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Abstract
Small-scale biodiesel production with a high level of community involvement has been associated with a number of benefits. These include relatively low environmental impacts, lack of competition with food production, strong poverty alleviation effects and enhanced access to energy. This Short Communication provides a qualitative analysis of the effects of the cultivation of biodiesel oilseed tree crops (mostly Millettia pinnata, along with Simarouba glauca, Azadirachta indica, Madhuca lungifolia and Jatropha curcas) in such a small-scale project, the Hassan Bio-Fuel Park in Karnataka, India. This extensive ethnographic research and using the ecosystem services approach to synthesize the findings suggests that the changes in both the flows of ecosystem services and different constituents of human wellbeing are marginal. While the ecosystem services approach can be useful to synthesize various forms of knowledge on biofuels to inform policy, this particular case study highlights the importance of being open about the different, often implicit, priorities and values of research projects and the various kinds of actors involved in biofuel production. Finally, it is crucial to understand not just which impacts are generated but especially how those impacts are generated.
Highlights
India's biofuel policy came out in 2009, 6 years after India's Planning Commission presented the National Mission on BioDiesel
These include relatively low environmental impacts, lack of competition with food production, strong poverty alleviation effects and enhanced access to energy. This Short Communication provides a qualitative analysis of the effects of the cultivation of biodiesel oilseed tree crops in such a small-scale project, the Hassan Bio-Fuel Park in Karnataka, India
This extensive ethnographic research and using the ecosystem services approach to synthesize the findings suggests that the changes in both the flows of ecosystem services and different constituents of human wellbeing are marginal
Summary
India's biofuel policy came out in 2009, 6 years after India's Planning Commission presented the National Mission on BioDiesel. There are large-scale block plantations that sell feedstock on national or international markets This model has been associated with low environmental sustainability, employment opportunities for a limited number of people, and even landgrabbing [2e4]. Biodiesel feedstock may be grown as hedges around the main cropland or other locations designated as suitable by the community [6e12] It has been argued, by the FAO and Energia, that such schemes have the potential to contribute towards rural development (especially for women), as well as improve local energy access [8,9]. In India, these projects include, among others, the Ranihedra rural village electrification initiative of Winrock international India and the biodiesel project in Mohuda, Ganjam district, Orissa, initiated by CTxGreEn and Gram Vikas It is unclear whether this potential can be realized in practice. E. de Hoop / Biomass and Bioenergy 114 (2018) 55e62 generate a cohesive body of knowledge for policy-makers that links environmental change to human wellbeing [17]
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