Bioenergy Environmental Impact Analysis (BIAS) of Ethanol Production from Sugar Cane in Tanzania
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Date of publication
November 2010
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FAODOCREP:b83f6fd7-c8d8-587e-afe7-5c40ac4f5838
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This case study demonstrates strengths and weaknesses of the Bioenergy Environmental Impact Analysis framework (BIAS) in its draft form of 2009. The evaluation was conducted on the 21 000 ha bioethanol project of SEKAB near Bagamoyo, Tanzania. The study shows that the BIAS framework is a useful tool in guiding the analysis of biofuel projects. It also underlines evidence that substantial site-specific data are required to sufficiently evaluate impact on all environmental areas: biodiversity, water, soil and greenhouse gases (GHG), especially soil carbon. Specific indicator values for thresholds are missing, but may be of limited usefulness in specific cases, due to necessary adaptation to local conditions.
