Kenyans Fear Dakatcha Woodlands Biofuel Expansion

Kenyans fear Dakatcha Woodlands biofuel expansion


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 implies shedding blood," he informed the BBC.


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


He is one of the numerous individuals opposed to the production of a big biofuel plantation in the location, about an hour's drive inland from the seaside town of Malindi.


It is an arid area and home to some 20,000 people in addition to globally threatened animal and bird species.


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 abundant in oil that can be developed 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 dangerous. The area impacted is community land which is being kept in trust by the local council.


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


It has actually rented almost a million hectares in Africa; jatropha curcas oil from a plantation in Senegal is being provided to the Swedish furniture seller Ikea. Other business have actually leased land for the exact same function in Ethiopia, Mozambique and Ghana, in addition to in India.


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


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


Why is Africa affected?


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


Why 'feed' a car?


But project groups have actually labelled a few of the tasks in Africa "land grabs" with dire consequences for the often voiceless African communities.


Some ask: "Why 'feed' a vehicle in Europe when cravings in the house is still a truth?"


"Our future is no longer in our hands. We have actually been told we need to move due to the fact that they want to plant jatropha curcas here," said 27-year-old Merciline Koi, a mother 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 settlements are over - the has given the green light for a pilot job to start with 10,000 hectares and all it is waiting for now is the final documentation.


The company states numerous irreversible and thousands of seasonal jobs will be created and it denies that anyone will be displaced by the task.


"We wish to secure the homes and the personal home. We will farm around the houses," Kenya jatropha curcas Energy Ltd head Girardello Adriano informed the BBC from Milan.


"We are helping these individuals. They are extremely happy for this job. No-one will be moved."


How green are biofuels?


According to the Kenyan federal government's environment watchdog, the deal has actually not yet been sealed. It rejected the initial 50,000-hectare demand citing issues over the influence on the environment and the sustainability of the job.


"We were advising 1,000 hectares ... We have actually informed them to validate if the number needs to change and that is why we have not approved the task up to now," stated Benjamin Malwa Langwen, of the National Environment Management Authority (Nema).


However, there are now fresh require the Dakatcha task to be scrapped as brand-new research casts doubt on whether jatropha 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 investigate simply how green the jatropha project in Kenya's Dakatcha woodlands would be.


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


This is partly due to the fact that large amounts of carbon are kept in the woodlands' vegetation and soil however the plantation would imply clearing the land of this plant life.


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


"The proposed biofuel plantation will devastate the forests, driving the worldwide threatened Clarke's Weaver bird to termination and denying thousands of local individuals of their livelihoods," stated Helen Byron of the RSPB.


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


Unorthodox approaches


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


They were part moneyed by the European Union - the very organisation which is now implicated of pressing policies which locals fear might see the school closed down.


"My worry is the displacement of the neighborhood. It is not excellent to construct a classroom and then send out the pupils away," said the deputy head Godfrey Karissa.


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


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 company.


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


"This switch from fossil fuels to eco-friendly energy must never be at the cost of individuals or the environment," Ikea told the BBC in a declaration.


The forests are likewise a rich source of material for standard medicine.


If they feel let down by the government and the local authorities, homeowners simply may turn to unorthodox methods in a quote to keep the land.


"If all the seniors come together for one goal, then it is extremely simple to remove him with our medications," stated Barova Kiribai, a conventional therapist, referring to the owner of the Italian biofuels company.


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


It is not surprising they are fretted.


Kenya's political leaders do not have a good performance history when it concerns operating in the interests of individuals.


ActionAid


Kenya Jatropha Energy


RSPB


Nema


Ikea