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Kenyans fear Dakatcha Woodlands biofuel expansion

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 very crucial 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 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 business has actually asked the authorities for to lease 50,000 hectares there to grow jatropha, whose seeds are abundant in oil that can be developed into bio-diesel.

This plant, initially from South America, has actually long been grown in Africa as a hedge to keep out animals - goats remain well away as it is harmful. The location affected is community 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 actually rented nearly a million hectares in Africa; jatropha oil from a plantation in Senegal is being provided to the Swedish furnishings seller Ikea. Other companies have actually leased land for the same purpose in Ethiopia, Mozambique and Ghana, along with in India.

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

The 27 EU nations have signed up to a regulation which states that by 2020, 20% of energy should 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 example, the UK or Italy.

Why 'feed' an automobile?

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

Some ask: "Why 'feed' a car in Europe when hunger in your home is still a reality?"

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

Kenya Jetropha Energy Ltd states the negotiations are over - the government has okayed for a pilot job to start with 10,000 hectares and all it is waiting for now is the final documents.

The company says numerous irreversible and countless seasonal tasks will be developed and it rejects that anybody will be displaced by the task.

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

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

How green are biofuels?

According to the Kenyan federal government's environment watchdog, the offer has not yet been sealed. It turned down the preliminary 50,000-hectare request pointing out concerns over the influence on the environment and the sustainability of the job.

"We were advising 1,000 hectares ... We have actually told them to justify if the number needs to alter and that is why we have not approved the task already," said Benjamin Malwa Langwen, of the National Environment Management Authority (Nema).

However, there are now fresh calls for the Dakatcha project to be scrapped as brand-new research study calls into question whether jatropha is really 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 examine just how green the jatropha project in Kenya's Dakatcha forests would be.

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

This is partially due to the fact that big amounts of carbon are kept in the forests' plant life and soil however the plantation would suggest 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 proclaiming," stated ActionAid's Chris Coxon.

"The proposed biofuel plantation will devastate the woodlands, driving the internationally threatened Clarke's Weaver bird to extinction and denying thousands of regional individuals of their livelihoods," said Helen Byron of the RSPB.

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

Unorthodox methods

At the remote Mulunguni primary school, which lies within the Dakatcha Woodlands, a number of brand-new classrooms and pit latrines have simply been developed.

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

"My worry is the displacement of the community. It is not great to build a class and after that send the pupils away," stated the deputy head Godfrey Karissa.

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

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

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

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

The forests are likewise a rich source of product for traditional medication.

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

"If all the seniors come together for one goal, then it is really easy to eliminate him with our medicines," said Barova Kiribai, a standard healer, referring to the owner of the Italian biofuels company.

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

It is not surprising they are worried.

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

ActionAid

Kenya Jatropha Energy

RSPB

Nema

Ikea