China's new biofuels project may level forests to make way for 'clean' energy farming: NewsTarget.com

TUCSON, Ariz. 8/24/2007 06:14 PM GMT (FINDITT)

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.

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

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