Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, March 30:

Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC) organised a workshop on ‘ Analysis of Renewable Energy Programmes with Respect to its Linkage with Poverty Reduction Goal’ in Kathmandu today.

Various development practitioners speaking at the programme said that the vicious cycle of poverty prevailing in the country needs to be addressed with proper strategies. Programmes targeted towards uplifting the living status of poor should be more result oriented. As to meet the United Nation Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of reducing poor by half by 2015, Nepal needs to focus more on poverty alleviation projects, they said. Representatives from almost all the national and international organisations working in the renewable energy programme in Nepal took part in the workshop.

Dr Hari Krishna Upadhaya, member, National Planning Commission stressed on the need to make energy technology pro-poor and enhance the poverty reduction impact by focussing on poors. Prof Pathibeshwar P Timilsina highlighted the need for changing the mind-set and social engineering for the adoption of renewable energy technology by poor. Dr Swoyambhu Man Amatya highlighted the need to provide more beneficial impact to fight poverty.