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 bold.

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

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

He is one of the numerous people opposed to the development of a large 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 people in addition to worldwide threatened animal and bird species.

Ambitious objectives

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

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

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

It has actually rented 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 very same purpose in Ethiopia, Mozambique and Ghana, as well as in India.

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

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

Why is Africa impacted?

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

Why 'feed' an automobile?

But campaign groups have actually labelled a few of the jobs in Africa "land grabs" with dire effects for the often voiceless African neighborhoods.

Some ask: "Why 'feed' a vehicle in Europe when appetite at home is still a reality?"

"Our future is no longer in our hands. We have actually been informed we need to move because 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 settlement for leaving her home in Dakatcha Woodlands.

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

The business says hundreds of irreversible and thousands of seasonal jobs will be created and it rejects that anyone will be displaced by the task.

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

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

How green are biofuels?

According to the Kenyan government's environment watchdog, the deal has actually not yet been sealed. It refused the preliminary 50,000-hectare request mentioning issues over the influence on the environment and the sustainability of the job.

"We were recommending 1,000 hectares ... We have actually told them to justify if the number has to alter which is why we have not authorized the task 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 scrapped as brand-new research calls into question whether jatropha is really a greener option to oil.

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

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

This is partially since large amounts of carbon are kept in the forests' plant life and soil however the plantation would indicate clearing the land of this vegetation.

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

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

In reaction, the EU Commission protected its energy policy as "the most extensive and advanced sustainability scheme for biofuels throughout the world".

Unorthodox methods

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

They were part moneyed by the European Union - the very organisation which is now accused of pushing policies which residents fear could see the school closed down.

"My worry is the displacement of the community. It is not excellent to construct a class and after that send the students away," stated 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 curcas oil from Kenya till it can be sure that this will not contribute to the conversion of natural habitats.

"This switch from nonrenewable fuel sources to renewable resource should never be at the expense of people or the environment," Ikea told the BBC in a statement.

The woodlands are likewise an abundant source of product for standard medication.

If they feel pull down by the federal government and the regional authorities, homeowners just may turn to unorthodox approaches in a bid to keep the land.

"If all the senior citizens come together for one objective, then it is really easy to eliminate him with our medicines," stated Barova Kiribai, a standard therapist, describing the owner of the Italian biofuels business.

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

It is not surprising they are stressed.

Kenya's politicians do not have an excellent track record when it pertains to working in the interests of individuals.

ActionAid

Kenya Jatropha Energy

RSPB

Nema

Ikea