Egypt is looking for effective means to report and manage its energy and mineral reserves. A workshop is taking place this week in Luxor to assess how the application of the United Nations Framework Classification for Fossil Energy and Mineral Reserves and Resources (UNFC) can help the country achieve this important objective. The UNFC encompasses solid mineral and fluid resources and covers both renewables and water. It can be used at the national level, but also at city level, as planners address local resource requirements in an integrated way. More broadly, the UNFC can benefit the entire African continent as it seeks to develop its minerals, oil, gas, coal, uranium, hydroelectricity, and other renewable energy sources in ways that meets development needs.
In his opening address on 18 October, Mohamed Badr, Governor of Luxor, made clear his presence was no mere courtesy visit: “The fact that I am here this morning on Parliamentary election day in my country will show you the importance we attach to this training workshop which we are proud to host with the Nuclear Materials Authority. We are all committed to using the natural resources of the earth in a good way. So we want to benefit from the knowledge brought here by all the many countries attending”. The Governor made plain his goals for the training course: “We will apply the training to help us develop a clear, realistic strategy and a practical implementation energy plan to meets the needs of my City and of my country. We need a better equilibrium between supply and demand, and without this our green economy goals will not be met. That is how, with your help, we can put UNFC to work”.
The management of resources today is not without challenges. Worldwide, many natural resource projects experience major difficulties with social acceptance resulting in conflict and financial write-downs. A resource management expert needs to learn how to communicate the technical, economic and social benefits of any project to all stakeholders from governments to industry to investors to local communities. UNFC uniquely allows such communication.
The uptake of UNFC grows worldwide and will continue to be fuelled by the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals that involve effective management of natural resources. The weight of UN approval behind the system underpins its transparency and scientific integrity and enhances its appeal. In her welcome to the Governor and to the participants, Charlotte Griffiths, UNECE Section Chief and UNFC Programme Officer, emphasized the practical benefits using UNFC can bring. “We will respond positively to the Governor’s call for providing him recommendations from this meeting on practical ways the UNFC can be used to assist Luxor and many rapidly growing cities around the world to respond to their energy security needs. The growing UNFC ‘family’ enables us to tap competence and experience from all over the world and meet the challenge the Governor has thrown down”.
The Regional Training Course on “UNFC-2009 for Evaluation of Uranium and Thorium Resources and to Leverage Transparent and Effective Communications” is taking place in Luxor, Egypt, 18–22 October 2015. Co-hosted by UNECE, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Nuclear Materials Authority, Egypt and the Governorate of Luxor under the Patronage of Mohamed Shaker, Minister of Electricity and Energy of Egypt, the event is attended by more than 50 experts, representing Governments and academia, from Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and United Kingdom.
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