Caption:
Kenyan local protests against ecosystem destruction for food based biofuels (link)
Kenya has recently approved plans to destroy some 20,000 hectares of the
globally important and ecologically sensitive Tana Delta for sugar and biofuel
production. Covering 130,000 hectares, these wetlands' diverse riverine
vegetation -- forests, swamps, dunes, beaches and ocean -- will be forever
altered by widespread vast fields of toxic, monoculture sugar cane and biofuel mill. The project
threatens 350 species including birds, lions, hippos, nesting turtles,
elephants, sharks, reptiles and the Tana red colobus, one of 25 primates facing
extinction globally.
Mumias Sugar Company, the nation's largest sugar company, owns 51 percent of the
project, while most of the rest is owned by state-run Tana and Athi River
Development Authority. Local people live in an intricate relationship with the
delta’s ecosystems, and are generally opposed to the mill. Irrigation would cause severe drainage of the Delta, leaving
local farmers without water for their herds during dry seasons. The Kenya
Wetlands Forum is calling on the Government to cancel its approval given to the
project. "We cannot just start messing around with the wetland because we need
biofuel and sugar," Kenyan Nobel laureate and environmentalist Wangari Maathai
has said.
Biofuel production worldwide continues to destroy crucial natural ecosystems
required for local and global sustainability. While hailed as a climate change
remedy, this destruction of natural habitats for biofuel production almost
always releases more carbon than saved. Using food such as sugar for fuel has
raised food prices, leading to riots globally, including in Kenya. Let the
Kenyan government know destroying ecosystems for toxic monocultures is unethical, ask them to please follow their own environmental laws, and respectfully request the project be permanently cancelled.