Kenyans Fear Dakatcha Woodlands Biofuel Expansion

Kenyans fear Dakatcha Woodlands biofuel growth


23 March 2011


By Will Ross


BBC News, Dakatcha


Being in the shade of a tree beside his thatched mud hut in in Kenya's Dakatcha Woodlands, Joshua Kahindi Pekeshe is defiant.


"We are not going to let this land go even if it indicates shedding blood," he informed the BBC.


"Land is extremely essential to us. We farm and get our livelihood from it. On this land we bury our dead."


He is one of the lots of people opposed to the creation of a big biofuel plantation in the location, about an hour's drive inland from the coastal town of Malindi.


It is a dry location and home to some 20,000 individuals in addition to globally threatened animal and bird types.


Ambitious objectives


An Italian company has actually asked the authorities for permission to rent 50,000 hectares there to grow jatropha curcas, whose seeds are rich in oil that can be turned into bio-diesel.


This plant, initially from South America, has long been grown in Africa as a hedge to keep out animals - goats remain well away as it is toxic. The area affected is neighborhood land which is being held in trust by the local council.


Kenya Jatropha Energy Ltd is 100%-owned by the Milan-based Nuove Iniziative Industriali SRL.


It has rented almost a million hectares in Africa; jatropha curcas oil from a plantation in Senegal is being provided to the Swedish furnishings merchant Ikea. Other companies have actually rented land for the very same purpose in Ethiopia, Mozambique and Ghana, in addition to in India.


This growth has been spurred by the European Union, which has actually set enthusiastic goals for lowering greenhouse gas emissions and lowering its dependence on imported oil.


The 27 EU countries have registered to a directive which states that by 2020, 20% of energy must be from sustainable sources, external.


Why is Africa affected?


Because it is hard to discover 50,000 hectares of available land to grow a biofuel crop in, for example, the UK or Italy.


Why 'feed' a vehicle?


But project groups have identified some of the tasks in Africa "land grabs" with alarming effects for the frequently voiceless African communities.


Some ask: "Why 'feed' an automobile in Europe when hunger at home is still a reality?"


"Our future is no longer in our hands. We have been told we need to move due to the fact that they wish to plant jatropha curcas here," said 27-year-old Merciline Koi, a mom of 2, who included that there had actually been no deal of compensation for leaving her home in Dakatcha Woodlands.


Kenya Jetropha Energy Ltd says the negotiations are over - the federal government has okayed for a pilot job to begin with 10,000 hectares and all it is waiting for now is the last documentation.


The business states numerous permanent and thousands of seasonal jobs will be produced and it rejects that anybody will be displaced by the job.


"We wish to protect the houses and the private property. We will farm around your houses," Kenya jatropha curcas Energy Ltd head Girardello Adriano told the BBC from Milan.


"We are assisting these people. They are extremely delighted for this job. No-one will be moved."


How green are biofuels?


According to the Kenyan government's environment guard dog, the offer has not yet been sealed. It refused the preliminary 50,000-hectare request citing issues over the impact on the environment and the sustainability of the job.


"We were recommending 1,000 hectares ... We have told them to justify if the number has to change which is why we have not authorized the job up to now," stated Benjamin Malwa Langwen, of the National Environment Management Authority (Nema).


However, there are now fresh calls for the Dakatcha task to be scrapped as brand-new research calls into question whether jatropha curcas is actually a greener option to oil.


The anti-poverty campaign group ActionAid and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) commissioned a report to examine simply how green the jatropha curcas job in Kenya's Dakatcha woodlands would be.


The research study by the consultancy group North Energy, external discovered that jatropha curcas would discharge between 2.5 and 6 times more greenhouse gases when compared to nonrenewable fuel sources.


This is partly since large quantities of carbon are saved in the woodlands' plant life and soil but the plantation would mean clearing the land of this plant life.


"The report reveals that EU policies are silly policies since they are not lowering greenhouse gas emissions as the EU is proclaiming," said ActionAid's Chris Coxon.


"The proposed biofuel plantation will ravage the woodlands, driving the worldwide threatened Clarke's Weaver bird to extinction and denying countless local people of their incomes," stated Helen Byron of the RSPB.


In reaction, the EU Commission defended its energy policy as "the most comprehensive and advanced sustainability plan for biofuels anywhere in the world".


Unorthodox techniques


At the remote Mulunguni primary school, which lies within the Dakatcha Woodlands, numerous new classrooms and pit latrines have actually just been built.


They were part moneyed by the European Union - the extremely organisation which is now accused of pushing policies which locals fear might see the school closed down.


"My concern is the displacement of the neighborhood. It is not excellent to develop a class and after that send out the students away," said the deputy head Godfrey Karissa.


"Yes we need jobs. But a farm without a home is not good. You need to have a home before you go to your task."


There are clearly concerns on the ground that as soon as the lease is signed, the population will be at the mercy of a profit-driven business.


Ikea says it will not source jatropha oil from Kenya until it can be sure that this will not add to the conversion of .


"This switch from nonrenewable fuel sources to renewable resource must never ever be at the expense of individuals or the environment," Ikea informed the BBC in a declaration.


The woodlands are likewise a rich source of material for traditional medication.


If they feel let down by the federal government and the regional authorities, residents just might turn to unconventional techniques in a quote to keep the land.


"If all the elders come together for one objective, then it is very simple to eliminate him with our medications," said Barova Kiribai, a traditional therapist, describing the owner of the Italian biofuels company.


The fate of the individuals here remains in the hands of the Kenyan government and Malindi's local council.


It is not unexpected they are stressed.


Kenya's political leaders do not have a great track record when it concerns operating in the interests of the individuals.


ActionAid


Kenya jatropha curcas Energy


RSPB


Nema


Ikea