Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
formed determination on whether to, for example, promote agrofuel crops; under
what financial and regulatory framework; to what extent and in which lands/areas;
and how to beneficially integrate them into food security and general socio-
economic welfare of citizens (UNEP 2009b). In cases where agrofuel PPPPs exist,
how the decision-making criteria leading to determining their sustainability were
arrived at, remains unclear (UNEP 2009a). This has led to several global and Afri-
can NGOs, institutions and scientists, urging caution in promoting cultivation of
agrofuel crops in Sub-Saharan Africa, until their sustainability is assured, and
agrofuel PPPPs made more integrative of the pertinent sustainability issues
(GRAIN 2010; UNEP 2009b; FAO 2008a; Oxfam 2008a).
This paper aims to address the problem of determining the sustainability of
agrofuels, relevant in the formulation of agrofuel PPPPs, by proposing key deci-
sion-making criteria. This is based on the assumption that in order to formulate
agrofuel PPPPs that effectively promote sustainability, appropriate decision-
making criteria over what is sustainable, is needed. These criteria will serve the
purpose of highlighting and interlinking, for consideration during decision-
making, the key elements that influence decision-making over sustainability (see
Gibson 2006) i.e.: 1) potential adverse impacts from producing agrofuel crops; 2)
key concerns, fears and potential for conflict among welfare interests of local peo-
ples; 3) and need to meet socio-economic and environmental objectives, without
unjustified prejudice to any one of them. This paper applies the term 'decision-
making criteria' to refer to key elements for analyses, on which the determination
of sustainability of agrofuel crops shall be based upon.
Since Sub-Saharan African countries have traditionally had weak PPPPs-
making frameworks (Collier 2008; Onyango and Schmidt 2007), it is assumed that
such decision-making criteria can enhance the quality and evidence base for deci-
sion-making. The sustainability agenda is significant to Sub-Saharan Arica for
several reasons. For example, the 48 Sub-Saharan Africa countries have over a bil-
lion people, many of whom live on less than a dollar a day and rely on subsistence
farming (Collier 2008). Of the 33 countries recently identified as facing 'ex-
tremely alarming' hunger situations due to the increase in food and energy prices,
the majority are in Sub-Saharan Africa (BWI 2008). In addition, the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs), the global agenda for sustainable development, are
still uncertain from being achieved (UN 2007b). Therefore, Sub-Saharan Africa
interest in not jeopardising the MDGs through unmitigated adverse impacts from
the agrofuels sector cannot be overemphasised.
17.2 What are Agrofuels?
Renewable, biodegradable and harmless to the environment if spilled, agrofuels
are broadly defined as solid, liquid or gas fuels derived from recent biological ma-
terial, most commonly plants (Dufey et al. 2007). The term 'agrofuels' is herein
preferred to 'biofuels' in order to emphasize their potential to adversely compete
with agricultural food crops; and emphasise the intensive, monocultural and indus-
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