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

随着化石燃料价格上涨和人们对气候变化的担忧加剧，生物能源作物在国际上声名鹊起。如果启动大规模林地转换，国际市场对生物能源作物的需求增加可能会导致与热带小农粮食生产的冲突和/或成为砍伐森林的驱动因素。或者，小农可能不会危及自己的粮食安全，而是在种植粮食作物的同时种植生物能源作物，将其生产纳入目前的土地使用系统，增加现金流，从而使他们能够购买投入，以加强粮食生产。盈利能力、能量平衡、社会和生态影响将取决于所使用的生物能源作物，它是如何种植的，用什么投入，在什么类型的土地上，如果有的话，土地的替代用途是什么，以及谁获得了好处。因此，生物燃料生产是威胁还是机遇，将取决于具体的背景。麻疯树是一种灌木，原产于中美洲，但在整个热带地区都有种植。它的种子含有20-30%的油，可以很容易地提取并转化为生物柴油，因此它正被推广为一种生物能源作物。在墨西哥，麻疯树传统上被用作树篱。2006年初开始大规模种植。到2008年，恰帕斯州种植了20,000公顷，预计未来两年韦拉克鲁斯州将种植150,000公顷。在印度，已经开始了大规模的土地转化为麻疯树，例如，北方邦超过40万公顷的土地，印度政府已经提出，到2017年，生物燃料占其交通燃料消耗的20%，目前为5%。然而，尽管有这些雄心勃勃的项目，人们对麻疯树的产量、虫害和疾病问题以及对环境的影响知之甚少，因此在什么情况下种植麻疯树是可取的，而不是另一种生物能源作物，如油棕榈树。麻疯树和油棕榈的生态范围在一定程度上是重叠的。在印度，奥里萨邦和泰米尔纳德邦政府正在鼓励农民种植油棕榈树，因为印度每年的油棕榈油消费量估计为420万吨。同样，在墨西哥，也有一些大规模的油棕榈油倡议。该项目旨在评估麻疯树和油棕榈树两种生物能源作物生产的盈利能力、经济、社会和环境影响。通过获得的数据，它旨在确定最适合可持续和有利可图的产量的地区和条件，以及经济、社会和环境生产风险的程度。它的目的是找出目前土地保有权制度或法律方面的不足，并制定立法，以确保生物能源项目的社会可持续性和公平性。

Bioenergy crops have gained international prominence as fossil fuel prices increase and concerns about climate change grow. Increasing demand for bioenergy crops on international markets might lead to conflict with smallholder food production in the tropics and/or act as a driver of deforestation if large scale forest land conversions are initiated. Alternatively, smallholders might not jeopardise their own food security, and would grow bioenergy crops alongside food crops, incorporating their production into their current land use systems, increasing cash flow and thus permitting them to purchase inputs to intensify food production. The profitability, energy balance, social and ecological impacts will depend on the bioenergy crop used, how it is grown, with which inputs, on what type of land, what, if any, are the alternative uses of that land, and who reaps the benefit. So whether biofuel production is a threat or an opportunity will depend on the specific context. Jatropha curcas is a shrub, native to central America but is cultivated across the tropics. It is being promoted as a bioenergy crop as its seeds contain 20-30% oil, which can be easily extracted and converted to biodiesel. In Mexico, jatropha is traditionally used as a hedge. Large scale plantings were initiated in early 2006. By 2008, 20,000 ha were planted in Chiapas state and it is expected that 150,000 ha will be planted Veracruz state in the next two years. In India, large-scale land conversions to jatropha have been initiated, for example, more than 400,000 hectares of land in Uttar Pradesh state and the Indian government has proposed that biofuels account for 20% of its transportation fuel consumption by 2017, from the present 5%. Yet, despite these ambitious projects, little is known about its yield, pest and disease problems and environmental impact and so in which context it would be advisable to grow jatropha, rather than another bioenergy crop, such as Elaeis guineensis (oil palm). To some extent, ecological ranges of jatropha and oil palm overlap. In India, state governments of Orissa and Tamil Nadu are encouraging farmers to plant oil palm, given that India consumes an estimated 4.2 megatonnes per year. Similarly in Mexico, there are some large scale oil palm initiatives. This project aims to assess profitability, economic, social and environmental impacts of the production of two bioenergy crops, jatropha and oil palm. With data obtained it aims to identify the most suitable areas and conditions for sustainable and profitable yields and the extent of economic, social and environmental production risks. It aims to identify current shortfalls in land tenure systems or law and develop legislation to ensure social sustainability and equity of bioenergy projects.