Abstract:
Biofuels have recently emerged as a major issue in energy policy,
agricultural development and natural resource management. The growing
demand for biofuels is being driven by high oil prices, energy security concerns
and global climate change. In Tanzania there is growing interest on the
part of foreign private investors in establishing biofuel projects, although
globally there are concerns related to biofuel investments. Tanzania has
approved a number of such projects, but the biofuel subsector faces several
policy challenges that could clearly hamper its development. These include
the lack of a holistic and comprehensive energy policy that addresses the
broad spectrum of energy options and issues, and weak or absent institutional
and legal frameworks. This article highlights some key policy issues
critical to the development of biofuels and argues that if these challenges are
not addressed at the national policy level, biofuel development may not
result in the expected benefits to Tanzania and the majority of its local
communities.
