Why wonder plant fuels heated debate
Updated on 25 October 2007
Could the jatropha shrub be the wonder plant to help save the planet? The headlines certainly said so earlier this year.
Biofuels are currently worth over $20bn worldwide, and are being heralded as a solution to the world's reliance on oil.
Jatropha has yet to be manufactured on a large commercial scale, but the special properties of this plant are attracting a lot of interest.
The claims are that this crop is drought tolerant, that it is resistant to pest and diseases; it does not need a lot of water to grow. Further, jatropha produces seeds and these seeds are very high in oil content.
After palm oil, jatropha seeds have the highest energy content of any crops. The challenge now is to turn their oil into a large scale source of energy for the world.
It's led to the cultivation of jatropha crops across vast swathes of countries from Africa to South-East Asia.
China is planting Jatropha and millions are being invested in its cultivation across India.
'Go and plant jatropha in the Queen of England's garden instead'An Indian farmer
The Indian government has launched a national program to develop biofuels, with jatropha at the forefront. State governments are making land available for cultivation and attracting foreign investment.
But this national program to introduce jatropha is not popular with everyone.
In Jaipur, local farmers are protesting against the governments land policies. These include turning wasteland over to jatropha for cultivation. The farmers claim this is land they currently farm for food.
Why are you spoiling our crops, one asks. Go and plant jatropha in the Queen of England's garden instead.
In Delhi the protestors' complaints are echoed by Dr Suman Sahai, an agricultural expert who campaigns for the protection of India's biological resources.
Increasingly both Indian and western businesses are being attracted to the potential wonder plant
Middlesbrough-based D1 Oils has been in the biofuels business for five years. They first floated their company on the Alternative Investment Market in 2004 - and have raised £86m from investors, thanks largely to their involvement in Jatropha.
And now the big oil companies are moving in.
D1 Oils hit payday earlier this year, signing a joint venture with BP worth £80m, the world's biggest deal involving biofuel made from Jatropha.
But back in India, D1 Oils has found itself tangled up in a dispute involving new laws designed to protect India's bio-resources and tackle the emerging problem of bio-piracy.
Under these laws, foreign access to potentially lucrative natural resources, like jatropha, is closely regulated.
Two years ago, it's claimed, a university scientist called Dr Sunil Puri arranged for a valuable variety of jatropha to be transferred from the university to a nearby D1 site without the necessary permission from the authorities.
When it became public, the incident was investigated by the state government. A report has concluded that by accepting these plants, D1 has breached India's biodiversity laws. They are one of the first multinationals to face claims of breaching these new laws.
As a result, India's National Biodiversity Authority recently blocked an application by D1 Oils Plc to continue research and development with jatropha in India.
In response to Channel 4 News, D1 and the scientist denied breaking any laws and denied that the plants were valuable.
D1 also said it had not exploited the jatropha in any way. It said it had acted in good faith and allowed the jatropha to enter its site only at the request of the university. It also claimed that the onus was on the university to secure appropriate permissions.
