So, what are the influences of my production? Is it worth the local grievances, or do the negative impacts outweigh the positive ones?

In 2014, the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy and Germanwatch conducted comprehensive (field) research to study the impacts of the first CSP plant of the project (Noor I) on local livelihoods. The key livelihood dimensions that were studied were categorized as human capital, financial capital, natural capital, social capital, political capital, and physical capital.¹

The significance of the livelihood impacts were assessed by both experts (local and international, from different fields) as well as the local stakeholders themselves (including vulnerable groups like women and youth). Interestingly, experts assessed the positive livelihood impacts consistently higher than the communities did: the only positive impact that got a ‘moderate’ ranking from the communities was “improved living conditions in adjacent communities,” whereas the experts deemed “community culture and sense of place,” “regional infrastructure development,” “improved socio-economic situation and standard of living,” “increased regional prosperity,” “increased public interest in renewable energy,” and “skill development” all as ‘moderate’ positive impacts (all other positive impacts were ranked as ‘very low’ or ‘low’).²

The opposite can be observed for the assessment of negative livelihood impacts: those are generally perceived as more significant by the communities than by the experts. Community stakeholders, for example, indicated that they evaluated the anticipated “deprivation of farming livelihoods in Ouarzazate and cascading effects downstream” due to regional water scarcity as ‘high’.³ Issues that were categorized as moderately significant included the “social exclusion and powerlessness in decision-making,” the “mismatch between educational qualifications and labor market requirements” and the “poor and unequal labor conditions.”⁴

Even though the local stakeholders and experts were not always on the same page, the report provided numerous recommendations, which will be discussed in the next blogpost.

References
1. Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy and Germanwatch, 2015. Energy and development: exploring the local livelihood dimension of the Noor I CSP project in Southern Morocco.
2. Ibid.: p.25.
3. Ibid.: p.26.
4. Ibid.