Indigenous capability building as an intervention strategy for sustainable energy implementation in vulnerable societies

• Main Author: Garniati, Leuserina
• Other Authors: Owen, Alan; Kruijsen, Joanneke; Gray, David
• Published: Robert Gordon University 2014
• Subjects: 620
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.635365

Geospatial regions have different requirements for energy development due to variations in environmental, economic, social, and political constraints which influence their energy demand profiles and generation capacities. These constraints determine the policy, strategy, and implementation priorities for sustainable energy consumption, generation, and distribution. This PhD research project focuses on the role of interfaces between sustainable energy policy and appropriate technology; and its iterative feedback loop mechanism to encourage the implementation of sustainable energy systems in a vulnerable society. As a novel contribution to knowledge and practice, this PhD work concludes that: 1. Establishing a local business case for indigenous, appropriate technology, utilising a solid network which receives committed, political support, is an effective intervention strategy to fast track the deployment of sustainable energy systems, which breaks the cycle of vulnerability through social transformation and community empowerment. 2. Being aware of their own Western-Educated-Industrialised-Rich-Democratic (WEIRD) mindsets is a first step for knowledge exchange practitioners to overcome cultural differences and to introduce the intervention strategy. This was synthesised from the following new understandings which were obtained as the outputs of this PhD research: 1. Re-interpretation of the theory of vulnerable societies in relation to sustainable energy; 2. Re-interpretation of the theory of sustainable energy in relation to the proposed fourth dimension of sustainability; 3. Re-interpretation on the theory of appropriate technology in relation to technological independence and indigenous wisdom; 4. Novel conceptual model of a vulnerable society’s problem system; 5. Novel conceptual model of the interfaces between sustainable energy policy and appropriate technology in vulnerable societies. It is expected that the outcome of this PhD research can bridge the gaps identified in theoretical sustainable energy policies whilst in practice provide sound advice and confidence for policy makers and initiative implementers in grounding equal access to energy as a fundamental agent of change towards sustainable societal development.