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 defiant.
"We are not going to let this land go even if it indicates shedding blood," he informed the BBC.
"Land is extremely crucial to us. We farm and get our livelihood from it. On this land we bury our dead."
He is among the many individuals opposed to the development of a large biofuel plantation in the location, about an hour's drive inland from the coastal town of Malindi.
It is an arid area and home to some 20,000 individuals as well as internationally threatened animal and bird species.
Ambitious goals
An Italian company has asked the authorities for approval to lease 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 actually long been grown in Africa as a hedge to keep out animals - goats stay well away as it is toxic. The location 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 practically 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 very same function in Ethiopia, Mozambique and Ghana, as well as in India.
This expansion has actually been spurred by the European Union, which has actually set ambitious objectives for decreasing greenhouse gas emissions and decreasing its dependence on imported oil.
The 27 EU countries have signed up to a directive which specifies that by 2020, 20% of energy need to be from sustainable sources, external.
Why is Africa affected?
Because it is tough to discover 50,000 hectares of readily available land to grow a biofuel crop in, for instance, the UK or Italy.
Why 'feed' a vehicle?
But campaign groups have labelled a few of the projects in Africa "land grabs" with dire consequences for the frequently voiceless African communities.
Some ask: "Why 'feed' a vehicle in Europe when cravings in the house is still a reality?"
"Our future is no longer in our hands. We have actually been informed we have to move because they want to plant jatropha curcas here," stated 27-year-old Merciline Koi, a mom of 2, who added that there had been no offer of compensation for leaving her home in Dakatcha Woodlands.
Kenya Jetropha Energy Ltd says the settlements are over - the government has actually provided the green light for a pilot task to begin with 10,000 hectares and all it is waiting on now is the last documentation.
The company states hundreds of permanent and countless seasonal jobs will be created and it rejects that anyone will be displaced by the job.
"We wish to secure the houses and the personal property. We will farm around your houses," Kenya jatropha curcas Energy Ltd head Girardello Adriano told the BBC from Milan.
"We are helping these individuals. They are extremely happy for this task. No-one will be moved."
How green are biofuels?
According to the Kenyan federal government's environment guard dog, the offer has not yet been sealed. It rejected the initial 50,000-hectare request pointing out issues over the impact on the environment and the sustainability of the job.
"We were suggesting 1,000 hectares ... We have informed them to validate if the number has to change and that is why we have not approved the job up to now," said Benjamin Malwa Langwen, of the National Environment Management Authority (Nema).
However, there are now fresh calls for the Dakatcha task to be ditched as new research study calls into question whether jatropha 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 project in Kenya's Dakatcha forests would be.
The study by the consultancy group North Energy, external found that jatropha curcas would release in between 2.5 and six times more greenhouse gases when compared to fossil fuels.
This is partially because large amounts of carbon are saved in the forests' plants and soil however the plantation would indicate clearing the land of this vegetation.
"The report shows that EU policies are silly policies because they are not decreasing greenhouse gas emissions as the EU is announcing," stated ActionAid's Chris Coxon.
"The proposed biofuel plantation will ravage the forests, driving the internationally threatened Clarke's Weaver bird to termination and denying thousands of regional people of their incomes," stated Helen Byron of the RSPB.
In reaction, the EU Commission protected its energy policy as "the most detailed and innovative sustainability scheme for biofuels throughout the world".
Unorthodox approaches
At the remote Mulunguni primary school, which lies within the Dakatcha Woodlands, a number of brand-new class and pit latrines have actually just been developed.
They were part funded by the European Union - the really organisation which is now accused of pressing policies which locals fear could see the school closed down.
"My concern is the displacement of the community. It is bad to construct a classroom and then send out the pupils away," stated the deputy head Godfrey Karissa.
"Yes we require jobs. But a farm without a home is bad. You need to have a home before you go to your job."
There are plainly concerns on the ground that as soon as the lease is signed, the population will be at the grace of a profit-driven business.
Ikea says it will not source jatropha curcas 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 sustainable energy must never ever be at the expense of individuals or the environment," Ikea informed the BBC in a declaration.
The woodlands are likewise an abundant source of product for standard medication.
If they feel let down by the federal government and the regional authorities, citizens simply might turn to unorthodox approaches in a bid to keep the land.
"If all the seniors come together for one objective, then it is really simple to eliminate him with our medicines," said Barova Kiribai, a traditional therapist, describing the owner of the Italian biofuels company.
The fate of individuals here is in the hands of the Kenyan government and Malindi's municipal council.
It is not unexpected they are stressed.
Kenya's politicians do not have a good performance history when it comes to working in the interests of individuals.
ActionAid
Kenya jatropha curcas Energy
RSPB
Nema
Ikea
