Bioenergy and Food Security Projects

The role of water in bioenergy and food security:

the analysis for Peru and Tanzaniathe analysis for Peru and Tanzania

GBEP Study Tour for Capacity Building and Training, November 15th, 2012

Elizabeth Beall

Outline

• Bioenergy and Food Security Approach of FAO

• Water resources in bioenergy development

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• SEI’s WEAP System

• Application in Peru

• Application in Tanzania

The BEFS Approach

Assessment of BioenergyPotential

Risk Prevention Building

National

Level

(Policy)

Sustainable Bioenergy

Development

Risk Prevention and

Management

Monitoring Evaluation and

Response

Capacity Building : Policy and Technical

Building Institutional

Dialogue

Project

Level

(Investment)

The BEFS Approach and Water

• Areas of Analysis

– Agricultural Outlook

– Natural Resources

(land, water, etc.)

What are the

potential water

implications of – Techno-economic

– Socioeconomic

– GHG emissions

implications of

bioenergy

development on

food security?

Landscape of Water Supply and Demand

Trade-Offs

-Water quantity

-Water quality

-Seasonality of flow

Water for agricultureWater for industry and energy

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-Seasonality of flow

-Climate variability

-Regulations and

policy

Water for nature

Water for households

Water for recreation

SEI’s Water Evaluation and Planning System(WEAP)

• Free software

(http://www.weap21.org/index.asp?NewLang=EN)

• Integrates watershed hydrologic processes with water

resource management

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• Applicable to municipal or agricultural systems, single sub-

basins or complex river systems

• Simulates scenarios based on the effect of changes in

current demand and supply of water resources

• Can be used to examine the implications of, and for

bioenergy development

SEI’s Water Evaluation and Planning System

(WEAP)

Supply Data Required

Watershed attributes

Demand Data Required

Population-growth rate

Supply Demand

Based on a holistic approach of integrated water resource management

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Time series data of riverflows

Groundwater

River network (connectivity)

Climate

-precipitation-temperature-windspeed-relative humidity

-growth rate

-districts

-rural vs. urban

Livestock

Agricultural

Industrial

Ecological Flows

WEAP application in Chira/Piura Watershed,

Peru

Poechos Reservoir

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Valle Chira

Poechos Reservoir

Context of bioenergy development on water

resources in Chira/Piura Peru

• Government concessions for ~24,000 hectares for irrigated sugarcane for ethanol in the Chira/Piura basin

• Context:

• Semi-arid coastal region

• Growing population

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• Growing population

• 90% of water demand is for agriculture

• Rice production (50% of total production) with flood irrigation for local consumption

• Sugarcane only 3% of total production

• Poechos Reservoir – 50% decline since late 1970s

The question : is there sufficient water to meet all user needs?

WEAP Application in Peru

• Comparison of three scenarios with reference

(BAU) scenario from 2010 through 2030:

– Sugarcane for ethanol

– Sorghum for ethanol, as an alternative to sugarcane

since it has lower water requirements

– A combination of sugarcane and food crop expansion

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– A combination of sugarcane and food crop expansion

Key Assumptions:

• Further reduction of Poechos Resevroir based on past

trends

• Population growth at 1.7% per year

WEAP Application in Chira/Piura, Peru

• Key Findings:

– Water resources can support expansion of 10,000

hectares of sugarcane (50% of the concessions

planned) w/o affecting other users

– Rice yields could be doubled with increased irrigation

efficiency, freeing up water resources for other users

(bioenergy)

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• Key Recommendations:

– Implement measures to control erosion from deforestation

to reduce sediment effect on reservoir storage capacity

– Reduce or eliminate flood irrigation practices and line

canals to bring irrigation efficiency from 35% to above

60%

– Explore crops for bioenergy that have lower water

requirements (sorghum vs. sugarcane)

Implications of Bioenergy Development in

the Wami Basin, Tanzania

Dodoma

Zanzibar

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Morogoro

Context of bioenergy development in the

Wami Basin, Tanzania• Tanzania plans to expand irrigation from the current 290,000

hectares to 1 million hectares

– Wami Basin is identified for irrigation expansion

• Population and farm expansion is increasing at a rate of 2.6% per year

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• Current agricultural production in the basin includes primarily livestock, sugarcane, rice, and vegetables

• Land concessions for bioenergy have also been approved in the Basin (~35,000 hectares)

• Wami Basin includes biological diversity hotspot Eastern Arc Mountains and Coastal Forests

The question : is there sufficient water to meet all user needs?

WEAP application in Wami Basin, Tanzania

• Comparison of two scenarios with reference

scenario from 2012 through 2030:

– Sugarcane and sorghum for ethanol and population

growth

– Sugarcane and sorghum for ethanol, population

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– Sugarcane and sorghum for ethanol, population

growth, and food crop expansion

• Key Assumptions:

– Water allocations in WEAP were 1) Environmental flows; 2) Urban; 3) Rural; 4) Livestock; 5) Agriculture; 6) Industrial (Ministry of Water)

WEAP application in Wami Basin, Tanzania

• Key Findings:

– There will be unmet demand in all sectors unless

integrated water resource management measures are

implemented

• Even under the reference scenario, average coverage is only 37% and for agriculture must be over 75% and for

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only 37% and for agriculture must be over 75% and for households over 90%

• Key Recommendations:

– Involve Ministry of Water in bioenergy policymaking

– Systemize water, climate, and soil data collection

– Implement rainwater harvesting for households and

small-scale agriculture

Lessons Learned

• WEAP can be a useful tool for policymakers assessing

the potential impact of bioenergy development on other

users (food security) at the watershed level

– Illustrates trade-offs to inform planning and development

• Integrated water resource management needs to be a key

consideration in land concessions, as shown in both

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consideration in land concessions, as shown in both

bioenergy case studies

• WEAP requires data not always easily (centrally) attainable

or uniform for consistent results and analysis

• Technical capacity required to interpret results

– Conducted a South-South cooperation between the

experts in Peru to assist the consultants in Tanzania

Other FAO Tools for Water Management for

Bioenergy Production

• Aquastat, global information system on water and

agriculture http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/main/index.stm

• Aquacrop http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquacrop.html

• CropWat, http://www.fao.org/nr/water/infores_databases_cropwat.html

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• CropWat, http://www.fao.org/nr/water/infores_databases_cropwat.html

– simulating yield response to water management

strategies

• Water Scarcity as an element of food security in the

BEFSCI Operator Level Tool, http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/solaw/images_maps/map_5.pdf

Local consultants:

Peru: Cayo L. Ramos Taipe

Tanzania: Deogratias M.M. Mulungu

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http://www.fao.org/bioenergy/foodsecurity/befs

PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT US:

E-mail: BEFS-Project@fao.org

Phone: +39 06 57055376

Fax: +39 06 570 53369