Biofuels and land issues in Central Africa

Presented by: Sourakata Bangoura, Land & Water Resources Officer, FAO Sub-Regional Office for Central Africa

Regional briefing on “Access to land, acquisition of land

and rural development” Yaoundé, 27-28 September 2010

PRESENTATION PLAN

I. INTRODUCTIONII. CONTEXTIII. OPPORTUNITIES AND RISKSIV. IMPORTANCE OF AGROFUELS IN AFRICAV. WHAT NEXT?VI. CONCLUSIONVII. RECOMMENDATIONS

Introduction

• Solid biofuels: fuel wood, wood charcoal, bioethanol, biodiesel, biogas, etc.

• Liquid biofuels: liquid biofuels• Bioenergy: energy produced by biofuels• Agro-biofuels: obtained from non-wood

agricultural crops, agricultural and agro-industrial by-products

• Biomass: non-fossil organic material

CONTEXT

• Diversity of environmentally-friendly products and biodiversity

• Important natural resources: forest (approximately 346.2 million hectares, i.e. 52% of the area’s total surface area)

• Savanna ( 135.5 million ha), i.e. approximately 20% of the total surface area of arable land (26.9 million ha, i.e. 4% of the total surface area)

Context

• Food insecurity• Population explosion• Political instability• Numerous private investors in the area of biofuels:

– ZTE International signed a MoU with DRC in July 2007

Context

– Brazil signed 2 agreements with the Congo for a biofuel production project on 17 October 2007

– Agro Energie Développement presented its project in Cameroon on 9 January 2008

– Andrew Italia discussed its biofuel project in Gabon on 25 January 2008

– ENI Congo has proposed a biofuel development project to the Republic of the Congo (2008)

– A private Chinese company has concluded a contract with DRC (in 2007) to develop a 100,000 ha palm grove for the production of biofuel

Land situation• Multiple standards • Predominance of FORESTRY CODES• Inappropriate legal and legislative texts • Land management controlled solely by the State• Multiple decision-making bodies• Lack of consistency between laws, strategies and

sectoral programmes• Diversity of views on land occupation and access

methods• Land allocation systems based on concessions (25 to

99 years)• Customary Rights not respected

Problem of land availability: case of Gabon

ENERGY SITUATION IN CENTRAL AFRICA

• Most of the sub-region’s countries are oil producers except for Burundi, Rwanda and CAR, with the following particulars:

• strong dependency on export revenues of crude oil: Angola, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome, Gabon and Congo;

• Angola, is the second largest oil producer in Africa south of the Sahara;

ENERGY SITUATION IN CENTRAL AFRICA

• Equatorial Guinea is the third largest crude oil producer with more than 200,000 barrels a day;

• It is estimated that the Chad basin has reserves of more than 1 billion barrels;

• Production is declining in Cameroon, Gabon and the Congo;

• Despite the region’s special position as an exporter of crude oil:

• Traditional energies are predominant in a large number of countries (wood, wood charcoal mainly). Gabon is one of the countries which relies the least on traditional energies (approximately 30%) while the corresponding level is more than 80% in Chad, CAR, DRC, Rwanda and Burundi.

Situation of agro-biofuels in Africa

• Economic importance of bio-energy• Determining factors for the development of

agro-biofuels• Commodity options• Variability & climate impact

Overcoming energy poverty is one of the biggest challenges facing Africa and is crucial to

achieving the MDGs.

Botswana Namibia Tanzania South Africa

Mozambique Zambia

Use of diesel in l per year x 106

281 445 667 7,987 381 327

Use of petrol in l per year x 106

301 325 202 10,289 107 210

Percentage of the total land needed to meet fuel needs for transport

0.9 0.9 1.2 14.6 0.8 0.8

Land needed to achieve biofuel objectives in ha

26,078 38,917 53,855 307,375 30,631 56,286

Estimated jobs created to achieve biofuel obejctives1

12,251 18,608 26,399 142,919 15,036 27,046

Estimated jobs created to deal with the national use of fuel1

245,028 372,160 527,980 n/a 300,712 270,458

All the calculations are based on sugar cane and jatropha as raw materials. The values are not linked to one country or specific growth conditions and assume that adequate land resources are available.1 These figures are based on 0.5 jobs per hectare for biodiesel and 0.33 jobs per hectare for sugar cane as used in Ecoénergie 2008. Most are poorly paid jobs .

Economic importance of bioenergy

• Solid biomass, a leading economic value in Africa (603 million m3 of coal consumed in 2007) (FAO 2009)

• Capable of revitalising African agriculture (helps to improve income & food security)

• Contributes to energy security at local and national levels

Determining factors for the development of agro-biofuels

• International demand fuelled by policies on the main markets and the national policies for export revenues

• The substitution of fossil fuels for energy security and to reduce oil bills

• Concerns relative to greenhouse gas emissions and potential carbon trading

Determining factors at local and national levels

• Rural development• Food security• Diversification of crops & sources of income• Access to cheaper energy

Opportunities & Risks

Opportunities

• Better energy access • Land development• Better food security• Revitalised investment in agriculture • More diverse, flexible and resilient integrated agricultural

production (food and energy)

Opportunities

• More rural economic opportunities • Substitution of fuel wood • Reduced health risks • Reduced environmental impact • Better political planning and a better dialogue between

the government and local authorities and the various governmental sectors

• Additional financing excluding carbon trading debt

Risks

• Opportunistic over-exploitation of resources (land, water, forests, etc.)

• Competition with food security• Insufficient local benefits, protection of local labour and

local investment

Risks

• Substantial increases in land prices which may encourage disproportionate land consolidation by large operators and companies and limit even further access to productive land for small-scale operators.

• Well-intentioned or inadequate measures adopted too late or under-funded after major investments have already created undesirable effects and negotiations can no longer mitigate these effects.

• Ineffective controls, expertise and evaluations, in particular as regards the impact of biodiversity and changes in the use of land or the use of water.

Risk mitigation

• Offsetting or mitigating negative effects: Adopting “best” agricultural practices (conservation agriculture, organic farming, fertility management, composting, etc.) and commercial practices (contract agriculture, inclusive and social commercial models, involvement of small-scale producers, etc.)Reducing:

- greenhouse gas emissions

- the impact on food security and poverty

Risk mitigation

• Avoiding negative effects: BAP linked to the production and implementation of policies & regulations, laws, participatory approach, etc.

• Building resilience to uncertainties (climate and economic uncertainties): support for diversification, rain-fed crops, production system reinforcing soil fertility, climate resilience, water reserves, food/energy integration

- greenhouse gas emissions: Adopting “best” agricultural practices

- the impact on food security and poverty:

Importance of Agro-fuels for Africa?

• They contribute to rural development & help improve the means of existence of populations.

• Better access to energy and income-generating opportunities.

• Reduced dependency on fossil fuels.• Reduced use of traditional biomass.

What next? Action principles• Take into account possible multiple uses of

available land & take into account the comparative advantages of crops to be developed

• Protect land rights including customary rights in the acquisition of land

• Agro-fuels must benefit Africa first and foremost• Limit food-fuel disputes• Protect ecosystems and biodiversity• Put in place codes of good conduct

ELEMENTS OF A CODE OF GOOD CONDUCT

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF THE CODE OF GOOD CONDUCT• Effective participation of communities in the

production and access to the benefits of bioenergy • Contribution to the sustainable socio-economic

development of communities • Sustainable management of the environment,

including protecting biodiversity and reducing greenhouse gas emissions

SPECIFIC PRINCIPLES OF THE CODE OF GOOD CONDUCT

• Bioenergy must be produced in accordance with national, laws, regulations and policies in force, as well as in accordance with the international laws and agreements to which the countries have adhered.

• Compliance with the principle of the integration of the development of bioenergy and national food production must be taken into account and respected by all the stakeholders involved.

• Bioenergy projects must make a positive contribution to the sustainable socio-economic development of the host communities via coordinated actions taking into consideration the priority needs expressed by the beneficiary populations (development of basic infrastructures, food & energy security, local capacity-building, etc.).

SPECIFIC PRINCIPLES OF THE CODE OF GOOD CONDUCT

• Bioenergy must be developed in accordance with land rights including customary rights and must guarantee the land security of the partner populations for their current and future needs in accordance with laws in force. In this context, so-called “security” perimeters must be reserved for the populations involved; the scope of these perimeters is to be determined in agreements with the communities.

• Bioenergy production will give priority to satisfying local & national needs in addition to commercial objectives.

SPECIFIC PRINCIPLES OF THE CODE OF GOOD CONDUCT

• The development of under-utilised or degraded land for the production of bioenergy, as is the case of the savanna in certain Central African countries, will be implemented first and foremost via the promotion of integrated food-energy systems[1].

• The development of bioenergy must help to improve the management of water and land resources, and contribute to the better management of biodiversity and the ecosystem in general.

• The production of bioenergy must not result in deforestation or the degradation of land.

• Bioenergy must be developed in accordance with laws on the protection of the environment, biodiversity and the sustainable development of natural resources.

SPECIFIC PRINCIPLES OF THE CODE OF GOOD CONDUCT

• Before developing bioenergy, environmental and socio-economic impact studies will be carried out and any such development will take account of climate change mitigation and adaptation measures.

• Integrated food-energy systems can be implemented in

several ways: use of double-use crops (food-energy), with a sizeable proportion earmarked for the food part; cultivating crops for food use and crops for energy use on the same land; the use of residues of one type of crop to produce the other type of crop.

Conclusions

• Bioenergy alone will not resolve either our problems relating to carbon restrictions (depletion of energy resources and CO2 emissions in the atmosphere) or bring about adequate economic changes needed to reduce poverty and food insecurity.

• When bioenergy programmes focus on bioenergy as a means of improving the use of natural resources (improving land, water and biodiversity resources) and as an opportunity to reduce rural poverty and, if possible, urban poverty, these programmes will adopt formats and contents which can contribute to the increased resilience and productivity of African agriculture and thus help to support the means of existence of citizens.

• The multiplier effect shows that it is no longer reasonable from an economic point of view to prioritise the development of bioenergy in anticipation of national benefits – small-scale initiatives are less risky.

Conclusions (cont.)• The development of bioenergy can only be considered

sustainable when soil fertility and the other local benefits are assured.

• For the countries which are “net” importers of foodstuffs, it is essential to link bioenergy development strategies to food security strategies.

• There is an undeniable link between adapting to climate change, reducing poverty and ensuring access to food and energy; none of these problems can be resolved in isolation, without reference to the others. To devise solutions, we need to implement systemic change and new development models.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Concerning land questions:• Develop genuine land policies jointly on a participatory basis. • Simplify land laws: Land Permits must not be the only instrument used to

ensure the rights of communities; we need to go beyond customary rights.

• Create relevant monitoring and evaluation tools for land policies.• Store and manage effectively land information and other related data.• Boost the capacities of the authorities with responsibility for land issues.• Reinforce inter-sectoral coordination.• Go beyond the Forest Zoning Plan and put in place Area Allocation Plans,

even Land Use Plans, using a wide-ranging participatory process; this is the only way of ensuring the transparency of future land allocation.

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Integrate coefficients related to demography, pastoralism (transhumance), climate change and certain risks (installation of refugees) in the evaluation of the actual availability of land and/or the calculation of an integrated index of land needs to be developed.

• Ensure synergies and harmonise the key aspects of land policies within the framework of cross-border dynamics.

• Include representatives of local communities and civil society in the negotiations committee for the terms of transfer agreements.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Concerning the development of biofuels:• For the use of biomass for energy purposes: give

priority to residues and waste, but be careful not to compete with their use in soil improvement.

• Use of land for bioenergy crops: give priority to degraded or under-exploited land, taking into account the interests (and with the agreement) of local populations as well as the impact on the environment and biodiversity.

THANK YOU