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0DNLQJVXUHWKDWELRIXHOGHYHORSPHQWEHQH¿WVVPDOO farmers and communities

O. Dubois

Some suggestions on how to he quest for sustainable bio- Biofuel development is also strongly achieve biofuel development fuel systems has increased tre- influenced by current global trends such that favours sustainable rural Tmendously over the past few as transition to market economies, glo- livelihoods. years. Concerns about potential nega- balization, high and volatile fossil fuel tive effects, such as deforestation and prices and rising concerns about climate competition between food and biofuel change. Yet biofuel development should production, have led to the demand be geared to people’s livelihoods as well for sustainability instruments such as as to global and national energy needs. standards, criteria and indicators to be Livelihoods are sustainable (Ashby and applied through mandatory regulations Carney, 1999) when they: and/or voluntary schemes such as cer- xare resilient in the face of external tification. shocks and stresses; To ensure that biofuels contribute to xare not dependent on external support the Millennium Development Goals, (or if they are, this support should and in particular to the first goal on itself be economically and institu- food security and poverty reduction, tionally sustainable); it is important to ensure that biofuel xmaintain the long-term productivity development at least does not harm, of natural resources; and preferably favours, the livelihood xdo not undermine the livelihoods strategies of small-scale producers and of, or compromise the livelihood communities in rural areas. This article options open to, others. addresses what it takes to achieve biofuel The article briefly discusses gover- development that favours sustainable nance mechanisms that can ensure that rural livelihoods. small farmers and communities in rural Biofuel systems are complex because: areas do not lose out from the implemen- xthey are inherently composed of three tation of biofuel schemes. quite diverse components – feed- stock (raw material) supply, conver- SUSTAINABILITY IN UNCERTAIN sion technology and energy use; TIMES AND CHANGING Olivier Dubois is Senior Rural Institutions xthese components are influenced ENVIRONMENTS 2I¿FHUDQG&RRUGLQDWRURIWKH%LRHQHUJ\*URXS simultaneously by environmental, Biofuel systems can be developed in Environment, Climate Change and Bioenergy economic and social factors; diverse land-use situations (Figure 1). Division, Natural Resources Management and Environment Department, FAO, Rome. xthey can serve various purposes, Conventional management methods are from national energy supply to com- efficient in differentiating these land Adapted from the author’s paper “How munity-level energy autonomy; uses according to physical criteria. good enough biofuel governance can help rural livelihoods: making sure that biofuel xthey function at different scales, However, actual land uses change not development works for small farmers and from large-scale to decentralized only according to physical factors but communities”, an unpublished background paper village-based schemes. also because needs change as demands for FAO’s State of Food and Agriculture 2008.

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characterized according to their manda- tory or voluntary character as well as the BiodiversityForests External input intensity scale of their application, as illustrated in Figure 2 (Van Dam et al., 2006). The performance of regulatory and voluntary instruments in terms of small Old growth Managed Indigenous Exotic natural plantations plantations farmers’ and communities’ livelihoods cannot yet be evaluated for biofuel deve- lopment on a global scale because it is Agroforestry so recent, but lessons can be drawn from other types of land uses. Experience with forest resource management, for Traditional shifting instance, has suggested that: cultivation and Mixed systems Alley cropping x“Control and command/fines and home gardens fences” strategies seldom work on the ground because they are not cost effective and are difficult to Agriculture enforce. x Collaborative strategies for sustain- able resource management are more Highly mixed traditional systems Monoculture industrial farming bound to achieve sustainable out- comes but they involve significant transaction costs (i.e. costs of inter- Internally generated systems Externally generated systems action) in the short and medium term. Ways to reduce interaction costs Source:: Bass, Hawthorne and Hughes, 1998 include selecting key stakehold- ers according to their importance 1 and influence, and involving rep- Land-use spectrum as basis for biofuel development resentatives of stakeholder groups from society, market opportunities and of the dynamics of environmental and such as smallholder or community stakeholders’ entitlements evolve. It socio-economic changes. And they organizations in negotiating agree- is therefore important to consider the should take into account the politi- ments (Dubois and Lowore, 2000; dynamics of land uses when assess- cal dimension of land use and natural Abramovay and Magalhães, 2007). ing their environmental, economic and resource management, including power x The use of voluntary schemes such social impacts. Table 1 illustrates this relationships, and develop approaches as certification have primarily been through the different possible trajecto- to deal with this dimension. driven from outside and often by do- ries of forest cover, income and popu- Uncertainty concerns not only eco- nors. Subsidies provided by donors lation density. In particular, it shows logical but also socio-economic circum- to help community enterprises obtain that different land cover trajectories are stances, leading to different forms of certification can undermine sustain- caused by and contribute to livelihood vulnerability in rural areas. The aim able commercial decision-making needs in different ways, and change of sustainable development should by the enterprises. Although some over time. therefore be to manage, in time and communities value the non-mar- It is increasingly accepted that modern space, change resulting from interac- ket benefits of certification, such policies and planning strategies regard- tions among ecological, economic and as recognition and credibility, the ing land use and natural resource man- socio-political factors. main driving force is the promise agement should account for “unpredicta- of greater market security. Without bles” and “unknowns”, hence uncertainty HOW TO ADDRESS SUSTAINABLE this security, communities may not in land use and natural resource manage- BIOFUEL DEVELOPMENT IN continue with certification beyond ment (Dubois, 2003). They should be PRACTICE an initial “honeymoon” period when adaptive, following a learning process Approaches and instruments to achieve support from donors and certifiers and involving continuous monitoring sustainable biofuel development can be is at its highest (Bass et al., 2001).

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TABLE 1. )LYHSRVVLEOHWUDMHFWRULHVRIIRUHVWFRYHULQFRPHDQGSRSXODWLRQ Trajectory Agricultural rent curve Managed forest rent Forest cover Poverty and population Location of identifying curve trend trend characteristic

+PVGPUKſECVKQPYKVJ Shifts up because of Is everywhere Deforestation Landowners prosper, Peri-urban, good soils, deforestation increasing urban or dominated by continues labour demand probably high-input agriculture (e.g. soybean areas in international demand agricultural rent and stabilizes increases, wages and/or and higher population Brazilian savannah) for improved tenure at low forest workforces increase, with density cover possible urban labour growth

+PVGPUKſECVKQPYKVJ Shifts up because Shifts up because of Decreases, Landowners prosper, Peri-urban, medium to reforestation of increasing urban increased demand, then rebounds labour demand increases good soils, medium- to (e.g. woodlots) demand, increasing exhaustion of mined and wages and high-input agriculture returns and improved sources and demand workforces increase and medium to high tenure for environmental population density services

Abandonment with Shifts up because Shifts up because Decreases, Poverty decreases Likely on marginal regrowth of increasing urban of improved tenure then rebounds because of out-migration lands: hillsides and/or (e.g. forests in Europe demand, then down and increased semi-remote forested and the United States) because of rising demand for wood land, or where wages and environmental population density is services low

Abandonment and Shifts up and down Never surfaces, Decreases Out-migration without Marginal lands, not irreversible degradation because of land either because of towards zero poverty alleviation near cities; nutrient- (e.g. Imperata degradation high costs or tenure poor soils, slopes or grasslands in or irreversibility of JKIJN[ſTGRTQPGNCPFU Southeast Asia) degradation grasslands in forest biomes

Deforestation and Shifts up because Shifts down because Decreases Larger but poorer Probably not near pauperization of failing wages of soil degradation, towards zero population cities; anomalously and increasing food and disputes over high population density demand land tenure increase given remoteness and agroclimate

Source: Chomitz, 2006

2 Possible approaches to the implementation of policies for sustainable biofuel National, small-scale end use International end-use development

Voluntary certification Voluntary label with Voluntary system, private international initiative agreement

Private label with higher standards than those mandated by law

Standardization of Government Mandatory biomass standards on regulation international level

Source:: Adapted from Van Dam et al., 2006

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Most of the current work on instru- rectly, especially for biofuel projects The following ingredients seem essen- ments for sustainable biofuel develop- based on agriculture, although this tial for successful community biofuel ment is driven by voluntary initiatives is usually limited in small-scale development projects that fulfil local (see Box below). These will have to be schemes and depends on the degree needs (UNDP, 2000; Forsyth, 2005): backed by the power of law and enforce- of mechanization of production and xparticipatory approaches involving ment to have some chance of mitigating processing operations in large-scale a broad cross-section of the commu- negative impacts of biofuel develop- schemes; nity, including the poorest groups; ment. In many countries the judicial xprovision of an alternative to other xinclusion of production and supply process is slow. Legal costs are often forms of agricultural production, of biomass as an integral part of the beyond the capacities of weaker groups thus contributing to income diver- project (because the entire biofuel in rural areas such as small-scale farmers sification; chain affects the local community) and indigenous people, and enforcement xincreased local revenue genera- and sensitivity to other possible uses of their rights may be hindered by links tion. of feedstock (e.g. as food, fodder, between powerful investors and political However, it is a challenge to develop soil amendment or fertilizer, con- elites (UNDP, 2007). biofuel systems that will truly satisfy struction material); local needs and contribute to poverty xminimized transaction costs, as de- COMMUNITY BIOFUEL SYSTEMS reduction and food security. For exam- scribed above; Biofuel has significant potential to pro- ple, the connections among employment, xassurance mechanisms, such as con- mote rural development (Box opposite), GPXKTQPOGPVCNKORCEVUCPFDGPGſEKCTKGU tracts and understandings, to keep especially when it uses locally produced of the energy produced are strictly local the community and private biofuel feedstock, through: and could be made clear to everyone, but processors together in partnership; xwider and more on-demand avail- this rarely happens when planning and xfostering of a local institution to take ability of energy, with all its related implementation are supply driven and responsibility for design, implemen- services for local development (for top-down. Moreover, rural energy should tation and ongoing management of households, communities and pro- be part of a much broader development the project; duction purposes); approach if it is to have positive and xappropriate financial mechanisms. xjob creation, both directly and indi- sustainable impacts on the rural poor. Getting the financial mechanisms right is especially crucial and com- plex when dealing with the rural poor. Example of a multistakeholder process: the Roundtable on Subsidies should be transparent and Sustainable Palm Oil guidance for smallholders linked to the economic development they are supposed to promote (UN- The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) (see www.rspo.org) is a global association Energy, 2007). of organizations promoting open dialogue throughout the palm oil supply chain, involv- ing oil-palm growers, palm-oil processors and traders, consumer goods manufacturers, WHAT CAN GOVERNMENTS DO TO retailers, banks and investors, environmental and nature conservation non-governmental SUPPORT SUSTAINABLE BIOFUEL organizations (NGOs) and social and development NGOs. DEVELOPMENT? The focal activity of RSPO has been the development of practicable principles and The role of government can include, for criteria for production of sustainable palm oil. Its strengths include its transparent, example (ESMAP, 2005; Dubois and KPENWUKXGEQPUGPUWUDCUGFRTQEGUUCPFKVUTCRKFRTQITGUUKPFGXGNQRKPICPFſGNFVGUVKPI Lowore, 2000): the principles and criteria. providing an overall strategic vision To encourage the engagement of smallholders, smallholders’ organizations, non-com- x for biofuel development; pany extension services and growers’ associations, RSPO formed a Smallholder Task developing a series of policies relat- Force which works to: x ed to biofuel development (Table 2), • ensure that the association’s materials are translated into the major languages of the including incentives and removing main countries where smallholders engage in oil palm cultivation; disincentives – although to date the • carry out diagnostic surveys of smallholder issues and views; effect of most biofuel policies on • test the RSPO principles and criteria with smallholders; consumers’ food surplus situation • hold open consultations; and on greenhouse gas reduction • propose revised principles and criteria to RSPO. remains uncertain; Source: Vermeulen and Goad, 2006; RSPO, 2007. xproviding guidance in such areas

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interests of more distant communi- Example of a community biofuel development scheme: ties (as in watershed management, IRVWHULQJMDWURSKDELRIXHOLQ0DOLDQYLOODJHV for example). Mali is among the poorest countries in the world and has a highly unequal income dis- STRATEGIES AND TOOLS TO GET VTKDWVKQP+VKUNCPFNQEMGFCPFJCUHGYGZRQTVQRRQTVWPKVKGU5KZV[ſXGRGTEGPVQHVJG STAKEHOLDERS’ ROLES RIGHT land area is desert or semi-desert, and 99 percent of the rural population lacks energy Trade-offs between different interests services, which are vital to increase productivity, add value to agricultural produce, will often have to be made at the interface increase income and enable rural people to escape from poverty. between sustainable biofuel develop- A 15-year project in the township of Garalo aims set up electricity generators fuelled ment and sustainable livelihoods. The by jatropha oil for 10 000 people and to reduce village poverty. The population is mainly key question is who wins and who loses engaged in agriculture (mostly millet, sorghum and rice, as well as cotton for income from biofuel development, with a par- IGPGTCVKQP TCKUKPIECVVNGCPFſUJKPI'NGEVTKEKV[KUTGSWKTGFVQRWORYCVGTHQTKTTKIC- ticular emphasis on making sure that tion, to operate agricultural processing equipment, to chill vegetables and for lighting disadvantaged rural groups do not lose and refrigeration services in small shops and restaurants. Jatropha (mainly Jatropha out. Successfully addressing this ques- curcas) is well known in Mali where it is used for protective hedges, erosion control and tion requires the development of “good traditional soap-making. The project will implement 1 000 ha of plantations of jatropha enough” local governance mechanisms and other oil-producing plants and will provide training at different levels to ensure (both formal and informal) that ensure SWCNKV[QHVJGRTQEGUUGFQKN'ZRGEVGFGPXKTQPOGPVCNDGPGſVUKPENWFGECTDQPFKQZKFG adequate and sustained bargaining power emission savings of 9 000 tonnes per year as well as protection of soil against erosion to for these groups. EQODCVFGHQTGUVCVKQPCPFFGUGTVKſECVKQP A matrix comparing the environmen- In the village of Tiécourabougou, the Mali-Folkcenter Nyeeta, a Malian non-govern- tal, agronomic, socio-economic and mental organization, has launched “energy service centres” based on jatropha. Some policy aspects of alternative land-use 20 ha of plantations grow seeds to produce jatropha oil for uses such as millet grinding systems, produced by the Alternatives- and battery charging by villages within a 20-km radius. to-Slash-and-Burn Programme, helps The money spent on locally grown fuel stays in the community to stimulate the local understand the trade-offs between dif- economy. On a macro-economic level, this implies a reduction of the country’s expenses ferent land-use options according to dif- on imported fossil fuels, saving hard-earned foreign currency reserves. ferent interests and concerns (Table 3). Source: FACT, 2007; UN-Energy, 2007. Such a matrix could easily be adapted to assess different biofuel development as possible environmental changes, xcreating and enforcing regulations options as a basis for multistakeholder market identification, legal compli- (giving heed to local needs) in those negotiation. ance, quality control and information situations where local activity has an An illustrative pyramid of governance dissemination; impact on a wider community and elements necessary to achieve sustainable xproviding financial assistance to local approaches will not secure the forest management (Mayers, Bass and complement the mobilization of local resources; xclarifying territorial rights and pro- TABLE 2. Types of policy tools and some examples viding a legal framework for their Type of policy Some examples recognition; Incentive – tax or subsidy Excise tax credit for renewable energy, carbon tax, subsidies for ƀGZHWGNXGJKENGURTKEGUWRRQTVUCPFFGſEKGPE[RC[OGPVUVCTKHHU xprotecting against pressures from or subsidies on imports/exports other economic sectors; xproviding and maintaining basic Direct control Renewable fuel standards, mandatory blending, emission control UVCPFCTFUGHſEKGPE[UVCPFCTFUCETGCIGEQPVTQNSWQVCUQP infrastructure to support biofuel import/export product development and market- Enforcement of property rights Cap and trade ing; and trading providing formal rules for conflict x Educational and informational Labelling resolution if local rules are insuf- programmes ficient; Improving governance %GTVKſECVKQPRTQITCOOGU xlinking different decision-making Compensation schemes Payment for environmental services levels; Source: Rajagopal and Zilberman, 2007

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Macqueen, 2005) is also applicable to sus- of biofuel systems should be an impor- xcontinuous potential for negotia- tainable biofuel development (Figure 3). tant principle of biofuel policies and tion of the terms and conditions of The lower tiers (basic policy and insti- practice, and a major component of inter- the collaborative natural resource tutional elements) push, while the higher national biofuel aid programmes. How- management agreement, particularly tiers (more sophisticated mechanisms ever, in other natural resource sectors concerning the “four Rs” – rights, that generate demand) pull, for sustain- (e.g. forestry) and rural development, responsibilities, returns and mu- able biofuel development. Elements in the initial enthusiasm for this principle tual relationships – of stakeholders the lower tiers are more numerous and has been tempered by experience and (Mayers, 2005); often more fundamental to progress. recognition of the challenges it presents xexperimentation and monitoring of The pyramid’s foundations are less – providing a lesson for biofuel develop- collaborative management involv- directly controlled by biofuel stakehold- ment. These challenges include: ing rural people, and development ers, but it is crucial that these stake- xpolitical and institutional issues un- of mechanisms that allow lessons holders understand the constraints and derlying natural resource manage- from experimentation to feed into opportunities emanating from beyond ment; the policy-making process; the biofuel sector to enable them to argue xthe importance of context; xlong-term and demand-driven do- their case and influence those with the xthe difficulty of reducing specificity nor support to help in financing the power to improve the foundations. to the community level because ru- transaction costs of this learning Taking the construction analogy fur- ral populations are often composed process; ther, Mayers, Bass and Macqueen ( 2005) of many separate groups, people xa flexible and iterative approach, fol- suggest five “plumbing and wiring sys- use natural resources in different lowing guidelines not blueprints. tems” as necessary complements to the ways, and external actors influence Ultimately, policy implementation, building stones: the local rules of resource use and institutions and stakeholders’ roles in xinformation (access, coverage, qual- management. biofuel development are all embedded ity, transparency); xinstitutional transition in natural re- in the local political and cultural context. xparticipatory mechanisms (represen- source management, often including Policies may address the issue of what is tation, equal opportunity, access); weakened traditional rules, increas- needed at the natural resource level, but xfinances (internalising externalities, ing privatization and non-enforce- it is the interactions between the assets, cost efficiency); ability of formal rules. needs, institutions and relationships that xskills (equity and efficiency in build- A multiple strategy is therefore determine how policies are to be imple- ing social and human capital); required, combining: mented. This is therefore the level where xplanning and process management xnational guidelines that clearly re- capacity development should be given (priority-setting, decision-making, cognize the key role of communities priority. The argument about ways to coordination and accountability). and small farmers in achieving simul- implement biofuel development usually The involvement of local communities taneously better biofuel development concerns stakeholders’ assets and enti- and small farmers in the co-management and sustainable rural livelihoods; tlements, and other local institutions, but

TABLE 3. Matrix comparing the environmental, agronomic, socio-economic and policy/institutional aspects of alternative land-use systems Land-use systems Global environmental concerns Agronomic Smallholders’ socio-economic Policy and sustainability concerns concerns institutional issues Carbon Biodiversity Plot-level production Potential Employment Production incentives sequestration (above- sustainability RTQſVCDKNKV[ (average labour at private prices (above-ground, ground) (overall rating) (returns to land) input) (returns to labour) (time-averaged) (plant species (US$/ha) (days/ha/year) (US$/day) (tonne/ha) per plot) Forests Complex agroforests Simple agroforests Crop-fallow rotations Continuous annual crops Grassland, pastures Source: Palm et al., 2005

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3 Illustrative pyramid of necessary governance elements for sustainable biofuel development

Other elements Further elements for improved biofuel development

Monitoring and evaluation Audit, certification and/or participatory review

Extension Promotion of sustainable biofuel development to consumers and other stakeholders

Instruments Coherent set of “carrots and sticks” for implementing sustainable biofuel development in place (including capacities and checks and balances)

Policies Biofuel policies, standards and legislation for sustainable biofuel development agreed and in place

Roles Stakeholders roles (rights, responsibilities, returns and relations) and institutions in biofuel development negotiated and developed

Foundations Tenure rights, market conditions, constitutional guarantees, market and investment conditions, mechanisms for engagement with extrasectoral influences and recognition of lead biofuel institutions (in government, civil society and private sector)

Source:: Adapted from Mayers, Bass and Macqueen, 2005

progress often hinges on the quality of Ashby, C. & Carney, D. 1999. Sustainable and environment in the tropical forests. local stakeholders’ relationships, local livelihoods: lessons from early experience. Washington, DC, USA, World Bank. politics and culture, and the influence of London, UK, Department for International Dubois, O. 2003. Trade-offs between outside pressures, in short the balance Development (DFID). conservation and development in forestry of different interest groups. X Bass, S., Hawthorne, W. & Hughes, C. – Setting the stage and some guiding 1998. Forests, biodiversity and livelihoods: principles. Voluntary Paper for the XII linking policy and practice. Issues paper for World Forestry Congress, Quebec City, DFID. London, UK. Canada, 21–28 September 2003. Bass, S., Thornber, K., Markopoulos, Dubois, O. & Lowore, J. 2000. The journey M., Roberts, S. & Grieg-Gran, M. towards collaborative forest management Bibliography 2001. %GTVKſECVKQPŏU KORCEVU QP HQTGUVU in Africa: lessons learned and some stakeholders and supply chains: instruments navigational aids: an overview. London, Abramovay, R. & Magalhães, R. 2007. for sustainable private sector forestry UK, IIED. The access of family farmers to biodiesel series. London, UK, International Institute Energy Sector Management Assistance markets: partnerships between big for Environment and Development (IIED). Program (ESMAP). 2005. Advancing companies and social movements. São Available at: www.iied.org/pubs/pdf/ biofuel for sustainable development – Paulo, Brazil, University of São Paolo. full/9013IIED.pdf guidelines for policy makers and investors. Available at: www.regoverningmarkets. Chomitz, K.M. 2006 At loggerheads? 3 Vols. Washington, DC, USA, World org/en/global/innovative_practice.html Agriculture expansion, poverty reduction Bank.

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Forsyth, T. 2005. Partnerships for at: www.policy-powertools.org/Tools/ modernised biomass energy for sustainable technology transfer – how can investors Engaging/docs/pyramid_tool_english.pdf development. New York, NY, USA. and communities build renewable energy in Palm, C.A., Vosti, S.A., Sanchez, P.A. & UNDP. 2007. Human Development Report Asia? Sustainable Development Programme Ericksen, P.J., eds. 2005. Slash-and-burn 2007/2008. Fighting climate change: $TKGſPI2CRGT5&2$2.QPFQP7- agriculture: the search for alternatives. human solidarity in a divided world. New Chatham House. New York, NY, USA, Columbia University York, NY, USA. Fuels from Agriculture in Communal Press. UN-Energy. 2007. Sustainable biofuel: a Technology (FACT). 2007. Rural Rajagopal, D. & Zilberman, D. 2007. framework for decision makers. New York, GNGEVTKſECVKQPKP/CNKŌ2TQLGEVFGUETKRVKQP. Review of environmental, economic and NY, USA, United Nations. Internet document. Available at: www.fact- policy aspects of biofuels. Policy Research Van Dam, J., Junginger, M., Faaij, A., fuels.org/en/FACT_Projects/Mali Working Paper 4331. Washington, DC, Jürgens, I., Best, G. & Fritsche, U. Mayers, J. 2005. The four Rs. Power Tools USA, World Bank. 2006. Overview of recent developments Series. London, UK, IIED. Available Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil KPUWUVCKPCDNGDKQOCUUEGTVKſECVKQP2CRGT at: www.policy-powertools.org/Tools/ (RSPO), Task Force on Smallholders. written in the frame of International Energy Understanding/docs/four_Rs_tool_ 2007. RSPO principles and criteria Agency (IEA) Biofuel Task 40. english.pdf for sustainable palm oil production. Vermeulen, S. & Goad, N. 2006. Towards Mayers, J., Bass, S. & Macqueen, D. 2005. Consolidated 2nd draft: Guidance on better practice in smallholder palm oil The pyramid: a diagnostic and planning smallholders. production. Natural Resource Issues Series tool for good forest governance. Power United Nations Development Programme No 5. London, UK, IIED. Available at: www. Tools Series. London, UK, IIED. Available (UNDP). 2000. Biofuel primer – iied.org/pubs/pdf/full/13533IIED.pdf X

Do biofuels help mitigate climate change?

The 2008 edition of FAO’s annual flagship sugar cane, maize, wheat, sugar beet and publication State of Food and Agriculture rapeseed for ethanol and biodiesel on existing focuses on prospects, risks and opportunities cropland, more carbon would be sequestered from biofuels. It raises issues of important over a 30-year period by converting the crop- interest to forestry – notably questioning the land to forest. usual assumption that replacement of fossil State of Food and Agriculture 2008 notes fuels with fuels generated from biomass will that while biofuels are an important option for necessarily reduce greenhouse gas emis- reducing greenhouse gas emissions, in many sions. cases improving energy efficiency and con- Greenhouse gases are emitted at many servation, increasing carbon sequestration stages in the production of bioenergy crops through reforestation or changes in agricul- and biofuels (including in production of agri- forest land to produce these crops can release tural practices, or using other forms of renew- cultural inputs, fertilizer application, chemical 600 to 1 000 tonnes per hectare. able energy can be more cost-effective. processing and transport of biofuels). More- One study estimated that the conversion of The complete text of State of Food and over, they are emitted by land-use changes tropical moist forest, peatland, savannah or Agriculture 2008 including references to the directly or indirectly triggered by increased grassland to produce ethanol and biodiesel studies cited here is available online at: www. biofuel production, for example when carbon in Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia or the United fao.org/docrep/011/i0100e/i0100e00.htm stored in forest or grasslands is released dur- States of America releases at least 17 times The recent FAO publication Forests and ing conversion to crop production. While maize as much carbon dioxide as those biofuels save energy: key issues, reviewed on p. 56 of this produced for ethanol can generate greenhouse annually by replacing fossil fuels. issue, provides additional perspectives on the gas savings of about 1.8 tonnes of carbon Another study concluded that in comparison complex relations among biofuels, agriculture, dioxide per hectare per year, the conversion of with carbon emissions avoided by growing forests and climate change.

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