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 defiant.

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

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

He is one of the lots of individuals opposed to the development of a large biofuel plantation in the area, about an hour's drive inland from the seaside town of Malindi.

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

Ambitious goals

An Italian business has asked the authorities for permission to rent 50,000 hectares there to grow jatropha curcas, whose seeds are abundant 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 stay out animals - goats stay well away as it is harmful. The area affected is neighborhood 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 rented almost a million hectares in Africa; jatropha oil from a plantation in Senegal is being provided to the Swedish furniture seller Ikea. Other companies have rented land for the exact same purpose in Ethiopia, Mozambique and Ghana, as well as in India.

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

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

Why is Africa impacted?

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

Why 'feed' a vehicle?

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

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

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

Kenya Jetropha Energy Ltd states the negotiations are over - the government has actually okayed for a pilot job to start with 10,000 hectares and all it is waiting on now is the last paperwork.

The business states hundreds of permanent and countless seasonal jobs will be produced and it rejects that anybody will be displaced by the job.

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

"We are assisting these individuals. They are extremely delighted for this task. No-one will be moved."

How green are biofuels?

According to the Kenyan federal government's environment watchdog, the offer has not yet been sealed. It rejected the initial 50,000-hectare demand pointing out issues over the effect on the environment and the sustainability of the project.

"We were recommending 1,000 hectares ... We have informed them to validate if the number has to change and that is why we haven't 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 ditched as brand-new research study casts doubt on whether jatropha is actually a greener alternative to oil.

The anti-poverty project group ActionAid and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) commissioned a report to investigate just how green the jatropha curcas job in Kenya's Dakatcha forests would be.

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

This is partially because large amounts of carbon are stored in the woodlands' vegetation and soil but the plantation would imply clearing the land of this plants.

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

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

In action, the EU Commission safeguarded its energy policy as "the most extensive and innovative 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 brand-new class and pit latrines have actually just been constructed.

They were part moneyed by the European Union - the extremely organisation which is now implicated of pressing policies which residents fear could see the school closed down.

"My worry is the displacement of the neighborhood. It is not excellent to build a classroom and after that send the students away," stated 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 job."

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

Ikea states 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 renewable energy need to never be at the expense of individuals or the environment," Ikea told the BBC in a declaration.

The forests are also an abundant source of material for traditional medicine.

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

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

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

It is not surprising they are stressed.

Kenya's politicians do not have an excellent performance history when it pertains to operating in the interests of the people.

ActionAid

Kenya jatropha curcas Energy

RSPB

Nema

Ikea