Wildlife and livelihoods at risk in Kenyan wetlands biofuel project. The Guardian

Controversial sugar cane plantation to occupy more than 80 sq miles of Tana river delta

Kenya has approved a controversial biofuel project that environmentalists say could destroy some of the country's most pristine wetlands. More than 80 sq miles of the Tana river delta is scheduled to become a sugar cane plantation, with much of the crop turned into ethanol in a purpose-built factory. The area is home to lions, hippos, reptiles, primates, rare sharks and 345 bird species, and sustains thousands of farmers and fishermen whose protests have been largely ignored, according to campaigners.

Paul Matiku, executive director of Nature Kenya, a Nairobi-based conservation group, described the proposed development by Mumias Sugar, a locally listed firm, as "an ecological and social disaster" that would cause heavy drainage of the delta.

"It will seriously damage our priceless national assets and will put the livelihoods of the people living in the delta in jeopardy," he said.

The merits of growing biofuels are the source of increasingly acrimonious debate in east Africa, where vast tracts of open land in Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and Tanzania are attracting the attention of local and international agriculture firms hoping to cash in on the demand from the US and the European Union for clean energy sources such as ethanol.

While local governments welcome the prospect of investment and job creation, there is strong opposition from environmentalists and development campaigners who say that arable land should not be used for non-food crops - especially in a region susceptible to food shortages.

The Tana delta, which lies 120 miles north of the coastal city of Mombasa and drains Kenya's longest river, is a mix of savannah, mangrove swamps, forest and beaches.

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