Bioenergy in rural development

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Bioenergy > Issues > Development > Bioenergy in rural development

Jatropha planted in Senegal.

Production, processing and sale of biofuels and bioenergy can contribute to rural development.

Topics:

• Biogas in rural development
• Jatropha in rural development
• Land use
  • Land tenure issues

Projects

Projects in developing countries

Projects in developed countries

BioTown, USA

• BioTown, USA - "BioTown, USA" is a project to make the town of Reynolds, Indiana self-sufficient in energy by using biomass resources.
  • The town is currently installing a "Technology Suite" as part of phase II of the project that will consist of anaerobic digestion, gasification, and fast pyrolysis technologies converting municipal and agricultural waste into electricity, biofertilizer, thermal energy and biodiesel.
  • The BioTown, USA Sourcebook of Biomass Energy (pdf) by Mark Jenner, PhD; Indiana State Department of Agriculture and Reynolds, Indiana, 3 April 2006. The sourcebook outlines the biomass resources and technologies potentially available to the town.

Publications

Women and girls in parts of developing countries spend many hours collecting wood for cooking in the home. (Flickr Creative Commons image by Genocide Intervention Network).

See books, reports, scientific papers, position papers and websites for additional useful resources.

• Biofuels, land access and rural livelihoods in Mozambique Isilda Nhantumbo and Alda Salomão, June 2010. "This report explores the early impacts of the biofuels boom on access to land and on local livelihoods in Mozambique. It draws on fieldwork on biofuel projects representing different business models for agricultural production."

• Economic viability of Jatropha curcas L. plantations in Northern Tanzania (PDF) by Nepomuk Wahl, Ramni Jamnadass, Henning Baur, Cristel Munster and Miyuki Iiyama of the World Agroforestry Centre. "This study examines the economic viability of jatropha seed production in three northern regions of Tanzania where a jatropha-based bioenergy value chain is about to emerge. Interviews with several farmers growing jatropha in the regions were conducted to create primary data on costs and benefits."

• Losing the plot: the threats to community land and the rural poor through the spread of the biofuel jatropha in India by Friends of the Earth Europe, March 2010: This report studies the problem of jatropha plantations in India forcing lower caste Indians from community lands.

• Soil Carbon Sequestration in U.S. Rangelands Issues Paper for Protocol Development (PDF) by the Environmental Defense Fund. This reports looks at issues such as agriculture, emissions offsets, grasslands, increased carbon sequestration, and soil.

• Biofuels, land access and rural livelihoods in Tanzania (PDF) by Emmanuel Sulle and Fred Nelson for IIED: This paper describes "patterns of biofuel development and crop cultivation in Tanzanian rural areas" and "various potential threats and opportunities from biofuels expansion." December 2009

• Agrofuels in the Americas (PDF file) - report released April 2009 by Food First; examines impacts of biofuels development, including on rural development and related issues in countries such as Brazil and Guatemala.

• Validation Report of a Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Biomass Gasifier Power Plant Project in the north-Indian State of Bihar (pdf) by Andreas Gantenbein (Validation by Prof. D. Spreng), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich, October 2005.

Websites

• The Charcoal Project - "The mission of The Charcoal Project is to promote, facilitate, and advocate for the widespread adoption of clean burning technologies, sustainable fuel alternatives, and policies that support energy-poverty alleviation for those who depend on biomass as their primary fuel around the world."

Events

2010

• 27-28 April 2010, Manchester, New Hampshire: 2nd Annual Heating the Northeast with Renewable Biomass. (Themes: biomass, greenhouse gas emissions, biomass pellets, policies, rural economies, sustainability, technologies)

2009

• 6-7 October 2009, Accra, Ghana: Katoomba XV - Ghana: Payments for Ecosystem Services in West Africa (and looking forward to Central Africa) (Themes: REDD, local peoples, ecosystem services, West Africa, Central Africa, developing countries, forests)

News

2010

• World Bank Group publishes draft framework for sustainable palm oil, 27 July 2010 by Cosmetics Design: "The World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) have released a draft framework for engagement in the palm oil sector, in the hope of promoting positive change."
  • "In the draft document, the World Bank Group, one of the biggest sources of funding for developing countries, has set out the possible ways it can help move the sector onto a more sustainable footing."
  • "The Group proposes action on four major themes – policy and regulatory environment, sustainable private sector investment, benefit sharing with small holders and communities, and sustainability codes of practice."
  • "Actions proposed include working with governments to design appropriate policy institutions, strengthen small holder producer organizations and improve smallholder access to finance, as well as working with the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in order to strengthen its sustainable palm oil certification program."[1]
  • Download the consultation draft of the document, The World Bank Group’s Framework for Engagement in the Palm Oil Sector.

• Africa Energy Forum Considers Renewable Energy and Biofuels Development in Africa, 2 July 2010 by Climate-L.org: "The Africa Energy Forum, which took place from 28 June-1 July 2010, in Basel, Switzerland, examined the interlinkages among environmental concerns, development goals and power supply in Africa."
  • "The Forum included, inter alia: an Africa Renewable Energy Forum, which considered government, financial and technology and efficiency solutions, as well as best practice examples of renewable energy projects; an Energy Summit, during which government ministers, industry leaders and development and environment experts discussed energy development goals; and AfricaBIOFUELS, during which African and European Government representatives and investors offered their perspective on the development of the African biofuels sector."[2]

• Nestle caves to activist pressure on palm oil , 17 May 2010 by Mongabay.com: "After a two month campaign against Nestle for its use of palm oil linked to rainforest destruction spearheaded by Greenpeace, the food giant has given in to activists' demands. The Swiss-based company announced today in Malaysia that it will partner with the Forest Trust, an international non-profit organization, to rid its supply chain of any sources involved in the destruction of rainforests." A company press release stated that "Nestle wants to ensure that its products have no deforestation footprint."
  • "Nestle stated that under new sourcing guidelines it will only use palm oil suppliers that do not break local laws, protect high conservation forests and any forests with 'high carbon' value, protect carbon-important peatlands, and support free prior and informed consent for indigenous and local communities."[3]
  • Related: Read about Nestle's "Responsible Sourcing" guidelines

• Lula Defends Biofuel Push in Amazon Region, 12 May 2010 by Latin American Herald Tribune: "Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is championing efforts to industrialize the Amazon region with initiatives such as the cultivation of palm oil for biofuel production."
  • "He said the initiative would end the state’s dependence on the timber market, considered a main culprit of Amazon deforestation, and hailed palm-oil plantations as environmentally friendly, saying they would re-use deforested areas."
  • The project is "[b]acked by the federal government and state-controlled energy giant Petrobras," and "would involve total investment of 1.3 billion reais ($702 million)."
  • "The Brazilian government estimates that close to 2,000 Para farmers would benefit from the project, which is expected to create 7,000 direct jobs and 15,000 indirect jobs. The plan also involves improvements to roads and bridges that would benefit the entire region."[4]

• Participatory Market Mapping in the PISCES project in Kenya, 7 May 2010 by HEDON Household Energy Network: "The PISCES project is looking at ways of giving poor people easier access to cheap and renewable energy options, specifically focussing on the potential of biofuels."
  • "Markets matter to the rural poor. It is increasingly clear that in tackling rural poverty, market-related issues - including access to information, institutions, linkages and trade rules - are vital considerations. Failure to address these issues means that the benefits of other developments threaten to by-pass the rural poor."
  • This article includes links to a podcast on the mapping project as well as supporting documents.[5]

• DOE, USDA Announce Funding for Biomass Research and Development Initiative, 6 May 2010, press release by the Department of Energy: "The U.S. Departments of Energy (DOE) and Agriculture (USDA) today jointly announced up to $33 million in funding for research and development of technologies and processes to produce biofuels, bioenergy and high-value biobased products, subject to annual appropriations."
  • "DOE also released today a new video which showcases how cellulosic biofuel technologies can help decrease U.S. dependence on foreign oil, spur growth in the domestic biofuels industry, and provide new revenue opportunities to farmers in many rural areas of the country."
  • "The video, shot at a harvesting equipment demonstration in Emmetsburg, Iowa, highlights a new way of producing ethanol from the cellulose fibers in corn cobs, not from the corn kernels. The technology generates a new opportunity for farmers to harvest and sell the cobs that they’d normally leave in the field."[6]

• 'Invasive' biofuel crops require monitoring and mitigation measures, 21 January 2010 by ENN/European Consumers Bioenergy Division: "Biofuel crops will impact on biodiversity and natural ecosystems unless tightly controlled, says a panel of European experts."
  • The Bern Convention "adopted a recommendation on potentially invasive alien plants being used as biofuel crops (Recommendation 141, 2009). They warn that some biofuel crops are able to escape as pests, and in so doing impact on native biodiversity. As rural communities plan to grow more biofuel crops, the likelihood of new and harmful 'invasions' will increase apace."[7]

• CLIMATE CHANGE: Brazil Defends Biofuels, 9 December 2009 by IPS/TerraViva: "Being the world’s largest producer and exporter of ethanol it is natural for the Brazilian government and its partners to push biofuels as the only real alternative for a world trying wean itself away from fossil fuels that contribute to global warming."
  • "Brazilian authorities were ready with their arguments at the United Nations climate change summit"...."at pains to show that not only is biofuel production the best way to reduce greenhouse gas (GhG) emissions but can also combat poverty as exemplified by the country’s scheme to promote micro-distilleries to provide additional income for rural families."
  • "While admitting that "biofuels are no silver bullet," Brazilian authorities insist that biofuels are the best way forward for developing countries."[8]

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