Dutch Sustainability Criteria for biomass: Able to deal with unsustainable monoculture production?

Press release - 27 April 2007

Today, the Dutch 'Framework Report for Sustainable Biomass' is presented by the Cramer Commission to the Dutch government. Because of the strong promotion of 'biofuels' (now more often called 'agrofuels') by the EU and the Netherlands, the sustainability of the large scale production of biofuel crops is a hot topic.

In the process of developing the criteria to define sustainable biomass, the Cramer Commission has undertaken consultations on the Dutch level with various actors, but unfortunately not in countries where most biomass for biofuels will likely be produced.

These regions have already suffered many years of severe damage from monoculture plantations for export products, like soya, palmoil and sugar cane. The amounts of land used up by these monocultures, and the economical interestes linked to them, lead us to believe the implementation of any sustainability criteria to be very difficult.

As past experiences have shown, local stakeholder participation, also in the criteria setting process, is crucial. Not only for its societal support and credibility, but also for a sound analysis of the problems related to monoculture production of biofuel crops and a realistic view on the situation that people affected by these monocultures are facing.

In the case of soya, for example, a previous criteria-setting initiative - the Round Table on Responsible Soy - has been rejected by many organisations representing local stakeholders. In their experience, soy production has caused so many land conflicts, human rights violations and environmental disaster that any reference to 'responsible' soya is fully unjustified.

The Cramer report is an advice to the Dutch government. Of course, it is positive that a European government takes a timely effort to discuss sustainability issues of commodity production. It is also positive that the Cramer report acknowledges the fact that certification in itself cannot solve all the problems playing at macro-level, like the issue of food security or the displacement of production, causing indirect effects for example on biodiversity loss.

Since the chair of the Cramer Commission, Jacqueline Cramer, is now the new Dutch Minister of Environment, we are looking forward to any proposals from the Minister in this respect. For example, the Dutch government could undertake a broad sustainability impact assessment of the current production and consumption of commodity products like palmoil and soya, and the likely effects of creating an additional market for them for biofuels.

In addition, we would urge the Minister to oppose the EU proposal for a 10% binding target for agrofuels (biofuels) in transport and suspend all subsidies and other incentives for agro- energy from monoculture plantations. A group of Latin American organisations said in an Open Letter to the EU in January that "the problem of climate change generated by the countries of the North cannot be solved by creating new problems in our region."
A broadly signed statement "Biofuels - A Disaster in the Making", presented at the climate negotiations in Nairobi last November, calls Northern countries to reduce their energy consumption to sustainable levels and to pay the 'climate debt' they have created - instead of pushing large scale biofuel imports.

Global Forest Coalition
World Rainforest Movement
Latin American Network against Monoculture Tree Plantations
CEPPAS, Argentina
Grupo de Reflexion Rural, Argentina
Corporate Europe Observatory

For more information, please contact:
Simone Lovera, Global Forest Coalition: simonelovera@yahoo.com
Soledad Vogliano, CEPPAS, Argentina: choike@gmail.com
Nina Holland, Corporate Europe Observatory: nina@corporateeurope.org, 020-6127023 / 06- 30285042
more?

See http://www.biofuelwatch.org.uk for:
- Open Letter to the EU: "No to mandatory target!"
- Open Letter to the EU from Latin American organisations: "We want Food Sovereignty, not Biofuels!'
- Open Letter to the EU from Sawit Watch, Indonesia: "Palmoil for Biofuels increases social conflicts and undermines land reform in Indonesia

And:
Declaration presented at UNFCCC negotations, Nairobi, November 2006: "Biofuels - A Disaster in the Making"
http://www.wrm.org.uy/actors/CCC/Nairobi/Disaster_Making.html