Impact of Biofuel Production on Land-Use Change: Case of Jatropha Farming, Kisarawe District, Tanzania

Abstract

Globally, agricultural sector is the major driver for land use change (LUC), in East Africa where savannas, grassland and shrubland are dominant, land previously occupied by forests is the major source of new agricultural land. The use of agricultural-based biofuels has been expanding worldwide, biofuel farming associated with LUC should be measured as the direct land use change (dLUC); when a biofuel feedstock (e.g., jatropha) directly displaces another land use. The indirect land use change (iLUC); when a productive land use displaced by a biofuel feedstock propels the conversion of native vegetation elsewhere. Few studies have been carried out in Tanzania to investigate the effect of agriculture-based biofuel on LUC, the objective of this study was to investigate the LUC resulting from jatropha production introduced in year 2009 by Sunbiofuel Company in villages within Kisarawe District, Coast Region. Remote sensing and geographical information system (GIS) techniques on Landsat multidate satellite imagery and secondary data were used to establish patterns of direct and indirect LUC. Multidate satellite images were classified and analyzed to study the LUC at three epochs; before cultivation (year 1985), immediately after starting production (year 2010) and year 2011. The study revealed a significant increase in cultivated land, a decrease in forested land and encroachment into forest reserve. It was concluded that the conversion of land used for crop production into jatropha farming caused direct and indirect LUC in the area. The outputs from the study can be used as inputs to the models and methodologies for quantifying LUC effects due to introduction/expansion of biofuels production within a district.