GGCA Gender and Climate Change Training Manual - Women's ...

Case studies
Case study 1
Biofuel production in rural India
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The CleanStar Trust project in India was born
out of the pressing need to find environmentally
sustainable livelihood options for the poor, who
have traditionally lived off natural resources
that are currently being affected by climate
change. In order to ensure that the campaign’s
approach has the greatest impact on climate
change mitigation, the project is using the
voluntary standards developed by the Climate,
Community and Biodiversity Alliance, 4 which
encourage the development of “projects
that can ideally help counter climate change,
promote sustainable development and
conserve or restore biodiversity” (CCBA,
2005).
Central Maharashtra, in central India, is a
drought-prone and landlocked region where
natural resources are already largely depleted.
The increasing scarcity of water, coupled with
erratic monsoon patterns and severe erosion,
have forced around 70% of the population into
rural exodus, leaving farms abandoned and
classrooms empty. Farm holdings are small
and up to two-thirds of them are not fit for
agricultural production; what arable land there
is, is becoming less and less productive. As the
agro-climatic and socio-economic situation
worsens, more families are acquiring debts
that they cannot afford. Over 1,200 desperate
farmers have committed suicide in the last two
years in this region.
According to the communities themselves,
they need new livelihood opportunities
that provide them with a stable income,
are sustainable and can connect them to
the fast growing markets. In 2004, a small
group of alumni from Oxford University’s
MBA in Social Entrepreneurship started a
field-based research project on sustainable
biofuel production from tree-borne oilseeds
on wasteland in central Maharashtra with the
help of the local communities. After two years
of trials, the team leaders, in collaboration with
experts specializing in Jatropha and Pongamia,
and dry-land farming, were able to establish
a set of silvicultural practices related to the
propagation of oilseed-producing trees, and
began testing technological applications for
processing the oilseeds into usable biofuels.
By 2006, 100,000 trees were planted.
Instead of starting a for-profit organization,
the group decided to use their knowledge
locally to benefit the wider community. Today,
CleanStar Trust incubates micro-enterprises at
the village level to develop energy solutions by
the poor for the poor. The campaign focuses
primarily (but not exclusively) on planting
biofuel trees (Jatropha and Pongamia) because
they are one of the few things that can grow
productively on the kind of land available,
they do not displace or compete with food
4
The “CCB Standards” identify land-based projects that can simultaneously deliver compelling climate, biodiversity and
community benefits. The CCB Standards are primarily designed for climate change mitigation projects. They were developed
by the Climate, Community & Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA). The CCBA is a global partnership of research institutions, corporations
and environmental groups, with a mission to develop and promote voluntary standards for multiple-benefit land-use projects.
For more information about the CCBA, please visit www.climate-standards.org or contact info@climate-standards.org.