Posted by jatrophagambia under
Benefits,
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I received a phone call earlier today from the World Bank……. They made an appointment to come and see me tomorrow around 3 o’clock, I’m quite exited about this. I’m thinking about baking a traditional Dutch apple-pie for them, this can make them a nice welcome……! I called Kemo, he also likes to be here when they arrive in Bijilo. Today Kemo came to see me and we spent a good 2 hours talking about Phase 1 of our project. Kemo’s boss, the Director of Energy had some comments on the proposal we prepared. Kemo showed me the changes that they suggested and tomorrow he is going to finish it all and bring it to the Secretary General. If all goes well he will inform the President about it and hopefully we will receive the blessing of the government to continue.
Talking to Kemo is always a pleasure, we do get a lot done in a short time. We now have to start preparing the paperwork for the publicity campaign and that will be a lot of work all together but I’m sure we will make it. Let’s wait and see what the World Bank meeting will bring…….
Posted by jatrophagambia under
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I’m not always sure that what I read in the newspapers is always true, but in this case I think they are right. The last part of the article is not an issue that will create a problem for The Gambia because we have a lot of ‘waste-lands’ that can be used for planting Jatropha. It is even the opposite: growing all the Jatropha trees in the country will build a green fence that the country needs to stop the Sahara from entering The Gambia. The northern part of Senegal (our direct neighbours) is already suffering from the effects of the growths of the Sahara southwards. I really hope this story will convince more people to stop talking and start growing the trees. Oke, here is the before mentioned newspaper article from the Deccan Herald of May 10th 2007:
| Rush for biofuels could increase poverty |
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| By John Vidal, The Guardian, London: |
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| The EU has said that 10 per cent of all fuel must come from biofuels by 2020. Biofuels can be used in place of petrol and diesel and can play a part in reducing emissions from transport. |
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The global rush to switch from oil to energy derived from plants will drive deforestation, push small farmers off the land and lead to serious food shortages and increased poverty unless carefully managed, says the most comprehensive survey yet completed of energy crops.
The United Nations report, compiled by all 30 of the world organisation’s agencies, points to crops like palm oil, maize, sugar cane, soya and jatropha. Rich countries want to see these extensively grown for fuel as a way to reduce their own climate changing emissions. Their production could help stabilise the price of oil, open up new markets and lead to higher commodity prices for the poor.
But the UN urges governments to beware their human and environmental impacts, some of which could have irreversible consequences.
The report, which predicts winners and losers, will be studied carefully by the emerging multi-billion dollar biofuel industry which wants to provide as much as 25% of the world’s energy within 20 years.
Global production of energy crops is doubling every few years, and 17 countries have so far committed themselves to growing the crops on a large scale.
Last year, more than a third of the entire US maize crop went to ethanol for fuel, a 48 per cent increase on 2005, and Brazil and China grew the crops on nearly 50m acres of land.
The EU has said that 10 per cent of all fuel must come from biofuels by 2020. Biofuels can be used in place of petrol and diesel and can play a part in reducing emissions from transport.
On the positive side, the UN says that the crops have the potential to reduce and stabilise the price of oil, which could be very beneficial to poor countries. But it acknowledges that forests are already being felled to provide the land to grow vast plantations of palm oil trees.
Potentially devastating
Environment groups argue strongly that this is catastrophic for the climate, and potentially devastating for forest animals like orangutans in Indonesia.
But the survey’s findings are mixed on whether the crops will benefit or penalise poor countries, where most of the crops are expected to be grown in future.
“The benefits to farmers are not assured, and may come with increased costs. (Growing biofuel crops) can be especially harmful to farmers who do not own their own land, and to the rural and urban poor who are net buyers of food, as they could suffer from even greater pressure on already limited financial resources,” says the report, which was complied by UN-Energy.
The report also says the crops are not guaranteed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Producing and using biofuels results in some reductions in emissions compared to petroleum fuels, it says, but this is provided there is no clearing of forests or peat that store centuries of carbon.
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