Advancing the Promotion of Alternatives to Charcoal Activity

IAW FAR 52.215-3 REQUEST FOR INFORMATION OR SOLICITATION FOR PLANNING PURPOSES (OCT 1997) (a) The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this solicitation or to otherwise pay for the information solicited except as an allowable cost under other contracts as provided in subsection 31.205-18, Bid and proposal costs, of the Federal Acquisition Regulation. (b) Although - proposal and - offeror are used in this Request for Information, your response will be treated as information only. It shall not be used as a proposal. (c) This draft SOO is issued for the purpose of obtaining information from interested parties regarding the Advancing the Promotion of Alternatives to Charcoal activity. Background Zambia's annual deforestation and forest degradation rate is estimated between 200,000 to 300,000 hectares annually; a quarter of which is attributed to charcoal production. Forest loss and degradation, resulting from charcoal production, agricultural expansion and settlements, is a significant source of carbon emissions and driver of habitat loss that puts the country's biodiversity at risk. Charcoal and firewood account for more than 70% of national energy consumption. In light of the aforementioned, there is need to decrease dependency on charcoal in cooking and heating through the development/promotion and marketing of affordable alternative fuel options. Based on the above background, USAID/Zambia consulted with key stakeholders, including the private sector, government, regulators, and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), academia and donors working in the industry. The stakeholders agreed on the need to increase adoption of innovative, low emission energy technologies and fuels and to help reduce the demand for charcoal production and thereby helping to minimize forest degradation and deforestation. The proposed activity will therefore support the Zambian government's aspirations and ambitions to fulfill its greenhouse gas reduction commitments by promoting alternatives to charcoal and thereby reducing deforestation and forest degradation. Furthermore, the activity will contribute to biodiversity conservation and promoting the sustainable management of forests in Zambia, as deforestation and forest degradation are key drivers of biodiversity loss. The overall objective of this activity is to reduce deforestation and forest degradation attributed to charcoal production by promoting alternatives to charcoal. We invite all interested parties to submit comments and feedback to this draft Statement of Objectives in writing not to exceed five (5) pages to oaa-solicit-lusaka@usaid.gov. In addition to open comments, directed questions can be found at Google Form USAID/Zambia Advancing the Promotion of Alternatives to Charcoal Activity[1]. This notice is solely intended to solicit responses on this possible activity and is not a Request for Proposals. Ideas contained herein may change significantly during the mission's ongoing program design, consultation, and approval process. This request for information does not commit USAID to pay any cost incurred in the preparation and submission of comments or feedback. All responses must be received by April 19, 2019 05:00 p.m. Zambia time. If you encounter issues with the Google Form (directed questions), please contact oaa-solicit-lusaka@usaid.gov. Comments sent to any other e-mail address will not be considered. Proposals sent in response to this draft SOO will not be considered. [1] Google Form USAID/Zambia Advancing the Promotion of Alternatives to Charcoal Activity