Kenyans fear Dakatcha Woodlands biofuel growth

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 told the BBC.

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

He is among the numerous individuals opposed to the production of a large biofuel plantation in the area, about an hour's drive inland from the coastal town of Malindi.

It is an arid location and home to some 20,000 individuals as well as globally threatened animal and bird species.

Ambitious goals

An Italian company has 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 held 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 leased practically a million hectares in Africa; jatropha curcas oil from a plantation in Senegal is being supplied to the Swedish furniture seller Ikea. Other companies have leased land for the very same purpose in Ethiopia, Mozambique and Ghana, in addition to in India.

This growth has been spurred by the European Union, which has set ambitious goals for lowering greenhouse gas emissions and lowering its reliance on imported oil.

The 27 EU countries have actually registered to an instruction which states that by 2020, 20% of energy must be from sustainable sources, external.

Why is Africa affected?

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

Why 'feed' a vehicle?

But campaign groups have actually labelled a few of the tasks in Africa "land grabs" with dire consequences for the typically voiceless African neighborhoods.

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

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

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

The business says numerous long-term and countless seasonal jobs will be developed and it denies that anyone will be displaced by the project.

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

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

How green are biofuels?

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

"We were advising 1,000 hectares ... We have informed them to justify if the number needs to alter which is why we have not approved the project up to now," stated Benjamin Malwa Langwen, of the National Environment Management Authority (Nema).

However, there are now fresh require the Dakatcha job to be ditched as brand-new research casts doubt on whether jatropha curcas is truly 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 just how green the jatropha curcas task in Kenya's Dakatcha woodlands would be.

The study by the consultancy group North Energy, external discovered that jatropha would release between 2.5 and six times more greenhouse gases when compared to fossil fuels.

This is partly since large amounts of carbon are stored in the woodlands' vegetation and soil but the plantation would indicate clearing the land of this vegetation.

"The report reveals that EU policies are silly policies due to the fact that they are not reducing greenhouse gas emissions as the EU is announcing," stated ActionAid's Chris Coxon.

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

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

Unorthodox methods

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

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

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

"Yes we need 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 once the lease is signed, the population will be at the grace of a profit-driven business.

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

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

The woodlands are also a rich source of material for standard medication.

If they feel let down by the government and the regional authorities, citizens simply might turn to unorthodox methods in a quote to keep the land.

"If all the senior citizens come together for one goal, then it is very easy to remove him with our medicines," said 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 government and Malindi's community council.

It is not surprising they are worried.

Kenya's political leaders do not have an excellent performance history when it comes to operating in the interests of the people.

ActionAid

Kenya jatropha curcas Energy

RSPB

Nema

Ikea