IWMI Claim Biofuels Not Environmentally Sustainable

Biofuels are not environmentally sustainable and could have devastating effects on global water supplies according to reports by scientists.

A report by the Sri Lanka-based International Water Management Institute (IWMI) says biofuels will add to the strain of already stressed water resources, particularly in countries like China and India.

Following research into the implications of increased biofuel production, the IWMI looked at the irrigation process of sugarcane in India and maize in China, used to produce the fuel.

On average, the biomass needed to produce one litre of biofuel evaporates between 1,000l and 3,500l of water says the IWMI. “Both countries, responding to severe water shortages, initiated large projects to transfer water from water-abundant to water-short areas. These projects are controversial because of their costs, environmental impacts and number of displaced people by big dams.

"Unless other less water-intensive alternatives are considered, biofuels are not environmentally sustainable", the IWMI says in a statement on its website.

But the problem is not restricted to the developing world. In the US, recent increases in oil prices have led to an expansion in corn ethanol production with plans to increase production over the next ten years.

In a report by the National Research Council in the US the same concerns are echoed.

The report warns that ethanol production from corn can "significantly harm water quality" by altering irrigation processes and depleting resources.

Precious water supplies must also compete with other forms of energy production, such as hydropower, says the report.

By Ozge Ibrahim