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 means shedding blood," he told the BBC.

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

He is among the lots of individuals opposed to the creation of a big biofuel plantation in the location, about an hour's drive inland from the seaside town of Malindi.

It is an arid area and home to some 20,000 individuals as well as internationally threatened animal and bird types.

Ambitious goals

An Italian business has asked the authorities for consent 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 toxic. The area impacted is neighborhood land which is being kept in trust by the regional council.

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

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

This expansion has been spurred by the European Union, which has set enthusiastic goals 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 affected?

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

Why 'feed' a vehicle?

But project groups have labelled some of the jobs in Africa "land grabs" with dire repercussions for the frequently voiceless African communities.

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

"Our future is no longer in our hands. We have actually been told we need to move since 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 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 project to begin with 10,000 hectares and all it is waiting on now is the final documents.

The company states hundreds of permanent and thousands of seasonal jobs will be developed and it rejects that anybody will be displaced by the project.

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

"We are helping these people. They are very delighted for this job. No-one will be moved."

How green are biofuels?

According to the Kenyan federal government's environment watchdog, the deal has actually not yet been sealed. It denied the preliminary 50,000-hectare request citing concerns over the influence on the environment and the sustainability of the job.

"We were advising 1,000 hectares ... We have actually informed them to justify if the number needs to change and that is why we have not authorized the job up to now," stated Benjamin Malwa Langwen, of the National Environment Management Authority (Nema).

However, there are now fresh calls for the Dakatcha project to be scrapped 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 task in Kenya's Dakatcha forests would be.

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

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

"The report shows that EU policies are silly policies due to the fact that 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 internationally threatened Clarke's Weaver bird to termination and depriving thousands of local individuals of their livelihoods," said Helen Byron of the RSPB.

In action, the EU Commission protected its energy policy as "the most comprehensive and innovative sustainability plan for biofuels throughout the world".

Unorthodox methods

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

They were part funded by the European Union - the extremely organisation which is now accused of pressing policies which locals fear might see the school closed down.

"My worry is the displacement of the neighborhood. It is not good to build a classroom and after that send out the pupils 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 when the lease is signed, the population will be at the grace of a profit-driven company.

Ikea states it will not source jatropha curcas oil from Kenya till it can be sure that this will not contribute to the conversion of natural environments.

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

The woodlands are likewise a rich source of material for standard medication.

If they feel pull down by the government and the regional authorities, homeowners simply might turn to unconventional methods in a quote to keep the land.

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

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

It is not unexpected they are worried.

Kenya's political leaders do not have a great performance history when it pertains to operating in the interests of the individuals.

ActionAid

Kenya Jatropha Energy

RSPB

Nema

Ikea