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 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 among the many people opposed to the development of a big biofuel plantation in the location, about an hour's drive inland from the coastal town of Malindi.

It is a dry area and home to some 20,000 individuals in addition to globally 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 curcas, whose seeds are rich in oil that can be developed into bio-diesel.

This plant, originally 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 regional council.

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

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

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

The 27 EU countries have actually signed up to a regulation which states that by 2020, 20% of energy need to be from sustainable sources, external.

Why is Africa affected?

Because it is tough to discover 50,000 hectares of offered land to grow a biofuel crop in, for instance, the UK or Italy.

Why 'feed' an automobile?

But campaign groups have identified some of the jobs in Africa "land grabs" with dire repercussions for the frequently voiceless African communities.

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

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

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

The business states numerous irreversible and countless seasonal tasks will be developed and it denies that anybody will be displaced by the job.

"We want to protect the houses and the private property. We will farm around your houses," Kenya Jatropha Energy Ltd head Girardello Adriano informed the BBC from Milan.

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

How green are biofuels?

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

"We were suggesting 1,000 hectares ... We have told them to validate if the number has to change and that is why we haven't approved the project already," stated Benjamin Malwa Langwen, of the National Environment Management Authority (Nema).

However, there are now fresh calls for the Dakatcha task to be ditched as brand-new research study casts doubt on whether jatropha curcas 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 examine simply how green the jatropha curcas task in Kenya's Dakatcha forests would be.

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

This is partly since big amounts of carbon are kept in the forests' plants and soil however the plantation would indicate clearing the land of this greenery.

"The report shows that EU policies are silly policies due to the fact that they are not decreasing 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 termination and depriving countless local individuals of their livelihoods," said Helen Byron of the RSPB.

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

Unorthodox techniques

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

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

"My concern is the displacement of the neighborhood. It is not good to build a classroom and then send the students away," said the deputy head Godfrey Karissa.

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

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

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

"This switch from fossil fuels to sustainable energy must never be at the expense of individuals or the environment," Ikea informed the BBC in a statement.

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

If they feel pull down by the federal government and the regional authorities, homeowners simply may turn to unconventional methods 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 medications," stated Barova Kiribai, a traditional therapist, describing the owner of the Italian biofuels company.

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

It is not surprising they are stressed.

Kenya's politicians do not have a good track record when it concerns working in the interests of the people.

ActionAid

Kenya jatropha curcas Energy

RSPB

Nema

Ikea