The IAP2ENERGY plan should form a business model that aims for the eradication of IAPs while sharing the costs and burdens (financial, social and environmental) with the benefits from the removal of IAPs. The supporting policies for IAP2ENERGY include the payment for ecosystem services (PES) such as water , a biodiversity grant to farmers to incentivise the conservation and restoration of biodiversity, and a favourable green energy tariff for IAP2ENERGY products. ABI Energy can support this process with the co-ordination of stakeholders for the multi-stakeholder engagement in IAP2ENERGY and other renewable energy assessments (ABI Energy Working Group); monitoring the IAP2ENERGY interventions to make sure that they comply with legislation and best practice; as well as assessing the benefits of IAP2ENERGY using green economic models (ABI Energy Monitoring Group). Further, an ABI Code of Best Practice can support and strengthen the Working For Water programme to ensure that there is follow-up, and legislation compliance with additional guidelines and support for restoration of biodiversity . IAPs are spreading at an overall estimated rate of 5%, despite efforts of the Working for Water, (government’s extended public works programme) to control them.
The IAP2ENERGY intervention aims to eradicate IAPS in 20 years and a roadmap for implementation involves preliminary work of assessment of appropriate technology options, developing business plans, developing partnerships, and securing funding; this is followed by implementing and up-scaling. Once IAP biomass has been depleted within each IAP2ENERGY harvesting area, namely the biomass supply area for the IAP2ENERGY factory, decommissioning will need to take place unless plans have been put in place to switch to an alternative feedstock. The options for land-use following IAP removal should be part of IAP2ENERGY planning processes and be integrated with other renewable energy supply options such as wind and solar. There will need to be periodic re-assessments of the IAP2ENERGY projects to determine if they are meeting their goals, but also to explore other IAP2ENERGY technologies as they become commercially available or appropriate. This periodic review will need to be informed by a monitoring programme that evaluates the full costs and benefits on a continual basis to ensure that the IAP2ENERGY contributes towards sustainable development.