Water, food, energy and environment are inextricably linked. Water is known as an input for producing agricultural goods in the fields and along the entire agro-food supply chain. Although it is renewable, water does not have substitutes or alternative. Agriculture consumes approximately 3100 billion tons of water, accounting for about 71% of fresh water produce today for the production of approximately 2.5 billion tons of food. Agriculture is currently the largest user of water at the global level. The food production and supply chain accounts for about 30% of total global energy consumption. Rice and wheat are the staple food in South Asia. It is about 50% of dietary energy comes from these two crops. However, these crops need about 1000 tonnes of water to produce 1 tonne of grain (Brown, …show more content…
This biogas replaces fossil fuels, diminishes the amount of sludge to be predisposed of and reaches financial savings for the plant.
For rapid population development, South Asia’s population is predictable to improve from 1.36 billion in 2000 to 2.31 billion in 2050 (Lal, 2007). It has amplified the request for food, fodder, grazing land, water and other natural resources in the mountains and downstream.
Forests have n significant role in replacing ground water and keeping the volume of river water in the dry season, sequestering carbon and supporting agriculture (Singh, 2006; Singh and Sharma, 2009). Most of the forests in the central Himalayas were heavily despoiled during the last century as a result of the increasing demand for timber and fuelwood and poor management (Haigh et al,. 1990).
Forest degradation poses significant challenges to local people’s livelihoods and food and energy security as they depend heavily on forest for fuelwood, fodder, and other non-timber forest products (Rasul et al,.