Trucks on transit through the Northern Corridor. FILE PHOTO | NMG
A new initiative is set to be rolled out as part of efforts to
comprehensively deal with pollution along the Northern Corridor, a key
regional transport artery.
The details of the project
are contained in concept paper released in January titled ‘Reduction of
greenhouse gas (GHG) and pollution in the freight transport sector along the Northern Corridor’.
greenhouse gas (GHG) and pollution in the freight transport sector along the Northern Corridor’.
The document was done by the
Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Co-ordination Authority (NCTTCA)
and supported by Trade Mark East Africa (TMEA).
The NCTTCA members are Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, Southern Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Head
of Transport policy and planning at NCTTCA Aloys Rusagara said the
initiative is part of other projects the organisation rolled out several
years ago to mitigate pollution in the maritime sector in line with the
International Maritime Organization (IMO) rules on greenhouse gas
emissions.
“The policy organs directed the NCTTCA to
implement the green road freight program between its member states in
2016 and by 2017, we had already done a baseline survey for emissions at
the Port of Mombasa,” Mr Rusagara told Shipping at the organisation’s
offices in Mombasa.
The NCTTCA was charged with assessing the level of pollution from the port to the final destination of the goods
“We
have already drafted a work plan towards achieving that programme aimed
at meeting the directive in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
and entire pollution within the transport sector, from the Port of
Mombasa to the final destination of the consignments,” he added.
Kenya Transporters Association
The
execution of the plan, he added, will involve other players such as the
Kenya Transporters Association whose members own trucks that operate
along the corridor.
“There is going to be a number of
activities including implementing sensitisation activities for users.
Currently, member states are in discussion so that we can plan the
activities for implementation...,” he added.
Mr Rusagara said TMEA is expected to fund the project to the tune of $100,000 (Sh10 million) in the first year.
NCTTCA
in the concept document details how the transport sector is impacting
the environment, and contributing to climate change challenges.
“The
size of logistics sector in EAC is estimated at $15-25 billion per
annum. The EAC economies are growing rapidly increasing the transport
sector at the same pace. Consequently, Freight Transport Sectors are
nationally one of the fastest growing sources of Greenhouse Gas (GHG)
emissions and pollution,” NCTTCA said in the document.
The
document further said the German Corporation for International
Co-operation (GIZ) and the Kenyan Ministry of Transport have estimated
that Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGV) cause most emissions at 40 percent in
the transport sector.
The study also indicated that mitigation potential is estimated to be highest in the truck trafficking (HGVs).
Trends
in the transport sector in the other EAC countries are rather similar
to the Kenyan situation, although corridor impact is highest in Kenya
and Tanzania.
Uganda is in the process of preparing
National Transport Sector Policy and Strategy, which includes ambitious
GHG emission and pollution reduction targets. In Rwanda environmental
policies and principles have been high on the national agenda for years.
The
document has also identified potential GHG emission reductions in
transport sector, indicating that experiences around the world show that
training in efficient logistics and economic driving offer comparative
advantage to companies.
Emissions
Experts say economic driving is a relatively low-cost and fast action to reduce fuel consumption and emissions significantly.
Private
sector involvement has been key in providing support for drivers
training on fuel efficient driving, waste management, safety and
personal coaching.
Players say low carbon technology in
the transport sector is developing fast and has a lot of opportunities
to be adopted into on-going projects and activities in various
countries.
“ICT can provide solutions for real-time
logistics efficiency improvements, fuel consumption and cost savings of
individual vehicles, which can also be used as incentive for drivers,”
states the document seen by Shipping.
Alban Odhiambo,
director, ICT for Trade and Transport Facilitation at Trade Mark East
Africa (TMEA), said the organization works in collaboration with the
various stakeholders who use or regulate activities on the corridor.
“Our
strategy includes addressing climate change issues that are related to
trade and transport. At a corporate level TMEA has developed climate
change interventions that are geared towards addressing Green House Gas
Emissions related to trade along the corridor and one of the key ones is
the development of performance and monitoring indicators along the
corridor on GHG emissions,” said Mr Odhiambo.
He said
the organisation’s role as one of the facilitator is to to support
corridor actors to embrace and deploy climate-friendly techniques and
tools in their operations.
No comments :
Post a Comment