Kenyans fear Dakatcha Woodlands biofuel growth

23 March 2011

By Will Ross

BBC News, Dakatcha

Sitting 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 implies shedding blood," he told the BBC.

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

He is one of 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 location and home to some 20,000 individuals along with worldwide threatened animal and bird types.

Ambitious goals

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

This plant, originally from South America, has long been grown in Africa as a hedge to keep out animals - goats stay well away as it is toxic. The location impacted is neighborhood land which is being kept in trust by the regional council.

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

It has rented 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 leased land for the same function in Ethiopia, Mozambique and Ghana, along with in India.

This expansion has been stimulated by the European Union, which has set enthusiastic objectives for lowering greenhouse gas emissions and decreasing its dependence on imported oil.

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

Why is Africa impacted?

Because it is hard to discover 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 actually identified a few of the tasks in Africa "land grabs" with alarming effects for the typically 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 have to move since they wish to plant jatropha curcas here," stated 27-year-old Merciline Koi, a mom of 2, who added that there had actually been no offer of payment for leaving her home in Dakatcha Woodlands.

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

The company states hundreds of permanent and thousands of seasonal jobs will be created and it denies that anybody will be displaced by the project.

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

"We are helping these people. They are really delighted for this project. No-one will be moved."

How green are biofuels?

According to the Kenyan federal government's environment guard dog, the offer has not yet been sealed. It denied the preliminary 50,000-hectare demand mentioning concerns over the effect on the environment and the sustainability of the task.

"We were recommending 1,000 hectares ... We have actually informed them to validate if the number has to change and that is why we haven't authorized the job up to now," stated Benjamin Malwa Langwen, of the National Environment Management Authority (Nema).

However, there are now fresh require the Dakatcha project to be scrapped as new research casts doubt on whether jatropha is really a greener option 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 task in Kenya's Dakatcha forests would be.

The study by the consultancy group North Energy, external found that jatropha curcas would produce between 2.5 and 6 times more greenhouse gases when compared to nonrenewable fuel sources.

This is partially because large quantities of carbon are stored in the woodlands' plant life and soil however the plantation would suggest clearing the land of this greenery.

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

"The proposed biofuel plantation will devastate the forests, driving the worldwide threatened Clarke's Weaver bird to extinction and denying countless local people of their livelihoods," said Helen Byron of the RSPB.

In response, the EU Commission safeguarded its energy policy as "the most comprehensive and innovative sustainability plan for biofuels throughout the world".

Unorthodox techniques

At the remote Mulunguni primary 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 very organisation which is now implicated of pushing policies which locals fear could see the school closed down.

"My concern is the displacement of the neighborhood. 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 require to have a home before you go to your task."

There are plainly concerns 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 till it can be sure that this will not add to the conversion of natural habitats.

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

The woodlands are also an abundant source of material for conventional medicine.

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

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

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

It is not surprising they are worried.

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

ActionAid

Kenya Jatropha Energy

RSPB

Nema

Ikea