Researchers with the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) warn that China and India's plans to greatly increase domestic production of biofuels, will put at risk their water supplies. This will seriously undermine the two countries' ability to meet future food and feed demands. The study was conducted by the CGIAR-supported International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in Sri Lanka. In many areas where water is already scarce, biofuel production could threaten river and groundwater systems.

Dr. David Molden, Deputy Director General of IWMI talks about water scarcity, water productivity and irrigation practices.

According to a 2007 study by the International Water Management Institute, China aims to increase biofuel production fourfold to 15 billion litres of ethanol-9 per cent of its projected petrol demand-by 2020, from 3.6 billion litres in 2002. India is also focused on ramping up ethanol production. In October, the government approved a plan to require oil companies to sell petrol with a blend of at least 10 per cent ethanol by next year, which is double the current levels.

The study was conducted by the CGIAR-supported International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in Sri Lanka.

In many areas where water is already scarce, biofuel production could threaten river and groundwater systems.

Charlotte de Fraiture, an IWMI scientist and lead author of the biofuels study says, “Biofuel production in China and India raises special concerns, because the crops to be used for biofuels—maize in China and sugarcane in India—would rely mainly on irrigation.

According to the report, the major collaborative organisations are: United Nation Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), International Water Management Institute (IWMI) International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), United Nation Children Fund (Unicef), Inter-Islamic Network on Water Resources Development and Management (INWRDAM), International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID), International Hydrological Programme for Hindukush-Himalayan Region (HP-HKH), Department for International Development (DFID), United Nation Development Programme (UND

Research from the International Water
Management Institute, in Sri Lanka, and
partners examines how water used for rice
irrigation is managed in two sites in China – in
the Yellow River basin and Yangtze River basin.
In the Yangtze basin, water is relatively
abundant, while the Yellow basin experiences
water shortages. In both systems, the main
user groups are farmers, irrigation operators,
cities and basin managers. The researchers
assessed various watersaving
strategies on farms
to understand if and how
water is saved.

The Tunis meeting discussed the agricultural water strategy: Investment in agricultural water for poverty reduction and economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa, which was jointly prepared by the World Bank, AfDB, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and International Water Management Institute (IWMI), in response to NEPAD’s desire to implement land and water management (Pillar I) of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP).

In China, the agricultural use of groundwater has skyrocketed, and the fall in water tables has created a potential environmental catastrophe. "The breadbasket of China -- north of the Yellow River -- have millions of people dependent on groundwater," says David Molden, Deputy Director General at the International Water Management Institute in Colombo, Sri Lanka. With the water table dropping in many places across China at a rate approaching or exceeding 1.5 meters a year, "It's sitting there like a time bomb," says Molden.

I understand that ‘More crop per drop’ is a decade-old concept of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), one of the 15 centers under the aegis of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR); the notion was a brainchild of the IWMI under the leadership of Director General David Seckler (1996-2000), focusing on water productivity (iwmi.cgiar.org).

The report, the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), underscores the urgency of findings from last year’s International Water Management Institute assessment report.