Impact of Jatropha production on ecosystem services and poverty alleviation in southern Africa

You can read this project's UNU-IAS Policy Report 'Biofuels in Africa: Impacts on Ecosystems Services, Biodiversity and Human Well-being' and watch the video Is jatropha good for ecosystems and local communities in Africa?

Jatropha has been promoted as a biofuel feedstock in Sub-Saharan Africa, India and China based on claims that it can boost energy security and local income generation, despite a lack of significant knowledge regarding expected yields and impact on ecosystem services.

This project provided a synthesis of the existing evidence base regarding the impacts of different modes of Jatropha production and consumption and unravelled whether and how the ecosystem services provided and/or compromised by Jatropha could contribute to poverty alleviation.

The evidence collected from the academic literature was complemented with findings from case studies conducted by the partners in Zambia and Mozambique