The use of renewable raw materials to further a Green Economy: Study now available for download

The Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) held on 15 September 2011 an event on ‘Renewable Resources - Innovations for sustainable rural development in developing and emerging countries’ at its premises in Berlin. On this occasion, a study on the environmental and socio-economic impact of export of renewable raw materials from developing countries to Germany for non-energetic use, implemented by AFC Consultants International (AFC) on behalf of GIZ, was officially presented to the public. The study was commissioned by the BMZ and carried out by AFC to avoid a mistake often made: the insufficient consideration of important aspects of sustainability such as impact on the population and the natural environment in the promotion of economic policies and initiatives. One such example is the (undifferentiated) promotion of the use of renewable resources for biofuels, which has led to a number of unintended effects and sparked heated debates on the resulting environmental and social costs and effects of such interventions. The study takes a general look at the present and projected market situation, and then investigates the development of the demand for selected commodities for non-energetic use as well as the current state of socio-economic and ecological impact on the commodity-exporting countries in detailed case studies. These cover: Palm kernel oil production in Indonesia, Malaysia and Ghana; Coconut oil production in the Philippines; Castor oil production in India; Natural rubber production in Thailand; and Jute production in Bangladesh. The case studies highlight and explore the potential benefits and risks associated with the production of each commodity, and provide recommendations which would serve to help avoid mistakes of the past. The study is available only in German and is titled: ‘Nachwachsende Rohstoffe für die stoffliche Nutzung - Auswirkungen für Entwicklungs- und Schwellenländer‘. Its main findings are presented in an English summary. The study is now available in pdf format under the following link: http://www.giz.de/Themen/de/dokumente/giz2012-de-Nachwachsende-Rohstoffe.... For further information, contact Mr Johannes Geisen (johannes.geisen (at) afci.de) at AFC in Bonn.