Let Them Eat Sugar and drink ethanol.

July 2, 2011 2:49 PM

Biofuels land grab in Kenya's Tana Delta fuels talk of war.
Among the culprits the Canadians Bedford Biofuels and the UK company G4 Industries Ltd
Tana River Delta is an area of Pastoralists and some hip hop musicians.
Some more from Nature Kenya.
Let Them Eat Sugar: Life and Livelihood in Kenya’s Tana Delta is a case study by the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Ecological Economics and Integrated Assessment Unit.
The Tana Delta and Forests Complex had been tentatively listed as a World Heritage site
posted by adamvasco (12 comments total)

This is just the tip of the iceberg.

Researchers at the California-based Oakland Institute think that Emergent's clients in the US may have invested up to $500m in some of the most fertile land in the expectation of making 25% returns.

The largest land deal in South Sudan, where as much as 9% of the land is said by Norwegian analysts to have been bought in the last few years, was negotiated between a Texas-based firm, Nile Trading and Development and a local co-operative run by absent chiefs. The 49-year lease of 400,000 hectares of central Equatoria for around $25,000 (£15,000) allows the company to exploit all natural resources including oil and timber. The company, headed by former US Ambassador Howard Eugene Douglas, says it intends to apply for UN-backed carbon credits that could provide it with millions of pounds a year in revenues.

I really have no idea what can be done short of a huge populist uprising in Africa.
posted by psycho-alchemy at 4:25 PM on July 2, 2011 [1 favorite]

Considering that this kind of biofuel production (taking highly fertile agricultural or wilderness land to make poor-quality fuel with a small or negative energy return once the costs of making it are taken into account) is one of the biggest fake-environmental scams around, it's unsurprising that the industry is not behaving in the most ethical of ways. It's a little disappointing though that the Guardian journalist doesn't seem to have contacted either of the corporations involved to ask for their side of the story.
posted by A Thousand Baited Hooks at 4:35 PM on July 2, 2011 [2 favorites]

"...one of the biggest fake-environmental scams around..."

I'm don't doubt this based on the energy summary above - could you provide a bit more background on the scam itself?
posted by sneebler at 4:45 PM on July 2, 2011

There have been a number of issues with the way policy has been set up on biofuels, the key scam that people are aware of is the 'splash & dash' scam but inreality it is entirely possible to set up legit importation of biofuels and for it to still cause signficiant social problems.

Given the targets for renewable energy set across Europe it is possible, indeed likely, that the demand for imports of biomass from developing countries, and the subsidies that will be available to make them viable, will mean huge socio-economic impacts. A number of EU governments have expressed concern about ensuring imports to the EU are 'sustainable' but the sclae is such that the impact may be substantial.
posted by biffa at 5:00 PM on July 2, 2011 [2 favorites]

The Clean Energy Scam TIME
The Great Ethanol Scam Bloomberg Business Week
posted by psycho-alchemy at 5:03 PM on July 2, 2011 [2 favorites]

I'm shocked, shocked, to learn a Canadian company is behind the destruction of the environment in Kenya. Add another "shocked" upon learning from the Bedford Biofuels website that "It's about sustainability."
posted by ecourbanist at 8:28 PM on July 2, 2011 [1 favorite]

I'm don't doubt this based on the energy summary above - could you provide a bit more background on the scam itself?

psycho-alchemy's links tell you most of what you need to know. biffa is right that there are specific scams involved, like "splash & dash", and that there are a lot of problems even with apparently non-scammy biofuels. The issues with biofuels wikipedia page summarises a lot of the arguments.

Basically, biofuels are (mostly) a scam because they are usually promoted (by politicians and corporate interests; not so much by environmentalists) as saving fossil fuels and avoiding carbon emissions when in fact the energy required to produce them means that their benefit is small or negative - substantially negative if you take into account long-term factors like soil degradation and the destruction of habitats (see e.g. palm oil versus orangutans).

They also provide a smokescreen for governments to funnel money to well-connected farming interests by mandating and subsidising the use of ethanol in car fuel; this a particular problem in the US and also in Australia. Not surprising that it's even worse in places like Kenya.

Maybe one day petrochemicals will be replaced by ecologically harmless biodiesel grown in vats by algae with minimal chemical inputs, but we're not there yet.
posted by A Thousand Baited Hooks at 8:50 PM on July 2, 2011 [2 favorites]

Yep, ecourbanist's shock is shared by all of us Canadians, I'm sure.

Canadian resource companies tend to do a great job of going to developing countries and fucking everything up. I don't know how we manage to have a good reputation when it feels like our main export is mining company fucknuts.
posted by Salmonberry at 1:08 AM on July 3, 2011

It's a little disappointing though that the Guardian journalist doesn't seem to have contacted either of the corporations involved to ask for their side of the story.

Well, in the American press, the corporate view would have been 99% of the story... There would be a scientist of questionable pedigree spouting nonsense to the effect of: "Obviously, if studies of what's actually in the Delta haven't been conducted, we can't be sure what's being destroyed. And so we should keep making more biofuels, right?"

Oh, who am I kidding; this wouldn't even show up in the American press...

Thanks for the link; this is fascinating.
posted by kaibutsu at 2:09 AM on July 3, 2011

Daily Nation stories on this issue:
Battle for Coast’s hidden gem
Tana River county at a glance (basic population demographics.)
Tana River Scramble for the Delta - This story talks about the broader trend of leasing agricultural land to foreign holders, and outlines some of the potential benefits of the practice to the local economy.
posted by kaibutsu at 2:19 AM on July 3, 2011

Via my wife, an avid birder who has traveled extensively:

From rural Mexico, the US is the First World.
From Kenya, rural Mexico is the First World.
From Madagascar, Kenya is the First World.

She hasn't been there, but we extrapolate that:

From Somalia, Madagascar is the First World.

The punchline:

From the US, Europe and Japan are the First World.
posted by localroger at 6:38 AM on July 3, 2011

Canadian mining companies seem to be made of concentrated evil. I do not understand why this should be. Perhaps it's some sort of Dorian Grey trick.
posted by five fresh fish at 7:16 PM on July 3, 2011 [1 favorite]