of the community after the Feb. 2021 coup, which has resulted in a civil war affecting the region.]

After seeing the wide-reaching benefits brought by community-scale hydro in other villages, the community leader was inspired to bring energy access to his own community through similar means. He learned the required technical skills from experienced local energy entrepreneurs, which he put to use in his small village, toward a vision of ecologically sustainable and reliable energy provision. 

Working together with other community members, he led the installation of seven pico hydro systems between 2000 and 2015. Six systems are currently in use, ranging from 1.5-5 kW capacity per system, with a total capacity of 17 kW. Two of the six  systems are in the same location but use different transmission/distribution lines. While all of these projects are pico hydro projects, he has also supported the development of a cluster of four community-owned micro hydro projects in the same sub-region. 

​Today, approximately 150 households are connected to the carefully planned pico hydro systems, out of the 167 households that make up the village. Solar home systems provide lighting for some of the other households, and some families use both pico hydro and solar electricity. Additionally, the local school, temple and monastery are provided with free electricity from the pico hydro systems.
Bathing spot connected with the pico hydro.
Repairing pico hydro turbine. Credit: MEE Net (Myanmar Team).
Current and future benefits

The pico hydro systems have brought multifold benefits for community development. For instance, lighting enables students to study at night and extends the hours at which classes can be taught, with known benefits for learning outcomes. Moreover, the ability to power cell phones, televisions and radios provides access to vital information and communication channels – the importance of which is increasingly evident, as the COVID-19 crisis continues to unfold.  Soon the village will also trial electric cooking options, to reduce deforestation linked with  collection of fuelwood.

Although the government's central grid has reached nearby towns, the village has not received the central grid. The village would have to raise funds for the final transmission and distribution lines. In addition, there is little certainty about the reliability of the central grid. As such, the pico hydro continues to remain a vital community asset, providing multiple benefits to each household at affordable cost.

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Integrating conservation and energy access
The community has seen the direct impact of deforestation on the river, with water scarcity noticeably worsening from one summer to the next. There is a critical need to restore the watershed ecosystem, to preserve the water source – not only for drinking water, food security, and irrigation, but also to safeguard the community’s electricity supply. With a keen understanding of the linkages between the forest watershed, water and energy, the community was mobilized to leverage the interconnected benefits of pico hydropower and ecosystem restoration.

​In the video linked above (People Power in Myanmar), elders observe how deforestation was gradually drying up the river; the community therefore plants trees and protects the watershed ecosystem, in order to ensure consistent and sufficient water levels and flow rates, for reliable energy access. ​
They explain how the community cultivates and consumes forest products in a sustainable way. For instance, the community has a collectively agreed upon protocol for timber extraction, wherein two trees must be replanted for every one tree that’s cut down. 
“Without water, there is not light – we cannot produce electricity. Only if we conserve the forest, we can retain water. So we really need to conserve our forest.” – Elder and conservationist in Shan State
While the community leader certainly stands out as an inspiring conservation and micro hydro advocate, his efforts are not carried out in isolation, nor are the actions of his community. Communities all across the region have self-mobilized to safeguard their natural resources, and collaborate on large-scale, organized resource mapping and participatory research initiatives. For instance, in 2018, the Mekong Energy and Ecology Network (MEENet) held a gathering as part of a participatory research project, called the "Community-Owned Integrated Pan Long River Mountain Watershed Management". Many villages came together to collaborate on a Community Sustainable Environmental Assessment, mapping the forest, water and energy resources of the upper, middle and downstream communities along the Pan Long River. The communities continue to carry out environmental monitoring and work together to sustainably steward their ancestral lands in the face of present-day challenges. 
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Community Sustainable Environmental Assessment workshop. Credit: MEENet (Myanmar Team).
PictureBamboo pico hydro turbine. Credit: A. Khomsah et al. 2019.
Opportunities for locally-rooted, pro-environment pico hydropower

Among small-scale hydropower technologies, pico hydro (< 5 kW) tends to receive less attention and support, particularly as the cost of solar home lighting systems becomes competitive. Yet, we have examples to see the vast potential that pico hydro presents as a local, low-cost, high-impact solution.

A key advantage of pico hydropower is its low cost to sustain, long-term. Up-front costs are minimal, with little civil construction required, and there are no or few recurring costs, since there are no batteries to replace, nor complex technology. Moreover, pico hydro is easy to design, install and maintain, and doesn’t require formal education or training. Nearly all of the components can be fabricated or procured locally. When repairs are required, the simplicity of the system allows the community to be creative in using locally available material to rehabilitate the system. 

In addition to its affordability, pico hydro is often favoured by rural practitioners due to its complementarity with environmental values and priorities. When integrated with watershed strengthening, pico hydro brings intersectional benefits for social-ecological well-being and resilience. In Myanmar and other countries across the region, we have seen indigenous practitioners consistently prioritize healthy watersheds, ensuring reliable energy supply, as well as sustainable community development.

Moreover, with appropriate load management, pico hydro systems can power more than household lighting loads.  They can be used to power village-scale grain mills and other small machines to reduce physical drudgery and set up local enterprise.

Examples of successful, locally developed pico hydro can be seen all over the world. For instance, in addition to Myanmar, pico hydro also has had a long history in Laos, Vietnam, and India,. There continue to be unelectrified regions with untapped pico hydro potential.  With support from WISIONS, HPNET members have collaborated through knowledge exchange activities, to continue advancing pico hydro throughout South and Southeast Asia.

Moving forward

As we navigate a path toward sustainable development and environmental resilience, it is clear that much can be learned from pico hydro, and the locally-rooted practitioners who have championed it across the global South. Moving forward into the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, let us uplift, and learn from indigenous communities, such as in Shan State, Myanmar, that are advancing nature-based solutions for the benefit of their people and our collective future.

Composed by Lara Powell, HPNET Communications Coordinator
With content from HPNET members in Myanmar and the HPNET Manager, Dipti Vaghela
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