Kenyans fear Dakatcha Woodlands biofuel expansion

23 March 2011

By Will Ross

BBC News, Dakatcha

Sitting 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 means 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 numerous individuals opposed to the creation of a large biofuel plantation in the area, about an hour's drive inland from the seaside town of Malindi.

It is a dry area and home to some 20,000 individuals along with globally threatened animal and bird species.

Ambitious objectives

An Italian company has asked the authorities for permission to lease 50,000 hectares there to grow jatropha, whose seeds are abundant 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 stay out goats remain well away as it is toxic. The area affected is community land which is being kept in trust by the regional council.

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

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

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

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

Why is Africa affected?

Because it is difficult to find 50,000 hectares of offered land to grow a biofuel crop in, for example, the UK or Italy.

Why 'feed' an automobile?

But project groups have actually labelled some of the tasks in Africa "land grabs" with dire consequences for the often voiceless African communities.

Some ask: "Why 'feed' a car in Europe when hunger at 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 mother of 2, who included that there had been no offer of settlement 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 start with 10,000 hectares and all it is waiting on now is the last documents.

The company states numerous irreversible and thousands of seasonal tasks will be produced and it rejects that anybody will be displaced by the job.

"We want to secure your homes and the personal property. We will farm around the homes," Kenya jatropha curcas Energy Ltd head Girardello Adriano told the BBC from Milan.

"We are assisting these people. They are extremely delighted for this project. 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 request mentioning issues over the influence on the environment and the sustainability of the job.

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

However, there are now fresh calls for the Dakatcha job to be ditched as brand-new research study casts doubt on whether jatropha curcas is actually 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 woodlands would be.

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

This is partially due to the fact that large quantities of carbon are saved in the woodlands' plants and soil but the plantation would suggest clearing the land of this vegetation.

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

"The proposed biofuel plantation will devastate the woodlands, driving the internationally threatened Clarke's Weaver bird to termination and denying thousands of local individuals of their incomes," said Helen Byron of the RSPB.

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

Unorthodox methods

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

They were part funded by the European Union - the really organisation which is now accused of pushing policies which residents fear could see the school shut down.

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

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

There are plainly concerns on the ground that as soon as the lease is signed, the population will be at the mercy of a profit-driven business.

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

"This switch from fossil fuels to eco-friendly energy need to never be at the expenditure of people or the environment," Ikea informed the BBC in a statement.

The forests are likewise a rich source of product for traditional medication.

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

"If all the senior citizens come together for one goal, then it is very simple to eliminate him with our medications," said Barova Kiribai, a traditional therapist, referring to 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 politicians do not have an excellent track record when it pertains to operating in the interests of individuals.

ActionAid

Kenya Jatropha Energy

RSPB

Nema

Ikea