[Sreekar]

Biofuel plans will hit water supplies in India, China: Study
(Source:TimesofIndia.com)

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, a new study said on Thursday.

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 Institute said.

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

India and China, both with over one 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 their diversifying diets."

The two Asian giants "are already struggling to find enough water to grow the food they need," the study by the Sri Lanka-based institute noted.

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, the study said.

China plans to use maize while India wants to use sugarcane for biofuel production. Both crops rely heavily on irrigation, de Fraiture said.

China aims to increase biofuel production four-fold from a 2002 level of 3.6 billion litres of bioethanol to around 15 billion litres by 2020, or nine per cent of the country's projected gasoline demand. India is pursuing a similarly aggressive strategy.

-Thanks much,
Sreekar