RAP PUBLICATION 2012/14

Sustainable bioenergy in Asia: Improving resilience to high food prices and climate change

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Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
Bangkok 2012

ABSTRACT

A common critique of bioenergy production as an alternative energy source is that it makes use of the same natural resources that could otherwise be used in food production, with negative impacts on food prices and food security. A range of existing bioenergy operations, however, have demonstrated that competition between food and bioenergy production can be minimized or even eliminated. Greater effort is required to highlight these exemplary bioenergy systems and identify ways to further promote them. The FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, in collaboration with regional governments and development partners, has been working to strengthen efforts to balance the many potential trade-offs associated with bioenergy production. This publication is a compilation of papers presented at the FAO symposium on “Sustainable bioenergy in Asia: improving resilience to high food prices and climate change” held in Bangkok, Thailand from 1 to 2 June 2011. It highlights a number of important policy issues associated with bioenergy developments in the region as well as practical approaches to address potential trade-offs. In doing so it offers valuable insights on how to ensure that bioenergy development in Asia enhances food security, benefits rural development and contributes to reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

Table of Contents

Foreword Acknowledgements Executive summary Section I: Sustainable bioenergy in Asia     Bioenergy developments and food security in Asia and the Pacific     Bio- and renewable energy for rural development and poverty         alleviation in the Greater Mekong Subregion     Small-scale bioenergy systems: Finding a local way to generate         energy, strengthen communities and benefit the environment Section II: Sustainable bioenergy feedstock production     Sweet sorghum – a better feedstock for bioenergy in Asia?     Technical and economic prospects of rice residues for energy         generation in Asia     Water and bioenergy – a case study from the Thai ethanol sector     The potential and limitations of small-scale production of biomass         briquettes in the Greater Mekong Sub-region	[2.30 Mb]
Section III: How to make more effective policies and financing arrangements for rural bioenergy     Challenges and opportunities for financing rural bioenergy         projects     Challenges associated with replicating successful bioenergy         projects in Thailand     Potential for social indicators to guide bioenergy policies     Using microfinance for farm-/household-level bioenergy         technologies Section IV: Climate friendly bioenergy     Food, fuel and climate change: policy performance and prospects         for biofuels in Thailand     Linking energy, bioslurry and composing     Biochar potential for Asia and the Pacific Section IV: Annexes	[2.10 Mb]

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