The correlation between food, water, and energy is becoming increasingly complex to manage as water shortage is becoming more severe around the world.
- 80% of accessible freshwater in Asia is used for agriculture
- The rest is drawn by energy, industry, and domestic use
(ex. 1 ton of sugarcane needs 250 tons of water and 1 kg of meat needs 30000 to 70,000 L of water) - Demand for meat has gone up more than 700% in last 40 years in China alone
- Energy production accounts for 30% respective to all water withdrawals in Europe; 40% in USA
- At these levels, agriculture will be bumped out and crop production will decline
- World’s geopolitical landscape will change as a result of water-energy-food interdependence
- Water is new factor in food and energy security debates and is a central element in international relations
- Tensions arise between countries as the 40% of world’s accessible freshwater resources are in shared rivers and water bodies
- China and India alone are predicted to have a combined supply shortfall of 1 trillion cubic meters in 2030
- In India, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, and Vietnam, over half of the 74,000 megawatts of existing and planned capacities of major power plants are located in water scarce, or water stressed areas
- Philippines has 412 rivers; 50 are classified as dead
- More than 50% of China’s Yellow River are unusable for agriculture; food sufficiency is at risk
- Socioeconomic landscape will change as cities lose the resources of growth because of inadequate water
- Water needs to be priced more universally and explicitly as an economic good
- Water-food-energy is an early warning system asking us to act now for water future
Arjun, Thapan. "Water-food-energy nexus in Asia." October 7, 2010.http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/10/07/waterfoodenergy-nexus-asia.html (accessed November 7, 2010).
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