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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 bold.

"We are not going to let this land go even if it indicates 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 among the numerous individuals opposed to the creation of a large 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 people in addition to internationally threatened animal and bird types.

Ambitious goals

An Italian business has asked the authorities for permission to lease 50,000 hectares there to grow jatropha curcas, whose seeds are rich in oil that can be turned into bio-diesel.

This plant, originally from South America, has actually long been grown in Africa as a hedge to stay out animals - goats stay well away as it is poisonous. The area impacted is community land which is being kept in trust by the local council.

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

It has actually leased practically a million hectares in Africa; jatropha oil from a plantation in Senegal is being provided to the Swedish furnishings retailer Ikea. Other companies have actually rented land for the same function in Ethiopia, Mozambique and Ghana, along with in India.

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

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

Why is Africa affected?

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

Why 'feed' a cars and truck?

But project groups have identified some of the jobs in Africa "land grabs" with dire effects for the typically voiceless African communities.

Some ask: "Why 'feed' a cars and truck in Europe when hunger at home is still a reality?"

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

Kenya Jetropha Energy Ltd states the negotiations 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 last documents.

The company says numerous irreversible and countless will be created and it denies that anybody will be displaced by the task.

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

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

How green are biofuels?

According to the Kenyan government's environment watchdog, the deal has not yet been sealed. It declined the initial 50,000-hectare request pointing out concerns over the effect on the environment and the sustainability of the project.

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

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

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

This is partly since large amounts of carbon are stored in the forests' plants and soil but the plantation would imply clearing the land of this plant life.

"The report shows that EU policies are absurd 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 forests, driving the internationally threatened Clarke's Weaver bird to extinction and denying thousands of regional individuals of their livelihoods," stated Helen Byron of the RSPB.

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

Unorthodox techniques

At the remote Mulunguni primary school, which lies within the Dakatcha Woodlands, several new class and pit latrines have simply been constructed.

They were part moneyed by the European Union - the really organisation which is now accused of pressing policies which residents fear might see the school shut down.

"My worry is the displacement of the neighborhood. It is not great to build 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 concerns on the ground that once the lease is signed, the population will be at the mercy of a profit-driven company.

Ikea says 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 fossil fuels to sustainable energy should never ever be at the cost of people or the environment," Ikea informed the BBC in a declaration.

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

If they feel let down by the federal government and the regional authorities, locals simply may turn to unorthodox approaches in a bid to keep the land.

"If all the elders come together for one goal, then it is really easy to remove him with our medications," stated Barova Kiribai, a conventional therapist, referring to the owner of the Italian biofuels business.

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

It is not unexpected they are worried.

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

ActionAid

Kenya jatropha curcas Energy

RSPB

Nema

Ikea