Proponents of “green and clean” fuel have argued that a transition to biofuel could result in significant economic and environmental benefits, including local job creation, and less reliance on fossil fuel and energy imports, and come with minimal negative impacts on the environment. With a dominant focus in the discourse on these purported benefits, little attention has been given to the impacts of land acquisition on the local people whose livelihoods depend on land-based activities. Using a case study of bio-ethanol development in the Chisumbanje communal lands of Zimbabwe, this project assesses the processes and local livelihood implications of biofuel development and considers who is likely to bear the costs.
