Bioenergy in Africa and Central America – Opportunities and Risks of Jatropha and Related Crops

Research Coordinator:

Albrecht Ehrensperger, University of Bern, Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), Switzerland

Project Summary:

The main objective of the project is an enhanced information and knowledge basis upon which sustainable and pro-poor development strategies and policies on biofuel production can be designed and implemented by development partners and governments in both the North and the South. A focus on Jatropha curcas was chosen, as this feedstock is considered to have high potentials in marginal areas, and because a strong increase of its production is expected in Eastern Africa. The project intends to assess opportunities and threats of increasing Jatropha production, appraise its social and environmental impacts, and develop decision-support tools for sustainable bioenergy production in Eastern Africa. In order to achieve these goals, four complementary work packages will be implemented by the project partner institutions:

  1. Crop growth and processing: Assessment of sustainable bioenergy production potentials and processing of Jatropha biomass in different production systems and under different environmental and cultural settings
  2. Impacts of biofuel production: Case-study based research on the socio-economic and environmental impacts of biofuel production in the local context
  3. Global policy, trade and certification: Analysis of the influence of external socio-political and economic decision-making processes on the regional and local biofuel production processes in Eastern Africa and Central America
  4. Potentials of biofuel in Eastern Africa: Up-scaling of finding from the three other work packages in view of providing relevant decision-making and planning tools at the national and regional levels in Eastern Africa.

Start date: June 1st 2009

Duration: 3 years

Contact:

Albrecht Ehrensperger
Tel.: +41 (0)31 631 54 58
Fax: +41 (0)31 631 85 44
Email: albrecht.ehrensperger@cde.unibe.ch
Website: www.cde.unibe.ch

Partners:

  • Swiss Federal Laboratories for Material Testing and Research (EMPA), Dübendorf, Switzerland
  • Wageningen University and Research Centre, Plant Research International B.V. (PRI), The Netherlands
  • Bioenergy2020+ GmbH, Graz, Austria
  • Overseas Development Institute (ODI), London, United Kingdom
  • Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland
  • Haramaya University, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia
  • Centre for Training and Integrated Research in ASAL Development (CETRAD), Nanyuki, Kenya
  • Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), Morogoro, Tanzania
  • Universidad Autónoma Chapingo (UACh), Chapingo, México
  • Galen University - Applied Research and Development for Sustainability Institute (GUARD), San Ignacio, Belize
  • Tropical Studies and Development Foundation (TSDF), Belmopan, Belize
  • Bioshape Tanzania Ltd, Kilwa District, Tanzania

 

Project Summary (pdf)