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 next to 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 implies shedding blood," he informed the BBC.


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


He is one of the numerous 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 an arid area and home to some 20,000 people in addition to worldwide threatened animal and bird species.


Ambitious goals


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


This plant, originally from South America, has actually long been grown in Africa as a hedge to stay out animals - goats remain well away as it is harmful. The location impacted is neighborhood land which is being held in trust by the regional council.


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


It has leased practically a million hectares in Africa; jatropha curcas oil from a plantation in Senegal is being provided to the Swedish furnishings retailer Ikea. Other business have actually rented land for the same purpose in Ethiopia, Mozambique and Ghana, along with in India.


This growth has been stimulated by the European Union, which has actually set ambitious goals for lowering greenhouse gas emissions and reducing its reliance on imported oil.


The 27 EU countries have registered to an instruction which mentions that by 2020, 20% of energy should be from sustainable sources, external.


Why is Africa affected?


Because it is difficult to find 50,000 hectares of readily available land to grow a biofuel crop in, for instance, the UK or Italy.


Why 'feed' an automobile?


But project groups have actually identified a few of the tasks in Africa "land grabs" with alarming effects for the typically voiceless African neighborhoods.


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


"Our future is no longer in our hands. We have actually been informed we have to move since they wish to plant jatropha curcas here," said 27-year-old Merciline Koi, a mother of 2, who added that there had been no deal of settlement for leaving her home in Dakatcha Woodlands.


Kenya Jetropha Energy Ltd says the settlements are over - the government has okayed for a pilot task to begin with 10,000 hectares and all it is waiting on now is the last documents.


The company says numerous long-term and thousands of seasonal jobs will be developed and it denies that anyone will be displaced by the job.


"We wish to secure your homes and the personal property. We will farm around your houses," Kenya Jatropha Energy Ltd head Girardello Adriano told the BBC from Milan.


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


How green are biofuels?


According to the Kenyan government's environment watchdog, the deal has not yet been sealed. It turned down the initial 50,000-hectare demand mentioning issues over the impact on the environment and the sustainability of the project.


"We were advising 1,000 hectares ... We have actually told them to justify if the number needs to alter and that is why we haven't authorized the project up to now," stated Benjamin Malwa Langwen, of the National Environment Management Authority (Nema).


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


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


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


This is partly since big quantities of carbon are stored in the woodlands' plants and soil but the plantation would mean clearing the land of this vegetation.


"The report shows that EU policies are foolish policies since they are not lowering greenhouse gas emissions as the EU is announcing," stated ActionAid's Chris Coxon.


"The proposed biofuel plantation will devastate the forests, driving the worldwide threatened Clarke's Weaver bird to extinction and denying countless local individuals of their incomes," said Helen Byron of the RSPB.


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


Unorthodox methods


At the remote Mulunguni main school, which lies within the Dakatcha Woodlands, several new classrooms and pit latrines have simply been developed.


They were part moneyed by the European Union - the extremely organisation which is now implicated of pressing policies which residents fear might see the school shut down.


"My worry is the displacement of the community. It is not excellent to construct a class and then send the students away," said the deputy head Godfrey Karissa.


"Yes we require jobs. But a farm without a home is bad. You need to have a home before you go to your job."


There are plainly issues on the ground that as soon as the lease is signed, the population will be at the grace of a profit-driven business.


Ikea states it will not source jatropha oil from Kenya up until it can be sure that this will not contribute to the conversion of natural environments.


"This switch from fossil fuels to renewable resource need to never ever be at the expense of people or the environment," Ikea informed the BBC in a statement.


The forests are also an abundant source of material for standard medication.


If they feel pull down by the federal government and the local authorities, residents simply may turn to unconventional approaches in a quote to keep the land.


"If all the senior citizens come together for one goal, then it is very easy to eliminate him with our medications," said Barova Kiribai, a standard therapist, referring to the owner of the Italian biofuels business.


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


It is not surprising they are fretted.


Kenya's political leaders do not have a great performance history when it comes to operating in the interests of the people.


ActionAid


Kenya jatropha curcas Energy


RSPB


Nema


Ikea