The Public-Private Alliance Foundation is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 donor-supported corporation headquartered in New York. It is associated with the United Nations and the United Nations Global Compact. It aims to reduce poverty by networking business, government, academia, the financial community, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), UN entities and others. The Foundation helps stimulate entrepreneurship and investment for sustainable development and achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals. It works in several program areas including agribusiness, renewable energy and microfinance. Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Madagascar are focus countries.
Contact Information
Our Focus
The Foundation began to work in biofuels and bioenergy in 2008 in the Dominican Republic and at its Second Annual Partners Against Poverty conference at the United Nations. In 2009 the Foundation organized four conferences related to ethanol, biofuels and bioenergy - two at the UN and two in the D.R. The May event at the UN focused on sugar-based ethanol and brought representation from the DR, Brazil, US and Haiti. The June event on bio-fuels focused on challenges and opportunities for financing.
In Santo Domingo, D.R., the National Energy Commission and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and local businesses co-sponsored the events. These meetings brought to local participants concepts from the earlier meetings, and combined these with the aims of the recently enacted Dominican law 57-07 for the promotion of renewable energy.
The Foundation is now working with several partners to introduce ethanol cookstoves into Haiti. The focus is on improving health, limiting deforestation, reducing costs and aiming toward self-sustaining jobs in this business sector.
Our Experience And Interest In The Four PCIA Central Focus Areas
The major barriers to using traditional fuels and stoves are increased massive deforestation and the high cost of charcoal and wood for fuel. Since the 2010 earthquake in Haiti prices have risen, and many people are confined to tent encampments where traditional wood and charcoal cooking are problematic. Already living in a fragile society because of its poverty, the people of Haiti are now faced with a distressed economy, massive unemployment and even more desperate living conditions.
The main emphasis of the project is to develop a sustainable market for ethanol cookstoves, with local manufacture and local supply of fuel. We aim for these clean cookstoves and their fuel to contribute to rebuilding Haiti, through local manufacture, local fuel production, public-private partnerships and job creation. These will reduce cooking costs, reduce smoke and soot, improve health, especially of women and children, reduce production of charcoal and import of kerosene, and help stem rampant deforestation.
The Foundation is a networking and development organization rather than a technical organization. It is working with others experienced in the technology of clean cookstoves and ethanol production.
The project will include pilot studies and monitoring of the use and the business model of clean cookstoves.
Relevant Publications or Studies
None noted
Our Contribution to the Partnership
The Public-Private Alliance Foundation wants to participate through sharing information on our work and networking with others involved in clean cookstove use, capacity building, technical assistance, project implementation, sustainability of a business model, ethanol fuel production and management, etc. The Foundation and its partners will contribute through sharing information on their innovative work in Haiti.