Land seizures behind Colombia’s biofuel revolution

 
Armed groups in Colombia are driving peasants off their land to make way for plantations of palm oil, a biofuel that us being promoted as an environment-friendly source of energy. Surging demand for "green" fuel has prompted right-wing paramilitaries to seize swathes of territory. According to activists and farmers Thousands of families are believed to have fled a campaign of killing and intimidation. Several, companies were collaborating by falsifying deeds to claim ownership of the land, said Andres Castro, the general secretary of Fed Palma, the national federation of palm oil producers." As a consequence of the development and palm secretive business practices and the use of threats, people have been displaced and [the businesses] have claimed land for themselves", he said. His claim was backed up by witnesses and group such as Christian Aid and the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia. The revelations tarnish what has been considered an economic and environmental success story. The fruit of the palm oil tree produces a vegetable oil also used in cooking, employs 80,000 people, and is increasingly being turned into biofuel.

(The Hindu,7th  June  2007)