GFDD and FUNGLODE Attends Roundtable Discussion on Ethanol Development and Production Organized by Public-Private Alliance Foundation and Research Pays

Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE) attended the Third Annual Partners Against Poverty Event, which focused on ethanol development and production, organized by the Public-Private Alliance Foundation (PPAF) and Research Pays. The purpose of the event was to gather together professionals involved in diverse aspects of ethanol
development and production or policy from the Dominican Republic, the United States and Brazil in order to devise innovative and feasible business models. Senior government officials, industrialists, investors, scientists, entrepreneurs, NGO representatives from over 20 institutions participated in the forum. Aristides Fernández-Zucco, President of the Dominican Republic National Energy Commission, and Francis Lorenzo, Ambassador of the Mission of the Dominican Republic to the
United Nations were amongst the representatives participating in this event.

International experts exchanged and assessed best practices and global standards concerning the production of ethanol based on sugar, cellulose, corn and algae. Stakeholders discussed current production trends in the Dominican Republic, Brazil and the United States and evaluated local challenges to production. Key challenges voiced by participants were: financing, distribution and export
infrastructure. Experts also debated the role of subsidies on ethanol development and discussed strategies for maximizing gallons per acre.

Stakeholders from all countries agreed that financing is one of the number one obstacles facing development. In the wake of the global financial and economic crisis, long-term lending is now harder to come by. In Brazil, export infrastructure remains a problem. The Dominican Republic does not face infrastructure or distribution
obstacles; challenges are rather finance related.

During the roundtable discussion, Aristides Fernández-Zucco discussed the efforts taken by the Fernández Administration to advance biofuel production in the Dominican Republic and open the country to foreign investment in the area. The President of the National Energy
Commission expressed that in the process of working to emulate the Brazilian model of ethanol production, the Dominican Republic has become a model of ethanol production for the entire Caribbean basin. He discussed steps taken by the government to transition to a sustainable energy framework, such as legislation to promote renewable fuel production, in particular Law 57-07. Passed in May 2007, Law 57-07 provides incentives to companies developing renewable fuel technologies. Incentives
include exemption from taxation on profits for ten years until the year 2020. Fernández-Zucco also underscored the role of the Parque Cibernetica, the nation’s first wind park,  in the country’s energy security. While the fuel vs. food issue is permeating international debates on food security, the Dominican expert in alternative energy ascertained that Dominican law does not permit that land suitable for food production be used for biofuel
cultivation – sugar cane can only be grown on marginal lands.

Stakeholders discussed how ethanol development can serve as a mechanism for poverty alleviation, social advancement and community development. They also spoke about how social corporate responsibility initiatives can help to improve education, healthcare and provide access to electricity in the communities where biofuels are produced.

The Public-Private Alliance Foundation works to
establish partnerships between governments, non-governmental and civil society institutions and the private sector to advance sustainable development and alleviate global poverty. PPAF currently