Kenyans fear Dakatcha Woodlands biofuel growth

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 indicates shedding blood," he informed the BBC.

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

He is among the lots of people opposed to the production of a large biofuel plantation in the location, about an hour's drive inland from the seaside town of Malindi.

It is an arid location and home to some 20,000 people along with globally threatened animal and bird types.

Ambitious objectives

An Italian company has asked the authorities for consent to rent 50,000 hectares there to grow jatropha, whose seeds are abundant in oil that can be turned into bio-diesel.

This plant, initially 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 area affected is neighborhood land which is being held in trust by the regional council.

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

It has leased nearly a million hectares in Africa; jatropha curcas oil from a plantation in Senegal is being supplied to the Swedish furniture retailer Ikea. Other business have 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 nations have signed up to a regulation which states that by 2020, 20% of energy must be from sustainable sources, external.

Why is Africa affected?

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

Why 'feed' a car?

But campaign groups have labelled some 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 hunger in your home is still a truth?"

"Our future is no longer in our hands. We have been told we need to move because they wish to plant jatropha 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 government has actually given the green light for a pilot task to start with 10,000 hectares and all it is awaiting now is the final documents.

The business says numerous long-term and thousands of seasonal tasks will be created and it denies that anyone will be displaced by the job.

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

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

How green are biofuels?

According to the Kenyan government's environment watchdog, the offer has actually not yet been sealed. It declined the initial 50,000-hectare demand citing concerns over the influence on the environment and the sustainability of the project.

"We were recommending 1,000 hectares ... We have actually informed them to validate if the number has to alter and that is why we have not approved the job already," said Benjamin Malwa Langwen, of the National Environment Management Authority (Nema).

However, there are now fresh require the Dakatcha task to be ditched as brand-new research casts doubt on whether jatropha curcas is truly 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 study by the consultancy group North Energy, external discovered that jatropha would release in between 2.5 and 6 times more greenhouse gases when compared to fossil fuels.

This is partially since large quantities of carbon are saved in the forests' plants and soil but the plantation would indicate clearing the land of this plant life.

"The report reveals 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 globally threatened Clarke's Weaver bird to termination and denying thousands of local individuals of their incomes," said Helen Byron of the RSPB.

In action, the EU Commission defended its energy policy as "the most comprehensive and innovative sustainability scheme for biofuels throughout the world".

Unorthodox approaches

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 funded by the European Union - the extremely organisation which is now implicated of pushing policies which locals fear could see the school closed down.

"My concern is the displacement of the community. It is not excellent to construct a classroom and then send the pupils 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 task."

There are plainly issues on the ground that once 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 add to the conversion of natural habitats.

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

The woodlands are also a rich source of material for traditional medicine.

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

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

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

It is not unexpected they are worried.

Kenya's politicians do not have a great track record when it comes to operating in the interests of individuals.

ActionAid

Kenya Jatropha Energy

RSPB

Nema

Ikea