A NATIONAL strategy on integrating energy and rural development was drafted at a workshop at the Sedona Hotel earlier this month, said an official from the Bangkok-based United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

“The draft plan was discussed and in principle agreed by the participants at the workshop,” said Mr Hong Peng Liu, the economic affairs officer of ESCAP’s Environment and Sustainable Development Division.

The national consultation workshop on June 8 was organised by the Ministry of Energy and ESCAP.

The consultation involved a national team comprising about 30 selected participants from government departments and local and international non-government organisations.

Mr Hong said the workshop was an important activity under an ESCAP project titled ‘Capacity-building on integration of energy and rural development planning’ being undertaken in seven regional countries.
The other countries are Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

The workshop also discussed ways of strengthening energy planning for rural areas, as well as rural development policies and programs, said Mr Hong.

He said energy integration played an important role in rural development.
“Energy services are needed to create better opportunities for education, to distribute and store medical supplies, and to free time for income-generating activities, especially for women and girls,” he said.

The consultation follows a national capacity building workshop on integrating of energy and rural development policies and programs held last November at the Sedona Hotel.

At the first workshop, polices and guidelines needed to be considered in drafting the strategy were provided by an ESCAP official. The national team used the information to begin work on drafting a strategy which best suited conditions in the country.

Dr Wah Wah Maung, an assistant lecturer in the Applied Economics Department at the Yangon Institute of Economics, said the strategy drafted earlier this month covered plans to promote the role of energy in rural development.

It includes creating alternative fuel sources for cooking, generating electricity by using renewable energy technology, the effective use of energy and income generation activities.

She said the strategy would be of a huge benefit in narrowing the gap between urban and rural development.

As the strategy mainly concerned the energy sector, the Ministry of Energy would play a key implementation role, though the cooperation of other ministries would be essential, Dr Wah Wah Maung said.

Because of the number of projects likely to be involved in implementing the strategy, the involvement of non-government organisations and individuals to provide funding and other support would also be needed to ensure it was implemented successfully.

The maximum possible participation in implementing the strategy would be in the national interest, said Dr Wah Wah Maung.

Although the draft strategy provided a general outline for integrating energy and rural development, detailed planning was needed to prepare a final strategy, which would adopt specific tasks on a step-by-step basis, she said.

Another workshop was expected to be held this year to draft the final strategy, Dr Wah Wah Maung said.

She said ESCAP was likely to provide training to boost the capacity of selected participants before the strategy is implemented.

A national team would be established officially to implement the strategy, Dr Wah Wah Maung said.