Impacts of tropical land use conversion to jatropha and oil palm on rural livelihoods and ecosystem services in India and Mexico

Research Coordinator:

Sean Murphy, CABI, Wallingford, UK

Project Summary:

Objectives

  • Obtain information on yields, pest and disease complexes, energetic balances, and impact on soil properties of Jatropha curcas (jatropha) and Elaeis guineensis (oil palm) bioenergy systems across different ecoregions of India and Mexico
  • Assess relative socioeconomic and environmental impact to make recommendations to stakeholders on suitability, crop selection, and crop system optimization
  • Highlight policy changes on land tenure to ensure social sustainability and seek to inform vulnerable communities about the risks and benefits of bioenergy production.

Main activities

The project comprises: 1. A categorisation of existing bioenergy systems; 2. An assessment of their environmental impacts; and, 3. A socio-economic impact assessment and dissemination of results.

1. Categorisation of existing bioenergy systems

A participatory rural appraisal will be conducted with stakeholders from different rural communities (pastoralists, farmers) across different ecoregions. Existing systems will be classified using agronomic, social and other important economic variables through field observations and via interviews with key informants.

2. Assessment of environmental impacts

Soil carbon assessments and estimates of carbon and energy balance per unit of oil produced will be conducted. Any hectare-based reduction of food production area and substitution for fossil fuels, carbon debt of conversion and pay back time of carbon debt will be estimated. Surveys, identifications, and impacts of jatropha pests and diseases will be done and best-bet IPM strategies will be developed. The impact of bioenergy systems on ecosystem structure and functioning will be estimated by comparing them with the previous land use systems. Spontaneous seedlings will be mapped and germination studies, seed rain assessment and seed dispersal experiments will be conducted to estimate the risk of invasiveness.

3. Socio-economic impact assessment and dissemination

A stakeholder perception survey will be conducted to identify: problems related to biofuel production and commercialization; conflicts of interests; any positive relations between stakeholders which may enable coalitions to be built; which type of participation is most appropriate for different stakeholders, and the role(s) each might play in developing and implementing a sustainable biofuels strategy.

Start date: April 2009

Duration: 3 years

For further information:

Dr. Sean Murphy, CABI Europe
Nosworthy Way, Wallingford, OX10 8DE, UK
Tel.: +44 (0) 1491 829 071
Fax: +44 (0) 1491 829100
Email: s.murphy@cabi.org
Website: www.cabi.org

Partners:

  • Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
  • Centro Tecnológico Forestal de Catalunya, Lleida, Spain
  • CABI E – Switzerland, Delémont, Switzerland
  • Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias, Veracruz, México
  • Utthan - Centre for Sustainable Development & Poverty Alleviation, Allahabad India

 

Project Summary (pdf)