Incentivising activity in the biomass sector | Policy, South Africa 2019
Incentivising activity in the biomass sector through value chain information and policy navigation
SEED Practitioner Labs Policy Prototyping South Africa brought together policy makers, eco-inclusive enterprises, and intermediaries over a multi-step collaborative process to design policy instruments that increase access to and improve the quality of support mechanisms for socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable enterprises looking to scale their impact.
To incentivise small business activity in biomass sectors, this policy prototype looks to the biomass-to-energy value chain to pilot a mechanism that will catalyse sound decision-making in the biomass sector, leading to the implementation of sustainable invasive alien clearing, harvesting and biomass utilisation projects that connect to well-supported energy markets. In order to address the challenges that small and medium businesses in this sector currently face, the prototype involves setting up a knowledge-sharing platform to provide value chain specific information, biomass to energy case studies, and information on how to navigate regulatory frameworks, policy and fiscal incentives. This solution was developed by the Department of Environment, Forestry, and Fisheries, with support from Ekasi Energy and South South North.