With the world’s rapidly dwindling oil supplies and the threat of irreversible environmental damage, the United States allied with its European eco-friendly counterparts, have committed to investing in cleaner, and more renewable energy sources. Though this may sound eco-friendly, their choice of environmentally safe projects has Africans often agreeing to self-detrimental deals.
Reminiscent of anything we’ve seen before…?
The biofuel industry supported by wealthy investors- the auto industry and key decision makers- is booming internationally, especially on the continent. What has been traditionally regarded as a western induced phenomenon has morphed into an arguably global collective to “save our planet”. Not to say that collaborative efforts are uncalled for, but what concerns me is the irony of the situation.
In their quest to build their economic empires, western governments were quite selfish and exploitative in their ventures. Yet now, that they need a helping hand, or rather a certain agenda pushed, whom better to turn to then the iron fists of our Mugabe’s and Melesse’s? With a few backroom deals and the assurance that their citizens won’t or shall I say cannot react, corrupt African governments can successfully implement various projects.
Due to limited land in many of these European nations, African soil is becoming a hot commodity. Sun Biofuels, a UK based energy company, currently has projects in Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Mozambique. In exchange for free land, they promise to invest millions in infrastructural projects. In Tanzania for instance, the company has promised £20 million in construction projects for 22,230 acres of land. Other European companies have also been closing deals beyond borders. The Norwegian firm Biofuels Africa has secured the rights to the 93,860 acres and Kavango BioEnergy, a British company, plans to invest millions of euros in northern Namibia.
Is this not traditional capitalism at its finest- Africa supplies Europe’s demands?
And although we should not be surprised at this historic relationship, supporting the biofuel market raises some very critical questions. In a time of food scarcity on the continent and even fluctuating food prices in the west, can we morally and ethically grow these edible crops to run our cars? Should Africa have to pay for the West’s over indulgence in fossil fuels? Even more upsetting is level of deception that has been incorporated in securing some of these lands.
A recent Business Week article exposed Biofuel Africa’s dirty tactics in Ghana. The company wrested away land clearing and usage rights from a village chief who could neither read nor write. They were on their way to securing thousands of acres when the Ghanaian Environmental Protection Agency put a stop to the process. In Tanzania as well, many head villagers were outraged when Sunbiofuels began their projects without even contacting village elders.
While some of you may argue that for many of these struggling nations these deals are beneficial and can improve the quality of many lives, Tanzanians have already begun voicing their skepticism. Journalist Khoti Kamanga of the University of Dar es Salaam warns against the side effects of energy plantations. “The population Kamanga writes, is usually uninformed, while the cultivation of energy plants usually goes hand-in-hand with forced resettlement”
With very little or no assurance that these companies will hold up their end of the bargain, alongside suspicious methods, and not to mention the ethical dilemmas that these practices raise, I wonder to what extent this could realy help Africans. Don't get me wrong while I do realize that "going green" is the newest trend sweeping the west, and other priorities such as world hunger may not currently be as popular, I am a firm believer that some causes no matter how vintage they may seem, should just never go out of style.
Thank you for bringing this to our attention. This is an issue that many Americans need to pay attention to in our quest for going Green. As the blogger has pointed out, Americans think that anything that is "GREEN" is good (pun intended).
However, I wasn't sure why the blogger mentioned Mugabe. Is he selling his land to the West as well? If so, this would be something to get out to the general public as well. We only hear about him taking land away from whites, and cholera etc. but never about his collusion with the West.
Posted by: Jay Rosenburg | January 28, 2009 at 10:48 PM
This is a wonderful piece that illustrates further the ways in which Europe and America continue to recreate their colonial relationship with Africa and Latin America in particular. Letting people starve while they feed their vehicles is antithetical to the 'better world' rhetoric of the so-called green movement. Moreover, WB and IMF policies that force Sub-Saharan and Latin American nations import food while they export corn completely obliterates the supposed positive impact of biofuels. This green capitalism is some bull shit. Just another way to move capital and make money. If we want to save the planet, Americans might start by working to close bomb plants in Ohio that use more energy in a couple of days than LA in one year! Sorry, I'm ranting... but this is just a hot mess!
Posted by: J.T. Roane | January 28, 2009 at 11:06 PM
In response to Jay, I just wanted to clarify my mentioning Mugabe..I was merely trying to illustrate the fact that the west can usually push their agenda through corrupt governments because they (African govs) dont have to consider their citizens' needs.
In terms of biofuels..Mugabe is innocent..at least this one time.
Posted by: solome | January 29, 2009 at 03:12 AM
This is a great post that highlights the dangerous ills of biofuels, especially the continued neocolonialism and ethically suspect business practices that we see on the African continent. Quite rightly put by the blogger, this is a sadly ironic situation as bio fuel food production in order for Western countries to go "green" is taking place, while many African countries still are at risk of food crises.
Posted by: Kizito | January 29, 2009 at 04:04 PM
Here is another article you might find interesting:
http://ecoworldly.com/2008/09/06/biofuels-war-the-new-scramble-for-africa-by-western-big-money-profiteers/
Posted by: Emira Woods | January 29, 2009 at 04:41 PM
Great Piece. I want to take it even further. What are African nations doing in this age of alternative ENERGY? Very soon both biofuels and fossil fuels will be a thing of the past. The US, Europe and Asia (China, Japan, India and S. Korea etc) have embarked on alternative energy aka nuclear power, battery powered cars, solar and wind Projects. Where do African countries fit in? Where are our think tanks?What are our leaders doing? I agree we don't need to sell off our lands with so many hungry and famished in the continent.We need investment in Agriculture not biofuels. The AU should immediately adopt a policy that forbids any member nation to sell off lands to these modern economic exploiters. ENOUGH.
Posted by: Uju. Austin, Texas,USA | March 21, 2009 at 06:49 PM