Kenyans fear Dakatcha Woodlands biofuel growth

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 indicates 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 many individuals opposed to the creation 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 along with globally threatened animal and bird species.

Ambitious objectives

An Italian company has actually asked the authorities for approval to rent 50,000 hectares there to grow jatropha curcas, whose seeds are rich in oil that can be developed into bio-diesel.

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

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

It has leased practically a million hectares in Africa; jatropha curcas oil from a plantation in Senegal is being supplied to the Swedish furniture seller Ikea. Other companies have actually leased land for the same purpose in Ethiopia, Mozambique and Ghana, as well as in India.

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

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

Why is Africa affected?

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

Why 'feed' a cars and truck?

But campaign groups have identified a few of the tasks in Africa "land grabs" with alarming consequences for the typically voiceless African communities.

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

"Our future is no longer in our hands. We have been told we have to move because they wish to plant jatropha curcas here," said 27-year-old Merciline Koi, a mother of 2, who included that there had been no deal of settlement for leaving her home in Dakatcha Woodlands.

Kenya Jetropha Energy Ltd says the negotiations are over - the federal government has provided the green light for a pilot project to begin with 10,000 hectares and all it is waiting on now is the final documents.

The business states hundreds of irreversible and thousands of seasonal tasks will be produced and it rejects that anyone will be displaced by the project.

"We wish to safeguard your homes and the private property. We will farm around your houses," Kenya jatropha curcas Energy Ltd head Girardello Adriano informed the BBC from Milan.

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

How green are biofuels?

According to the Kenyan federal government's environment guard dog, the deal has actually not yet been sealed. It rejected the preliminary 50,000-hectare request pointing out issues over the influence on the environment and the sustainability of the task.

"We were advising 1,000 hectares ... We have informed them to validate if the number has to alter and that is why we haven't approved the project up to now," said Benjamin Malwa Langwen, of the National Environment Management Authority (Nema).

However, there are now fresh require the Dakatcha project to be ditched as brand-new research study calls into question whether jatropha is really a greener option to oil.

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

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

This is partially because large quantities of carbon are saved in the woodlands' plant life and soil however the plantation would imply clearing the land of this vegetation.

"The report reveals that EU policies are foolish 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 devastate the woodlands, driving the internationally threatened Clarke's Weaver bird to termination and depriving thousands of local people of their incomes," said Helen Byron of the RSPB.

In reaction, the EU Commission safeguarded its energy policy as "the most extensive and innovative sustainability scheme for biofuels anywhere in the world".

Unorthodox techniques

At the remote Mulunguni main school, which lies within the Dakatcha Woodlands, several brand-new class and pit latrines have just been constructed.

They were part funded by the European Union - the very organisation which is now accused of pushing policies which locals fear could see the school shut down.

"My concern is the displacement of the community. It is bad to develop a classroom and after that send the students away," said the deputy head Godfrey Karissa.

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

There are clearly issues 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 till it can be sure that this will not contribute to the conversion of natural habitats.

"This switch from nonrenewable fuel sources to renewable resource must never ever be at the expense of people or the environment," Ikea told the BBC in a declaration.

The woodlands are also an abundant source of material for conventional medication.

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

"If all the seniors come together for one goal, then it is really simple to eliminate him with our medications," said Barova Kiribai, a standard healer, referring to the owner of the Italian biofuels company.

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

It is not surprising they are stressed.

Kenya's politicians do not have a great performance history when it concerns operating in the interests of individuals.

ActionAid

Kenya jatropha curcas Energy

RSPB

Nema

Ikea