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 bold.

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

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

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

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

Ambitious goals

An Italian company has asked the authorities for consent to lease 50,000 hectares there to grow jatropha, whose seeds are rich in oil that can be become 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 harmful. The area impacted is community land which is being held in trust by the local council.

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

It has 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 same purpose in Ethiopia, Mozambique and Ghana, along with in India.

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

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

Why is Africa impacted?

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

Why 'feed' a cars and truck?

But campaign groups have labelled a few of the projects in Africa "land grabs" with dire effects for the frequently voiceless African communities.

Some ask: "Why 'feed' a car in Europe when cravings in the house is still a reality?"

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

Kenya Jetropha Energy Ltd says the negotiations are over - the federal government has actually okayed for a pilot job to start with 10,000 hectares and all it is awaiting now is the final documents.

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

"We desire to protect your homes and the personal property. We will farm around the homes," Energy Ltd head Girardello Adriano told the BBC from Milan.

"We are helping 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 deal has not yet been sealed. It turned down the preliminary 50,000-hectare request pointing out issues over the influence on the environment and the sustainability of the project.

"We were advising 1,000 hectares ... We have actually informed them to validate if the number has to change which is why we have not approved the project already," stated Benjamin Malwa Langwen, of the National Environment Management Authority (Nema).

However, there are now fresh require the Dakatcha project to be ditched as 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 simply how green the jatropha task in Kenya's Dakatcha woodlands would be.

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

This is partially since big amounts of carbon are saved in the woodlands' plants and soil but the plantation would indicate clearing the land of this vegetation.

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

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

In reaction, the EU Commission defended its energy policy as "the most detailed and advanced sustainability plan for biofuels throughout the world".

Unorthodox techniques

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

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

"My concern is the displacement of the neighborhood. It is bad to construct a classroom and then send the students away," stated the deputy head Godfrey Karissa.

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

There are clearly issues on the ground that as soon as 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 up until it can be sure that this will not add to the conversion of natural habitats.

"This switch from fossil fuels to renewable resource must never ever be at the expense of individuals or the environment," Ikea informed the BBC in a statement.

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

If they feel let down by the government and the regional authorities, citizens simply may turn to unconventional approaches in a quote to keep the land.

"If all the senior citizens come together for one goal, then it is extremely easy to remove him with our medicines," stated Barova Kiribai, a traditional healer, referring to the owner of the Italian biofuels business.

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

It is not unexpected they are stressed.

Kenya's politicians do not have a good track record when it concerns operating in the interests of individuals.

ActionAid

Kenya jatropha curcas Energy

RSPB

Nema

Ikea