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 bold.

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

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

He is one of the numerous individuals opposed to the creation of a big 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 people along with worldwide threatened animal and bird types.

Ambitious objectives

An Italian business has asked the authorities for approval to lease 50,000 hectares there to grow jatropha curcas, whose seeds are abundant in oil that can be turned into bio-diesel.

This plant, from South America, has long been grown in Africa as a hedge to keep out animals - goats stay well away as it is harmful. The area affected is community land which is being held in trust by the local council.

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

It has actually leased nearly a million hectares in Africa