Tiempo Climate Newswatch

"I see success in fighting global warming as much of the success we need to be able to solve today's and future problems concerning our waters," said Swedish prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, as he opened the annual World Water Week in Stockholm. "I also see success in solving the problems with our waters as one of the keys to tackle global warming. One simply can’t be done without doing the other," he continued. Climate change was a central theme of this year's event. Reinfeldt called on the United States, China and India to commit themselves to take action on global warming in order to ensure that more people will have clean water.

The impact of biofuels on water availability was also much discussed at the meeting. "When governments and companies are discussing biofuel solutions, I think water issues are not addressed enough," argued Johan Kuylenstierna, World Water Week director. In the future "food production will need to increase, water consumption will increase dramatically in the agriculture sector and biofuels will increase. This doesn't add up for the water perspective," he warned. "Where will the water to grow the food needed to feed a growing population come from if more and more water is diverted to crops for biofuels production?" asked David Trouba of the Stockholm International Water Institute, arranger of the conference.

According to British researchers, between two and nine times more carbon emissions are avoided by trapping carbon in trees and forest soil than by replacing fossil fuels with biofuels. The analysts calculated the effect on emissions of the complete cycle of planting, extraction and conversion of biofuel crops. "Biofuel policy is rushing ahead without understanding the implications," concludes Renton Righelato of the World Land Trust. "It is a mistake in climate change terms to use biofuels."

With arable land in the industrialized nations unable to meet demand, the burden will shift onto developing countries. "Brazil, Paraguay, Indonesia among others have huge deforestation programmes to supply the world biofuel market", said collaborator Dominick Spracklen of the University of Leeds. When replacing tropical forests with biofuel crops such as maize and sugarcane, "you immediately release between 100 and 200 tonnes of carbon [per hectare]," Righelato says. To compensate for this initial release would take between 50 and 100 years of burning biofuels instead of gasoline. The study concludes that increasing the efficiency of fossil fuel use and moving to carbon-free alternatives such as renewable energy is a more acceptable response to the climate problem.

The Society for Ecological Restoration International (SER) has issued a position statement on global climate change calling attention to the vital role played by terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in supporting humanity and the need to protect and restore these habitats in order to address the impact of global climate change. "The loss of vital ecosystem functions and services reduces biological resilience and adaptability, further increasing our vulnerability to the adverse impacts of global climate change," warned Keith Bowers, outgoing Chair of SER.

"Unless checked, global climate change will destroy people, places, and life as we know it. Ecological restoration offers hope in two key areas: by reconnecting fragmented ecosystems allowing animals and plants to migrate in response to such change; and, by capturing carbon through the restoration of forests, peat-forming wetlands, and other ecosystems that act as carbon sinks," commented George Gann, incoming SER Chair. SER is urging local, regional, and national governments, international development banks and non-governmental organizations as well as private institutions to plan, finance, and coordinate ecological restoration projects and programmes as part of a comprehensive global strategy for mitigating climate change.