POVERTY: Jatropha - not really green

 Photo: Ton Rulkens/Flickr
Jatropha not quite the perfect green fuel

JOHANNESBURG, 23 March 2011 (IRIN) - A new study has put the brakes on a rush by some countries and companies to establish plantations of jatropha, an oil-bearing shrub and cousin of the castor bean bush, as a source of biofuel.
The study by ActionAid, an anti-poverty NGO, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, and Nature Kenya, a conservation society, looked at whether biofuel made from jatropha grown in the Dakatcha woodlands in Kenya’s coastal district of Malindi, could indeed be a green fuel.
Chris Coxon of ActionAid said the oil yield of the seed from plants grown on land earmarked for jatropha cultivation in Malindi would determine whether the shrub provided a viable alternative to fossil fuel.
Previous land use was another critical factor. The study found that throughout the production and consumption process in the Dakatcha woodlands, the jatropha would emit between 2.5 and six times more greenhouse gases than fossil fuels, largely because of clearing the forest, which stores massive amounts of carbon in its vegetation and soil, to make room for the plant.
Other studies have also found that the yield from jatropha can vary considerably, because contrary to the popular perception that it can thrive in semi-arid conditions, the plants need water and nutrients to produce high yields.
So, if an investment in irrigation and fertilizer is required, why not grow food crops instead, the study argued. Much of the biofuel from the Dakatcha woodlands project, when it starts producing, is destined for Europe to meet regional targets for switching to renewable energy.
The study underlined what a joint UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) report on jatropha had found in 2010 - that the shrub was useful as a bio-energy crop for cultivation by small-scale farmers.
"Some communities in the dry sahel of Africa have told us they are not against jatropha, only large plantations established by foreign companies for export without their consent," said Tim Rice, ActionAid's biofuels expert.
"They proposed growing small plots of jatropha on their own agriculural land or as a 'hedge' to divide fields. Used locally, it could be used as fuel for stoves, irrigation pumps and generators."
But even then, growing jatropha could prove uneconomical if there was no investment in developing higher oil-yielding, non-toxic varieties.
The Kenyan government has suspended clearing the full 50,000 hectares of forest, which would have displaced 20,000 people for the proposed plantation in Dakatcha, pending an environmental impact assessment, the study said.
“What concerns us is the growing move towards massive plantations of jatropha in developing countries,” said Coxon.

Here is a closer look at jatropha and why it has caught the imagination of so many.
How many?
In 2008, jatropha was planted on an estimated 900,000 hectares globally; 760,000 hectares (85 percent of the total) were located in Asia, followed by Africa with 120,000 hectares and Latin America with 20,000 hectares. By 2015, jatropha would be planted on a projected 12.8 million hectares, according to an FAO report.
By comparison, maize, one of the world’s major staple grain crops, is planted on more than 160 million hectares.
In another four years, Indonesia will be the largest jatropha producing country in Asia. In Africa, Ghana and Madagascar will be the biggest producers, while Brazil will be the main producer in Latin America.

Why jatropha?
Jatropha has a long history of being recognized as a substitute for fossil fuel. During the Second World War it was used as a replacement for diesel in Madagascar, Benin and Cape Verde, while its glycerine by-product was used to make nitro-glycerine, used in explosives and medicines for treating heart conditions.
FAO said jatropha had gained some ground as a source of oil for producing biodiesel because of the common perception that it could be grown in semi-arid regions with low nutrient requirements and little care.
Jatropha's extensive roots allow it to reach water deeper in the soil and extract leached mineral nutrients unavailable to many other plants. The surface roots also help bind the soil and can reduce erosion. Compared to other biofuel crops such as sugarcane, it requires less water.
It is a non-edible crop, “So the biodiesel sector does not compete with food and feed use of this crop,” said Simla Tokgoz, a researcher at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), a US-based think-tank. Other feedstocks used in biodiesel production are rapeseed, soybean, coconut, and palm.
Jatropha is still in the early stages of development as a biofuel but is expected to be a less expensive source for biodiesel production, which could increase profitability, Tokgoz said.
Jatropha oil can be used directly in some diesel engines without being converted into biodiesel, but because it has a higher viscosity than mineral diesel, it works better in tropical environments, where temperatures are higher.

Is it a viable alternative?
Large-scale biodiesel production will need more water, and in water-stressed conditions this could lead to conflict. The FAO/IFAD report said jatropha biodiesel conformed to the required European and USA quality standards, but cautioned that "It is not a technology suited to resource-poor communities in developing countries."
Biodiesel production also requires expertise, equipment, and the ability to handle large quantities of dangerous chemicals such as toxic methanol and highly corrosive sodium hydroxide.
When comparisons are made of the return on labour input Jatropha performs poorly against other biofuel feedstocks, but much depends on the level of yields, which need to be improved, the FAO/IFAD report said.
Jatropha has a marketable non-edible by-product, but it is less valuable than canola, for example, which can be consumed by animals, said Tokgoz.
Instead of competing for agricultural land, or removing forests or displacing communities, Tokgoz suggested planting government wasteland or contract farming using small- and medium-scale farmers. But again, this would mean investment in irrigation, inputs and efforts to improve yields.
Jatropha is regarded by many as an invasive plant and has been declared a noxious weed in parts of Australia, FAO pointed out. South Africa has banned its commercial production.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=92267

POVERTY: Half of India’s population lives below the poverty line

August 5th, 2010
According to a new Oxford University study, 55 percent of India’s population of 1.1 billion, or 645 million people, are living in poverty. Using a newly-developed index, the study found that about one-third of the world’s poor live in India.
The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) has been developed by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) as a more precise and comprehensive means of estimating poverty levels. It will replace the Human Poverty Index that has been used in the UNDP’s annual Human Development Report since 1997.
The MPI assesses a range of factors or “deprivations” at the household level as well as income and assets. These include: child mortality, nutrition, access to clean drinking water, sanitation, cooking fuel, electricity, and years of schooling and child enrolment. “A person is considered poor if they are deprived in at least 30 percent of the weighted indicators,” the study states.
As measured by the new index, half of the world’s poor are in South Asia (51 percent or 844 million people) and one quarter in Africa (28 per cent or 458 million). While poverty in Africa is often highlighted, the Oxford research found that there was more acute poverty in India than many African countries combined. Poverty in eight Indian states—Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal—exceeded that of the 26 poorest African countries.
The study examined poverty across 28 Indian states, concluding that “81 percent of people are multidimensionally poor in Bihar—more than any other state. Also, poverty in Bihar and Jharkand is most intense—poor people are deprived in 60 percent of the MPI’s weighted indicators. Uttar Pradesh is the home of largest number of poor people—21 percent of India’s poor people live there. West Bengal is home to the third largest number of poor people.”
The last figure is particularly significant as West Bengal has been ruled since 1977 by a Left Front coalition government led by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM). Far from being “socialist” or “Marxist”, the Stalinist CPM has been responsible for implementing the pro-market agenda of economic restructuring carried out in other states and nationally by openly bourgeois parties. The result has been a decline in living standards for the majority and a deepening divide between rich and poor.
The Oxford University research also exposed high levels of poverty among India’s oppressed castes and tribal peoples. The poverty level among India’s so-called Scheduled Tribes is 81.4 percent. “The intensity of poverty is also very high among Scheduled Tribes, who are deprived in 59.2 percent of weighted indicators on average,” the study stated. The MPI for Scheduled Castes was 65.8 percent and for Other Backward Castes (OBC) was 58.3 percent.
The figures expose the Congress-led government’s claim that India’s economic growth has been “inclusive”. In fact, successive Indian governments led by Congress and the Hindu supremacist Bharatiya Janatha Party (BJP) are responsible for economic policies that have boosted the profits of big business and the wealth of a tiny layer at the expense of the working class and rural poor.
By focussing on a broader range of factors, the Oxford University study has highlighted the continuing lack of basic facilities for the majority of the Indian population. Governments at the national and state levels have failed to provide even the most rudimentary assistance for hundreds of millions of people. Moreover, existing public services have been further undermined by the policies of privatisation and restructuring.
Only 31 percent of India’s population had access to improved sanitation in 2008. As a result of the lack of health care and food, 61 million children in India are stunted, the largest figure for any country, according to a UNICEF report. It also stated that the health of children suffers not just due to poor hygienic conditions and lack of nutritional food but also because mothers often suffer from anaemia and malnutrition during pregnancy.
Sharply rising food prices, including an average 83 percent increase since 2008, have been devastating for the country’s poor. Their situation has been further aggravated by recent fuel price hikes announced by the Indian government. The United Nations World Food Program (UNWFP) recently painted an alarming picture, reporting that nearly 350 million people—roughly 35 percent of India’s population —was food insecure and consumed less than 80 percent of their total energy requirements.
More than 1.5 million children in India are estimated to suffer from malnourishment and 43 percent of children under five years of age are underweight, according to the latest UNWFP report. The proportion of anaemic children has increased by six percent in the last six years, with 11 states reporting 80 percent child anaemia rates.
Another study that used a household income of $US2 a day as the poverty benchmark found that India not only has more poor people than sub-Saharan Africa, but also has a higher level of poverty. In India, 75.6 percent of the population, or 828 million people, live below the poverty line as compared to 72.2 percent, or 551 million people in sub-Saharan Africa.
On the other end of the scale, the wealthy few in India have amassed great riches. While impacted by the global financial crisis, the number of US dollar billionaires in India on the Forbes list rebounded to 49 in 2010, after falling to 24 last year. The figure falls just short of the record high of 53 in 2008.
The Financial Express commented that year: “The wealth amassed by Indian billionaires—estimated at 340.9 billion dollars by the US business magazine Forbes—is nearly 31 percent of the country’s total GDP. This gives them nearly three times more weight in the economy than their American counterparts and over ten times of those in China. The GDP share of Indian billionaires’ wealth is more than four times of the global average.”
The situation is similar this year. While 49 individuals preside over what for most Indians is unimaginable wealth, the majority of people are struggling to survive from day to day. In India’s financial capital of Mumbai, more than six million desperately poor people, half of the city’s population, eke out an existence in the slums. Mumbai’s gleaming skyscrapers that symbolise India’s economic growth sit alongside makeshift hovels.
Like their counterparts around the world, India’s business elite likes to justify their position in society on the basis of their own personal initiative, acumen and drive. In reality, their wealth is the product of the exploitation of the country’s huge reserves of cheap labour and depends on the continued impoverishment of the rest of the population. This worsening social divide will inevitably produce a rebellion against the appalling conditions created by profit system and the ruling elites that defend and benefit from it.
http://www.daily.pk/half-of-india%E2%80%99s-population-lives-below-the-poverty-line-19568/

MALNITRITION: MALI: Water has become a "luxury"

BAMAKO, 23 July 2010 (IRIN) - In Mali's northeastern Kidal region water shortages - many say the worst in 10 years - threaten lives and the region's very stability, residents and local officials say. Local and national authorities - backed by international agencies - have sent truckloads of water and thousands of tons of rice and fodder to Kidal, where animals are dying daily and water for drinking and bathing is increasingly rare. While residents say the assistance has been significant, they say it is insufficient and long-term solutions are indispensable. "Catastrophe" is in store if water shortages are not resolved, according to a report the Kidal regional assembly recently submitted to President Amadou Toumani Touré following an evaluation in the region. A continuation of today's conditions "will set in motion a vicious cycle: chaotic displacement of people, tension and conflict and urban overpopulation." "The region's very stability is threatened." The local authorities call for building, reinforcing and maintaining wells and bore holes, but also innovative ways to conserve and manage "the precious little water we have". Kidal, like much of the Sahel, receives little rain every year. But in recent years rains have been particularly erratic, starting late and ending early. Housseini Maïga, president of a government and civil society water organisation in Mali, said a town north of Gao, Mali, "saw not a drop of rain in all of 2009 - nothing". Maïga was among water experts and authorities attending a series of meetings 23 to 27 July in the Senegalese capital Dakar, organised by Global Water Partnership. "Rains are cyclical and for a long time we have had good years and bad," Maïga told IRIN. "But in recent years we see only decline." Kidal needs "colossal investment" in water management in order to avoid the worst," Yaya Dolo, regional governor, told IRIN. Lack of safe drinking water is Kidal's principal problem, said Yacouba Sangaré, head doctor in Kidal. "The water table is getting lower and lower... Having water to drink and bathe has become a luxury."Most children coming for medical care have diarrhoea and dehydration, he told IRIN. He added: "I have been in Kidal since 2004 and this is the first time I have seen hunger to this extent - not only among the people but among the animals." "One loses count of the animals dying," Alhabass Ag Intallah, member of parliament from Kidal told IRIN. "The best we can hope for this year is to save one-tenth of the livestock. And in this region where people live off their animals, losing that much can only mean famine. Already we are seeing undernutrition in the population - particularly children - because of the disappearing livestock." Al Hamdou Amoune, like most people in the region, breeds livestock. "I don't know what will become of my family. I lost half of my herd and I'm frightened for the rest. Yes the government has sent help but it won't be enough." He said the region particularly needs water towers. "Life has never been easy in Kidal but these days it just gets worse and worse," teacher Walet Altanata told IRIN. "Without water, what can we do? The heat, the sun - we are used to that. But we cannot bear a lack of water. This is why we implore the government and its partners to help."

MALARIA: India' Mumbai statistics

Mumbai: The mill land in and around South Mumbai may be expensive in the realty market, but it is also proving to be a dangerous breeding ground for mosquitoes causing malaria. Alarmed by this development, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has now decided to rope in firemen to conduct fogging operations in mill compounds.
According to the civic health department records, 1,418 cases of malaria have been reported in the city’s private and public hospitals since June 1. On Friday alone, 63 patients with malaria were admitted to the city’s hospitals. The disease has also claimed four lives since June 1, said civic health authorities.
The figures also throw up an interesting fact that most patients, who tested positive, were migrants working at construction sites. “Construction sites pose a huge problem as they are breeding spots for mosquitoes. Also, the workers suffering from malaria are from the north and north-eastern states like Orissa, West Bengal, which come under the ‘the malaria belt’,” said an officer from the civic health department.
According to doctors in the city, there are an equal number of cases of both strains of malaria - vivax as well as falciparum. However, what is worrying is that the vivax strain, which hitherto had been milder than falciparum, is showing signs of increasing severity. “Nowadays, we are seeing patients with vivax also getting serious. In the last fortnight, I have seen about 20-odd patients - half of them suffering from vivax - who have required hospitalisation,” said Dr Pradip Shah, consultant physician, Fortis Hospitals at Mulund.
“My advice to patients is to keep their surroundings hygienic and see to it that no water collection occurs near their buildings, as this is where the female anopheles mosquitoes breed.”
According to the civic body, Kurla has been identified as the worst-hit locality. “I am treating about four fresh cases of malaria, mostly vivax strain, every day,” said Dr Sharad Menon, Kurla-based paediatrician. Fortunately, vivax strain is easier to pick up, so the diagnosis is easy, he added.
The BMC has taken several measures to tackle the mosquito-borne menace. “Many times, construction workers don’t allow the BMC staff to enter construction sites for fogging. We are planning to rope in firemen for this task,” said Manisha Mhaiskar, additional municipal commissioner.
“The BMC surveillance officers in every ward office will also go door-to-door and screen patients with high fever for malaria. The surveillance officers will then go back after 15 days and check the patient again for malaria symptoms, as that is how long it takes for the parasite to fully mature and start affecting a person.”
Mhaiskar assured that the BMC is doing everything possible to control the menace. “The civic body has distributed brochures on malaria to private practitioners as these cases reach the clinics first,” she said.
http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_expensive-mill-land-cause-of-malaria-in-south-mumbai_1401355

POVERTY: Water

Foundation CEO Jeff Raikes told participants at an international water conference that scientists are making major strides in developing high-yield crops and improving farming practices. The key will be getting that technology to the places where it's needed most, such as poverty-stricken sub-Sahara Africa and south Asia, he said."I see the linkage of the water crisis and the future of global poverty," he said, "yet I don't see the general awareness of this issue. I don't hear the talk of securing water for food."We worry about terrorism, yet do we understand that the battles over resources are the most devastating?"Raikes echoed the notion that many of the 20th century's conflicts were based on oil, and many of this century's conflicts will be over water.
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/92740824.html