China's new biofuels project may level forests to make way for "clean" energy farming

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(NaturalNews) The rapid expansion of the Chinese biofuels industry, along with the government's stated plans to convert huge swaths of forest into biofuels plantations, has many environmentalists worried for southwest China's unique ecologies.

In January, China's State Forestry Administration (SFA) announced an agreement with the oil company PetroChina to develop 40,000 hectares (100,000 acres) of Jatropha curcas plantations in the southwestern states of Yunnan and Sichuan. The plantations in each state are slated to have a production capacity of 10,000 to 30,000 tons.

Jatropha curcas is a bush prized for the high oil contents of its seeds (30 percent) and its ability to grow in even marginal lands. While SFA and PetroChina claim the plantations will be built in just such marginal zones, environmentalists have expressed doubt, pointing to the common practice of local governments classifying highly diverse, healthy forest lands as "waste" and selling them to logging companies.

Adding to this concern, SFA announced on Feb. 7 that the government plans to convert more than 13 million hectares of forest land nationwide into biofuels production. Most of this is anticipated to take place in the warm, heavily forested southwestern region of the country. The plantations will be funded by PetroChina and developed by government forestry officials.

Environmentalists have countered that southwestern China contains the largest remaining intact forests in the country, and those forests are vital to maintain the balance of local and regional climates. The region's forests are highly ecologically sensitive and biodiverse, containing more than 6,000 plant and 1,000 animal species, but have been decimated in recent years by intensive logging. Conservationists have also objected that replacing diverse forests with monocultures of oil-producing crops could severely damage the biodiversity of neighboring areas.

The biofuels boom in China is being driven by the country's explosively growing car culture. While China had 10 million private vehicles in 2003, by 2006 the number had doubled and by the end of the year it had already increased to 29.25 million.

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