Water Quality and Environmental Dimensions in Biofuel Production

Human uses of freshwater resources and energy demand are increasing rapidly as the world population rises. Alternative energy using biomass feedstocks to reduce dependence on oil imports would entail conversion of million of hectares of farmland to produce profitable energy crops. There is a risk that profitable biofuel crop production will increase at the reduction of human food production which underpins the mandate of the Food and Agriculture Organization in achieving food security for all. In addition, the water needs of food and agriculture and its associated biofuel and bioenergy production have to consider the potential benefits and risks in regional scale environmental impacts and resource allocation and conservation needs. The specific environmental consequences due to land use changes not only relate to water quantity but quality from the standpoint of erosion, evapotranspiration, fertilizer and nitrate runoffs, and pesticide and agrochemical applications – which are generally not different from other farm crops. However, in recent years, alternative energy sources from shortrotation woody crops and herbaceous crops (perennial grasses) have been increasingly receiving interest in providing environmental and economic benefits to improve and utilize marginal lands, in serving as biomass crops in buffer strips to protect watersheds from agricultural runoffs, in providing habitat for local species, in sequestering carbon as well as in meeting human needs for food, fibre and fuel. Thus, affecting the very resources farmers’ rely for economic productivity and profitability. This paper will present the current literature on renewable biomass energy and in understanding favourable applications of biofuel production in preventing water quality deterioration and maintenance of biodiversity and ecosystem functions.