DAKAR, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- Tens of thousands of rural households in Senegal are expected to benefit from a unique agreement signed Wednesday in Dakar between the Senegalese Rural Electrification Agency (ASER) and the World Bank.

    Under the agreement, which is Senegal's first Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) program to reduce greenhouse gas emission, the ASER Rural Area Energy Efficient Lighting Program will provide about 1.5 million compact fluorescent lamps worth 7 million U.S. dollars in Senegal's rural areas.

    These energy efficient light bulbs can work up to five or six times longer than a conventional light bulb and use less power.

    "In a context of scarce resources and high electricity generation costs, the implementation of such a program will facilitate a more efficient use of generation capacity and provide additional resources to expand access of electricity services for the population of rural Senegal," said Samuel A Sarr, energy minister of Senegal.

    According to the agreement, ASER will sell 120,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gas emission reduction to the Community Development Carbon Fund which is managed by the World Bank.

    The program is a component of a rural electrification plan that will provide affordable access to power for 365,000 rural households within five years.

    The objective of the rural electrification plan is to improve access and affordability for Senegal 's rural population on energy services, one of the development priorities and challenges for the country and the African continent.

    "The signature of this contract gives a strong signal, especially as it takes place in the context of the first carbon forum in Africa. We hope, therefore, that this project will be a source of inspiration for many more initiatives to come in Africa," said Mme Meskerem Mulatu, the World Bank's Acting Country Manager in Senegal.

    The agreement was signed at the Africa Carbon Forum being held here for Sept. 3 to 5.

    The forum is being held under the umbrella of the Nairobi Framework initiative, launched in November 2006, to expand the reach of CDM and enhance capacity building on the CDM for climate change officials and carbon market participants in Africa.

    CDM is a market machine established under the Kyoto Protocol, which obliged 37 developed nations to cut emissions by 5 percent below 1990 levels by 2008-12.

    Under the CDM, projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to sustainable development can earn saleable certified emission reduction credits.

    There are to date more than 1,150 CDM projects in 49 countries, but just 27 of these are in Africa.

    "Outside of Africa, the CDM has been a great success. It has provided an important source of investment and financial flows for clean development, it has stimulated technology transfer, and 2 percent of credits issued under CDM are going toward adaptation to climate change," said Yvo de Boer, head of the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat, Wednesday at the opening of the carbon forum.

    He urged African countries to get more engaged in the global climate change talks to benefit more from the CDM.