Kenyans fear Dakatcha Woodlands biofuel expansion

23 March 2011

By Will Ross

BBC News, Dakatcha

Sitting in the shade of a tree beside 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 indicates shedding blood," he informed the BBC.

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

He is one of the numerous people opposed to the development of a big 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 individuals as well as globally threatened animal and bird types.

Ambitious goals

An Italian business has asked the authorities for consent to lease 50,000 there to grow jatropha curcas, 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 remain well away as it is toxic. The area affected is neighborhood land which is being kept in trust by the local council.

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

It has actually leased nearly a million hectares in Africa