Abstract
There is a need to use cleared idle agricultural land for biofuel production in order to avoid adverse impacts on food security and biodiversity. This chapter examines the potential impacts of biofuel development on biodiversity in Chobe District, Botswana, using literature review and stakeholder interviews. The stakeholders interviewed confirmed that there are significant areas of idle agricultural land available in the district, but most of it is not cleared. Therefore, the production of biofuels in Chobe District may on the one hand negatively affect biodiversity through the clearing of new land, but on the other hand it may not adversely affect food security since idle agricultural land will be used. The use of marginal land for biofuel production may also harm biodiversity (plant and animal species). This chapter shows that the use of jatropha and sweet sorghum for biofuel production is likely to have a lower impact on biodiversity compared to corn. In conclusion, research on biology, chemistry as well as agronomic aspects of energy crops should be undertaken prior to large-scale biofuel development in Botswana.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Arup Atkins (1990) Pandamatenga development study: annex P – environmental impact study. Final report. Ministry of Agriculture, Gaborone
Bishop RC (1978) Endangered species and uncertainity: the economics of a safe minimum standard’. Am J Agric Econ 60(2):10–18
Central Statistics Office (CSO) (2002) Report on the population census on 2001 population and housing census, Gaborone Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, Gaborone
Dufey A (2006) Biofuels production, trade and sustainable development: emerging issues. International Institute of Environment (IIED), London. www.earthprint.com
Energy Environment, Computer & Geophysical Application (EECG) (2007) The feasibility study for the production and use of biofuels in Botswana. Ministry of Minerals Energy and Water Resources, Gaborone
FAO (2008) Biofuels: prospects and opportunities. FAO, Rome
Fargione J, Hill J, Tilman D, Polasky S, Hawthorne P (2008) Land clearing and the biofuel carbon debt. Science 319(5867):1235–1238. doi:10.1126. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/152747
Foundation for biotechnology awareness and education (FBAE) (2009) Sweet sorghum: a new smart biofuels crop that ensures food security. http://fbae.org/2009/FBAE/website/biofuels_sweet-sorghum.html
Francis G, Edigner R, Becker K (2005) A concept for simultaneous wasteland reclamation, fuel production, and socio-economic development in degraded areas in India: need, potential and perspectives of Jatropha plantations. Nat Resour Forum 29:12–24
Goldemberg J, Guardabassi P (2009) Are biofuels a feasible option? Energy Policy 37(1):10–14
Groom M, Gray EZ, Townsend P (2008) Biofuels and biodiversity: principles for creating better policies for biofuels production. Conserv Biol 22(3):602–609
Janssen R, Rutz D, Helm P, Woods J, Diaz-Chavez R (2009) Bioenergy for sustainable development in Africa: environmental and social aspects. http://www.compete-bioafrica.net/sustainability/OD9-2_paper_COMPETE_Janssen_090730.pdf
Kgathi DL, Sekhwela MBM (2003) Sustainability of the commercial exploitation and management of the Chobe forest reserves in Botswana. S Afr J Geogr 85(1):26–34
Kumar A, Sharma S (2008) An evaluation of multipurpose oil seed crop for industrial uses (jatropha curcas L): a review. Ind Crops Prod 28:1–10. doi:10.1016/j.indcrop.2008.01.001
Millennium Ecosystems Assessment (MEA) (2003) Ecosystems and human well-being. Island Press, London
Ministry of Agriculure (2010) Land-use Data Base, Ministry of Agriculure, Gaborone
Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism (2007) Botswana biodiversity strategy and action plan (Revised). Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism, Gaborone
Modise M (2009) Director of Crop Production, Ministry of Agriculture, Personal communication on use of agricultural land for biofuels, Ministry of Agriculture, Botswana
Namibia Press Agency (2010) Jatropha plants being uprooted in Shadikongoro www.nampa.org; 17/08/2010
Ndong R, Montrejaud-Vignoles M, Girons OS, Gabrielle B, Pirot R, Domergue M, Salblayrolles C (2009) Life cycle assessment of biofuels from Jatropha curcas in West Africa: a field study. GCB Bioenergy 1:197–210
Norwegian Forestry Society (1992) Chobe forests inventory and management plan: technical reports vol I and II. Division of Crop Production and Forestry, Ministry of Agriculture, Gaborone
O’Brien EM (1993) Climatic gradients in woody plant species richness: towards an explanation based on an analysis of Southern Africa’s flora. J Biogeogr 20:181–198
Omann I, Stocker A, Jager J (2009) Climate change as a threat to biodiversity: an application of the DPSIR approach. Ecol Econ 69(1):24–31
Pearce D, Barbier E, Markandya A, Barrett S, Turner RK, Swanson T (1991) Blueprint 2: greening the world economy. Earthscan, London
Pearce D, Turner RK, Oriordan T, Adger N, Atkinson G, Brisson K, Brown K, Dubourg R, Fanhauser S, Jordan D, Moran D, Powel J (1993) Blueprint 3: measuring sustainable development. Earthscan, London
Prueksakorn K, Gheewala SH (2008) Full chain energy analysis of biodiesel from Jatropha curcas L in Thailand. Environ Sci Technol 42:3388–3393
Ravindranath NH, Lakshmi CT, Manuvie R, Balachandra P (2010) Biofuel production and implications for land use, food production and environment in India. Energy Policy. doi:10.1016.enpol2010.07.044
Renewable Fuels Agency (RFA) (2008) The Gallagher review of the indirect effects of biofuels production. RFA, East Essex
Round Table for Sustainable biofuels (RSB) (2009) RSB principles and criteria for sustainable biofuel production V1.0 Round table of sustainable biofuels. http://cgse.epfl.ch/biofuels
Sala OE, Sax D, Leslie H (2009) Biodiversity consequences of biofuel production. In: Howarth RW, Bringezu S (eds) Biofuels: environmental consequences and interactions with changing land use. Proceedings of the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE) International Biofuels Project Rapid Assessment, 22–25 Sept 2008, Gummersbach, Cornell University, Ithaca. (http://cip.cornell.edu/biofuels/)
Sekhwela MBM (2000) Woody biomass production ecology in Kalahari communal areas of Botswana. PhD thesis, Botany Department, University of Queensland, Brisbane
Smeets E (2008) Possibilities and limitations for sustainable bioenergy production systems. PhD thesis, Copernicus Institute for Sustainable Development and Innovation, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
The Royal Society (2008) Sustainable biofuels: prospects and challenges. Policy document 01/08 royalsociety.org
The West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) (2008) Sustainable bioenergy development in UEMOA and the hub for rural development in West and Central Africa, Dakar, Senegal
UNEP (2008) The potential impacts of biofuels on biodiversity. In: Conference of the parties to the convention on biological diversity, 9th meeting, Bonn, 19–30th May
Wallace KJ (2007) Classification of ecosystems services: problems and solutions. Biol Conserv 139:235–246
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Kgathi, D.L., Ngwenya, B.N., Sekhwela, M.B.M. (2012). Potential Impacts of Biofuel Development on Biodiversity in Chobe District, Botswana. In: Janssen, R., Rutz, D. (eds) Bioenergy for Sustainable Development in Africa. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2181-4_21
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2181-4_21
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-2180-7
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-2181-4
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)