The project aims to strengthen the capacity of countries in the ESCWA Region to mainstream appropriate pro-poor green technology initiatives into national development programmes and policies, in order to enhance livelihood of rural communities.

The project will build the capacity of public and private development institutions on assessing the appropriate green technology needs in rural areas and on understanding the mechanisms that support the mainstreaming of appropriate pro-poor green technology initiatives. It will also enhance the knowledge of policy makers and decision makers on policy options and build their capacity for using policy tools to enable an environment conducive for investment in appropriate green technologies in rural areas in the region.

The project will be implemented through learning by doing approach to sensitize stakeholders on the issues faced by rural communities on gaining access to appropriate green technologies and services. The activities include in-depth analysis of the market failure to disseminate green technologies in rural areas and proposed measures to support market mechanisms in correcting its failure, participatory training workshops and study tours will be organized at the national, sub-regional and regional levels, a pilot demonstration facility based on the project proposed framework will be established in a selected country, and an online platform for knowledge sharing and information base on selecting, assessing and disseminating appropriate green technologies for development programmes in rural areas will be deployed.

The project will collaborate with existing national and regional institutions to ensure sharing of good practices and to sustain and enhance project impacts. It will benefit from the work and experience of collaborating UN agencies in the area of appropriate green technology for poor rural areas.