Biofuels, food crops straining world water reserves
Monday, 25 August 2008
STOCKHOLM, Aug 24 (AFP): Burgeoning demand for food to feed the world's swelling population, coupled with increased use of biomass as fuel is putting a serious strain on global water reserves, experts said
"If we look at how much more water we will need for food and how much more for biomass for energy going forward ... it is quite worrying," said Jan Lundqvist, who heads the scientific programme at the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI).
Global food needs are expected to roughly double by 2050, at the same time as climate change and dwindling oil reserves are pressuring countries to set aside ever more land for producing biomass to replace greenhouse gas- emitting fossil fuels.
These parallel global trends risk colliding with "the water- constrained biophysical reality of the planet," according to SIWI, which hosted the the World Water Week in the Swedish capital last week.
"Almost every increase in water used in agriculture will affect water availability for other uses, including that needed to keep ecosystems healthy and resilient in the face of change and perturbation," the institute said in a recent study.
According to Lundqvist, the global population today uses around 4,500 cubic kilometres of water each year to cover all water needs, including for agricultural irrigation, urban use and for energy production.
While that is below the level of what is considered environmentally irresponsible, he stressed that future needs could rapidly push water use to dangerous levels.
"It might be environmentally reasonable to withdraw maybe 6,000 (cubic kilometres), but if we withdraw more water it would be at a very high environmental cost, because we need water to flush the system and for different ecosystem services," he said.
According to SIWI project director Jakob Granit, recent studies indicate that "by 2030, the same amount of energy that we produce today with fossil fuels will have to come from biomass."
At the same time, scientists predict we will only be able to "meet food demands by 2050 if we have a much more efficient use of water ... That does not include the water we need for all that biomass," he told the agency.
"If we look at how much more water we will need for food and how much more for biomass for energy going forward ... it is quite worrying," said Jan Lundqvist, who heads the scientific programme at the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI).
Global food needs are expected to roughly double by 2050, at the same time as climate change and dwindling oil reserves are pressuring countries to set aside ever more land for producing biomass to replace greenhouse gas- emitting fossil fuels.
These parallel global trends risk colliding with "the water- constrained biophysical reality of the planet," according to SIWI, which hosted the the World Water Week in the Swedish capital last week.
"Almost every increase in water used in agriculture will affect water availability for other uses, including that needed to keep ecosystems healthy and resilient in the face of change and perturbation," the institute said in a recent study.
According to Lundqvist, the global population today uses around 4,500 cubic kilometres of water each year to cover all water needs, including for agricultural irrigation, urban use and for energy production.
While that is below the level of what is considered environmentally irresponsible, he stressed that future needs could rapidly push water use to dangerous levels.
"It might be environmentally reasonable to withdraw maybe 6,000 (cubic kilometres), but if we withdraw more water it would be at a very high environmental cost, because we need water to flush the system and for different ecosystem services," he said.
According to SIWI project director Jakob Granit, recent studies indicate that "by 2030, the same amount of energy that we produce today with fossil fuels will have to come from biomass."
At the same time, scientists predict we will only be able to "meet food demands by 2050 if we have a much more efficient use of water ... That does not include the water we need for all that biomass," he told the agency.