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 defiant.

"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 livelihood from it. On this land we bury our dead."

He is one of the numerous individuals opposed to the development of a big biofuel plantation in the area, 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 globally threatened animal and bird species.

Ambitious objectives

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

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

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

It has actually leased nearly a million hectares in Africa; jatropha oil from a plantation in Senegal is being provided to the Swedish furnishings seller Ikea. Other business have actually leased land for the same purpose in Ethiopia, Mozambique and Ghana, in addition to in India.

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

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

Why is Africa affected?

Because it is tough 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 project groups have labelled a few of the tasks in Africa "land grabs" with alarming effects for the often voiceless African neighborhoods.

Some ask: "Why 'feed' a vehicle in Europe when appetite in your home is still a reality?"

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

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

The business states numerous irreversible and countless seasonal jobs will be created and it denies that anyone will be displaced by the project.

"We desire to protect the homes and the private residential or commercial property. We will farm around your homes," Kenya Jatropha Energy Ltd head Girardello Adriano informed the BBC from Milan.

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

How green are biofuels?

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

"We were recommending 1,000 hectares ... We have actually told them to justify if the number needs to alter and that is why we have not authorized the task 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 scrapped as brand-new research study casts doubt on whether jatropha curcas is really 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 job in Kenya's Dakatcha forests would be.

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

This is partly because big quantities of carbon are stored in the woodlands' plants and soil however the plantation would indicate clearing the land of this plant life.

"The report shows that EU policies are absurd policies because they are not decreasing greenhouse gas emissions as the EU is announcing," stated ActionAid's Chris Coxon.

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

In response, the EU Commission protected its energy policy as "the most thorough and advanced sustainability plan for biofuels anywhere in the world".

Unorthodox methods

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

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

"My concern is the displacement of the community. It is not good to construct a class and after that send the pupils away," stated the deputy head Godfrey Karissa.

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

There are clearly 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 curcas oil from Kenya till it can be sure that this will not add to the conversion of natural environments.

"This switch from nonrenewable fuel sources to renewable resource should never be at the expenditure of individuals or the environment," Ikea informed the BBC in a statement.

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

If they feel pull down by the government and the regional authorities, locals just might turn to unconventional approaches in a bid to keep the land.

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

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

It is not unexpected they are stressed.

Kenya's politicians do not have a great track record when it comes to operating in the interests of the people.

ActionAid

Kenya jatropha curcas Energy

RSPB

Nema

Ikea