A $370 million biofuels project planned for the Tana Delta in Kenya has been stalled by a high court order, which found that environmentalists and citizen groups who claim that the project will devastate wildlife and the grazing grounds of local herders can apply for a judicial review. The Mumias Sugar Company project, which involves planting 2,000 square kilometers of wetlands with sugarcane for ethanol, is backed by the Kenyan government. Opponents claim that when the government approved the project, it ignored a study warning that the proposed irrigation would deprive herders of water during dry seasons. More than 350 species of birds, lions, elephants, rare sharks, and reptiles are native to the delta and may also be threatened by the project, conservationists say. Government officials counter that the project will provide jobs and boost sugar production in Kenya.
Kenyan Court Halts Biofuels Project, Pending Environmental Review
More From E360
-
Biodiversity
Will a Nile Canal Project Dry Up Africa’s Largest Wetland?
-
Cities
The Living City: Weaving Nature Back Into the Urban Fabric
-
Energy
Bitcoin’s Intensive Energy Demands Are Sparking a Crypto Backlash
-
Energy
How Russia’s War Is Putting Green Tech Progress in Jeopardy
-
Food & Agriculture
Pollen and Heat: A Looming Challenge for Global Agriculture
-
OPINION
Wrong Turn: America’s Car Culture and the Road Not Taken
-
Climate
Solution or Band-Aid? Carbon Capture Projects Are Moving Ahead
-
WATER
The Vanishing Rio Grande: Warming Takes a Toll on a Legendary River
-
Biodiversity
A Waterway Project in Brazil Imperils a Vast Tropical Wetland
-
Solutions
In Tanzania, Carbon Offsets Preserve Forests and a Way of Life
-
OPINION
Beyond Magical Thinking: Time to Get Real on Climate Change
-
INTERVIEW
How Ailing Strip Malls Could Be a Green Fix for U.S. Housing Crisis