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 informed the BBC.
"Land is extremely essential to us. We farm and get our livelihood from it. On this land we bury our dead."
He is among the numerous people opposed to the production of a big biofuel plantation in the location, about an hour's drive inland from the seaside town of Malindi.
It is a dry area and home to some 20,000 people in addition to internationally threatened animal and bird species.
Ambitious objectives
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 developed into bio-diesel.
This plant, initially from South America, has actually long been grown in Africa as a hedge to keep out animals - goats stay well away as it is poisonous. The area impacted 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 supplied to the Swedish furnishings retailer Ikea. Other companies have actually leased land for the exact same purpose in Ethiopia, Mozambique and Ghana, as well as in India.
This expansion has actually been stimulated 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 actually signed up to a directive which states that by 2020, 20% of energy must be from sustainable sources, external.
Why is Africa affected?
Because it is difficult to discover 50,000 hectares of readily available land to grow a biofuel crop in, for instance, the UK or Italy.
Why 'feed' a cars and truck?
But campaign groups have actually labelled a few of the jobs in Africa "land grabs" with alarming repercussions for the frequently 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 actually been informed we have to move because they wish to plant jatropha curcas here," said 27-year-old Merciline Koi, a mom of 2, who included that there had actually been no offer of settlement for leaving her home in Dakatcha Woodlands.
Kenya Jetropha Energy Ltd says the negotiations are over - the government has actually provided the green light for a pilot job to begin with 10,000 hectares and all it is waiting on now is the last paperwork.
The company says numerous permanent and countless seasonal tasks will be created and it rejects that anyone will be displaced by the project.
"We desire to protect the homes and the personal home. We will farm around your houses," Kenya jatropha curcas Energy Ltd head Girardello Adriano told the BBC from Milan.
"We are assisting these people. They are really happy for this project. No-one will be moved."
How green are biofuels?
According to the Kenyan federal government's environment watchdog, the offer has actually not yet been sealed. It refused the preliminary 50,000-hectare demand pointing out issues over the effect on the environment and the sustainability of the task.
"We were suggesting 1,000 hectares ... We have actually informed them to justify if the number needs to alter and that is why we have not authorized the project up to now," stated Benjamin Malwa Langwen, of the National Environment Management Authority (Nema).
However, there are now fresh require the Dakatcha job to be scrapped as brand-new research calls into question 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 just how green the jatropha curcas task in Kenya's Dakatcha woodlands would be.
The research study by the consultancy group North Energy, external discovered that jatropha curcas would give off between 2.5 and six times more greenhouse gases when compared to fossil fuels.
This is partially because big amounts of carbon are stored in the woodlands' vegetation and soil however the plantation would suggest clearing the land of this plant life.
"The report reveals that EU policies are absurd policies due to the fact that they are not decreasing greenhouse gas emissions as the EU is announcing," said ActionAid's Chris Coxon.
"The proposed biofuel plantation will devastate the forests, driving the globally threatened Clarke's Weaver bird to extinction and depriving thousands of local individuals of their livelihoods," stated Helen Byron of the RSPB.
In action, the EU Commission safeguarded its energy policy as "the most detailed and advanced sustainability plan for biofuels anywhere in the world".
Unorthodox approaches
At the remote Mulunguni main school, which lies within the Dakatcha Woodlands, a number of new class and pit latrines have actually simply been built.
They were part funded by the European Union - the extremely organisation which is now accused of pushing policies which residents fear could see the school closed down.
"My concern is the displacement of the community. It is bad to build a classroom and after that send the pupils away," said 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 mercy of a profit-driven business.
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 environments.
"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 declaration.
The woodlands are likewise a rich source of material for conventional medicine.
If they feel pull down by the federal government and the regional authorities, residents simply may turn to unconventional approaches in a quote to keep the land.
"If all the senior citizens come together for one objective, then it is really simple to remove him with our medications," said Barova Kiribai, a traditional therapist, referring to the owner of the Italian biofuels company.
The fate of individuals 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 great track record when it comes to operating in the interests of individuals.
ActionAid
Kenya jatropha curcas Energy
RSPB
Nema
Ikea
