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Implications of bio-fuels expansion on water

Freshwater Team. Implications of bio-fuels expansion on water. Rome, September, 2010. László Máthé Bioenergy coordinator WWF International/Scotland. Outline. First, understand the water implications for food... What does this mean for biofuels? 4 first steps. Step 1 - Read this!.

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Implications of bio-fuels expansion on water

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  1. Freshwater Team Implications of bio-fuels expansion on water Rome, September, 2010 László Máthé Bioenergy coordinator WWF International/Scotland

  2. Outline • First, understand the water implications for food... • What does this mean for biofuels? • 4 first steps

  3. Step 1 - Read this!

  4. Our water future? • In the next 50 years the global population will rise to a projected 9 billion. • Rural to urban migration and changing diets will increase agricultural water demand, as people choose to eat more “thirsty crops” like fruit, vegetables, edible oils and especially meat. • Therefore food and feed crop demand will nearly double over the next 50 years (not including fibreandbiofuels). • With current water productivity this increased demand will result in a 70-90% increase in evapo-transpiration from agriculture. • These estimates do not yet include the impacts of climate change on evapo-transpiration. • Currently around 70% of all water abstraction globally is for agricultural purposes. • Irrigation provides 40% of the world’s food from less than 20% of its arable land. • In times of crisis, governments will prioritise their national needs for food security over other concerns.

  5. Projected changes under the CA’s “Optimistic Scenario”

  6. Water-saving practices for thirsty crops

  7. Biofuels • What does this all mean for biofuels? • Subject to the same if not more scrutiny • Under the spotlight – judged as competition • Watershed – not field level impacts are what matters • Understand your total ‘context’

  8. Under the spotlight

  9. Four steps to start 1. Screen using the WBCSD tool 2. Target Water Footprint on problem areas 3. Reduce your own ‘impacts’ 4. Get the context managed

  10. Scarce Sufficient Extremely scarce Stress Abundant Step 1 – Screen using WBCSD tool What is the water status around your factories and farms? Acknowledgements to SABMiller

  11. Step 2 - Target Water Footprint assessment on known problem areasWhat kind of water dependency is it?

  12. Step 3 - Reduce your own ‘impacts’Reduce the impacts of your operations and purchases – without this you are not credible

  13. Step 4 - Get the context managedAct beyond the fence-lineWater is a shared problem so work together to address it Working together will reduce costs of mitigating risks

  14. Species example “we shan’t save all we’d like to, but we shall save a great deal more than if we had never tried.” Sir Peter Scott – WWF Founder

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