China,India biofuel plans threaten water resources

The ambitious plans of India and China to ramp up biofuel production will deplete their water reserves and seriously impact their ability to meet food demands.

China and India, expected to account for nearly 70 per cent of global oil demand between now and 2030, are using cheaper biofuels derived from crops to help power their economies the International Water management said.

"But to grows biofuel crops you need to use more water and land,"a scientist at the institute and lead author of the biofuels said.

India and China which both have over 1 billion people suffer from water shortages, which will only get worse as their food demand keeps pace with a growing population. Their rising income and diversifying diets.

The 2 Asian giants are already struggling to find enough water to grow the food they need. As global crude oil prices race past US$80 a barrel, countries are increasingly relying on biofuels, which produce energy by using organic waste , wood, dung and residues from crops like sugarcane and grains.

China plans to use maize, while India wants to use sugarcane for biofuel production. Both crops relied heavily on irrigation.

China aims to increase biofuels production four-fold from 2002 level of 3.6 billion litres of bioethanol to around 15 billion litres by 2020 or 9% of the country projected gasoline demand.

India is pursuing a similarly aggressive strategy. To meet their biofuel targets India needed to produce 16% more sugarcane and China 26% extra maize.

Crop production for biofuels in China And India would likely jeopardise sustainable water use and thus affect irrigated production of food crops including cereals and vegetables which would then need to be imported in larger quantities.

Are this country-particularly India, which has devoted so much effort to achieving food security- adequately considering the trade-offs involved, especially the prospect of importing food to free up sufficient water and land for production of biofuel crops?

Water scarcity in India has prompted a controversial multibillion-dolar plan to redistribute water within the country to meet future needs.

China is implementing a costly transfer project to bring water from the water-abundant south to the water-short north leaving groundwater resources extensively over-exploited.

In both countries biofuels will add pressure on water resources that already are heavily exploited or over exploited. China and India need a fresh approach to re-look at the way they produce biofuels

The report suggests authorities develop dryland rain-fed crops such as sweet sorghum for ethanol and species such as Jatropha and Pongamia for biodiesel.

This could help reduce competition for scarce water between the crops.

New strait times paper and AFP