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 bold.

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

"Land is really crucial 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 development 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 internationally threatened animal and bird types.

Ambitious objectives

An Italian company has asked the authorities for permission to rent 50,000 hectares there to grow jatropha curcas, 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 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 practically a million hectares in Africa; jatropha curcas oil from a plantation in Senegal is being supplied to the Swedish furnishings merchant Ikea. Other business have leased land for the very 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 objectives for lowering greenhouse gas emissions and minimizing its dependence on imported oil.

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

Why is Africa affected?

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' a car?

But campaign groups have actually labelled some of the tasks in Africa "land grabs" with dire repercussions for the often voiceless African neighborhoods.

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

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

Kenya Jetropha Energy Ltd says the negotiations are over - the federal government has given the green light for a pilot job to begin with 10,000 hectares and all it is waiting for now is the last documentation.

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

"We desire to safeguard the homes 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 pleased for this job. No-one will be moved."

How green are biofuels?

According to the Kenyan government's environment guard dog, the offer has not yet been sealed. It refused the preliminary 50,000-hectare request pointing out issues over the effect on the environment and the sustainability of the project.

"We were advising 1,000 hectares ... We have actually told them to justify if the number needs to change which is why we haven't approved the project up to now," said Benjamin Malwa Langwen, of the National Environment Management Authority (Nema).

However, there are now fresh require the Dakatcha job to be ditched as new research study 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 investigate simply how green the jatropha curcas task in Kenya's Dakatcha forests would be.

The research study by the consultancy group North Energy, external discovered that jatropha curcas would emit in between 2.5 and 6 times more greenhouse gases when compared to fossil fuels.

This is partially due to the fact that big quantities of carbon are saved in the forests' plants and soil however the plantation would suggest clearing the land of this plants.

"The report shows that EU policies are foolish policies because they are not lowering greenhouse gas emissions as the EU is proclaiming," said ActionAid's Chris Coxon.

"The proposed biofuel plantation will ravage the forests, driving the internationally threatened Clarke's Weaver bird to extinction and denying thousands of local individuals of their livelihoods," stated Helen Byron of the RSPB.

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

Unorthodox methods

At the remote Mulunguni main school, which lies within the Dakatcha Woodlands, a number of new class and pit latrines have just been constructed.

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

"My worry is the displacement of the community. It is not great to build a class and then send out the pupils 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 plainly concerns on the ground that once the lease is signed, the population will be at the mercy of a profit-driven company.

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 environments.

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

The woodlands are likewise an abundant source of material for traditional medication.

If they feel let down by the federal government and the regional authorities, homeowners simply may turn to unorthodox techniques in a quote to keep the land.

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

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

It is not unexpected they are stressed.

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

ActionAid

Kenya jatropha curcas Energy

RSPB

Nema

Ikea