The Water Footprint of European Agricultural Imports: Hotspots in the Context of Water Scarcity

Iulia Dolganova; Natalia Mikosch; Markus Berger; Montserrat Núñez; Andrea Müller-Frank; Matthias Finkbeiner

doi:10.3390/resources8030141

The water footprint of Indonesian provinces related to the consumption of crop products

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences ◽

10.5194/hess-14-119-2010 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

pp. 119-128 ◽

Cited By ~ 87

Author(s):

F. Bulsink ◽

A. Y. Hoekstra ◽

M. J. Booij

Keyword(s):

Water Use ◽

Water Scarcity ◽

Water Footprint ◽

Virtual Water ◽

Grey Water ◽

Water Flows ◽

External Water ◽

Water Scarce ◽

Water Accounts ◽

National Water

Abstract. National water use accounts are generally limited to statistics on water withdrawals in the different sectors of economy. They are restricted to "blue water accounts" related to production, thus excluding (a) "green" and "grey water accounts", (b) accounts of internal and international virtual water flows and (c) water accounts related to consumption. This paper shows how national water-use accounts can be extended through an example for Indonesia. The study quantifies interprovincial virtual water flows related to trade in crop products and assesses the green, blue and grey water footprint related to the consumption of crop products per Indonesian province. The study shows that the average water footprint in Indonesia insofar related to consumption of crop products is 1131 m3/cap/yr, but provincial water footprints vary between 859 and 1895 m3/cap/yr. Java, the most water-scarce island, has a net virtual water import and the most significant external water footprint. This large external water footprint is relieving the water scarcity on this island. Trade will remain necessary to supply food to the most densely populated areas where water scarcity is highest (Java).

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Vulnerabilities of the European Union’s Economy to Hydrological Extremes Outside its Borders

Atmosphere ◽

10.3390/atmos10100593 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (10) ◽

pp. 593 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Ertug Ercin ◽

Daniel Chico ◽

Ashok K. Chapagain

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Water Resources ◽

Water Scarcity ◽

Virtual Water ◽

Green Water ◽

The European Union ◽

The World ◽

Current Water ◽

External Water ◽

The Eu

Climate change is leading to increased water scarcity and drought in many parts of the world. This has implications for the European Union (EU) because a lot of the water intensive goods consumed or used there are produced abroad. This makes the EU’s economy dependent on water resources well beyond its borders since when a country imports water intensive goods, indirectly it also imports virtual water (water needed to produce the imported goods). This study maps the EU’s global dependency on water resources outside its borders in terms of virtual water imports and assesses how water scarcity and drought may disrupt supplies of key food crops that it imports. The EU uses approximately 668 km3 of water for all of the goods it produces, consumes and exports, annually. Around 38% of that water comes from outside its borders, which means that the EU’s economy is highly dependent on the availability of water in other parts of the world. In the near future, supplies of certain crops to the EU could be disrupted due to water scarcity in other parts of the world; a large portion of the water used in producing soybeans, rice, sugarcane, cotton, almonds, pistachios and grapes for import to the EU comes from areas with significant or severe levels of water scarcity. Although the immediate risks to the EU’s economy are due to current water scarcity levels, any disruption to rainfall patterns that occur in the future, due to the effects of climate change in the countries of origin of key crops, could have a far greater impact. This is because as much as 92% of the EU’s total external water demand from agriculture is attributed to green water use, availability of which has relatively higher vulnerability to drought.

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Water footprint

Water Resources: Future Perspectives, Challenges, Concepts and Necessities ◽

10.2166/9781789062144_0151 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 151-174

Author(s):

Mohammad Delpasand ◽

Omid Bozorg-Haddad ◽

Erfan Goharian

Keyword(s):

Water Consumption ◽

Water Scarcity ◽

Water Distribution ◽

Water Footprint ◽

Virtual Water ◽

The Public ◽

Goods And Services ◽

New Concepts ◽

Basin Water ◽

Public Economy

Abstract Uneven water distribution in the world is the main reason today that some countries face problems due to water scarcity. Human activities consume and pollute large amounts of water. Globally, agriculture is the largest water user by volume. However, the water used by industrial and household sectors is still significant. Water consumption and pollution are caused by specific activities such as irrigation, bathing, washing, cleaning, cooling and by various other processes. Little attention has been paid to how much water use and pollution ultimately result from such activities, and how much water is consumed by communities, compared to the attention paid to the structure of the public economy that supplies consumer goods and services. Overall, to mitigate water scarcity problems, there are several approaches that can be made, such as inter-basin water transfer, increasing efficiency of water consumption and also using new concepts such as virtual water and the water footprint. The footprint of a product is the amount of fresh water used to produce it, measured across the complete supply chain. Water footprint is a multidimensional indicator that shows the amount of water consumed by the source as well as the amount and types of contamination.

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The water footprint of Indonesian provinces related to the consumption of crop products

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussions ◽

10.5194/hessd-6-5115-2009 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 6 (4) ◽

pp. 5115-5137 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

F. Bulsink ◽

A. Y. Hoekstra ◽

M. J. Booij

Keyword(s):

Water Use ◽

Water Scarcity ◽

Water Footprint ◽

Virtual Water ◽

Water Efficiency ◽

Grey Water ◽

Water Flows ◽

External Water ◽

Water Accounts ◽

National Water

Abstract. National water use accounts are generally limited to statistics on water withdrawals in the different sectors of economy. They are restricted to "blue water accounts" related to production, thus excluding (a) "green" and "grey water accounts", (b) accounts of internal and international virtual water flows and (c) water accounts related to consumption. This paper shows how national water-use accounts can be extended through an example for Indonesia. The study quantifies interprovincial virtual water flows related to trade in crop products and assesses the green, blue and grey water footprint related to the consumption of crop products per Indonesian province. The study shows that the average water footprint in Indonesia insofar related to consumption of crop products is 1131 m3/cap/yr, but provincial water footprints vary between 859 and 1895 m3/cap/yr. Java, the most water-scarce island, has a net virtual water import and the most significant external water footprint. This large external water footprint is releasing the water scarcity on this island. There are two alternative routes to reduce the overall water footprint of Indonesia. On the one hand, it may be reduced by promoting wise crop trade between provinces – i.e. trade from places with high to places with low water efficiency. On the other hand, the water footprint can be reduced by improving water efficiency in those places that currently have relatively low efficiency, which equalises production efficiencies and thus reduces the need for imports and enhances the opportunities for exports. In any case, trade will remain necessary to supply food to the most densely populated areas where water scarcity is highest (Java).

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Water–Food Nexus through the Lens of Virtual Water Flows: The Case of India

Water ◽

10.3390/w13060768 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (6) ◽

pp. 768

Author(s):

Suparana Katyaini ◽

Mimika Mukherjee ◽

Anamika Barua

Keyword(s):

Water Scarcity ◽

Environmental Governance ◽

Water Footprint ◽

Flow Analysis ◽

Water Security ◽

Virtual Water ◽

Governance Systems ◽

Complex Relationships ◽

Water And Soil Pollution ◽

Water Scarce

For a water-secure present and future, there is a need for a transition from water scarcity towards water security. This transition necessitates a look at the complex relationships, and interdependencies, between water and other resources, and the institutions governing them. Nexus approach encompasses these interdependencies. This paper focused on the water–food nexus through the lens of the virtual water (VW) flows concept with the aim to explore the role of the VW flows concept in governing the transition towards water security in a water-scarce economy like India. The key findings of the paper suggests that the highest VW outflows are from highly water-scarce states of India, such as Punjab and Andhra Pradesh, and the moderate to highly water-scarce state West Bengal from 1996–2014. Major VW outflows from these states are to other highly water-scarce states, resulting in the concentration of water scarcity. The main priorities for the governance of the water–food nexus in these states emerge from policies and action plans. These priorities are groundwater overexploitation, water and soil pollution, and uncertainty in rainfall and are linked to agricultural intensification. The water footprint-based VW flow analysis has important insights for sustainable intensification of agriculture, and rectification of the unsustainable VW flow patterns. The study concludes that the VW flows concept embodies the water–food nexus and is particularly relevant for the sustainable future of developing and emerging economies, such as India, grappling with water scarcity and challenges of fragmented environmental governance systems.

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Agro-economic and socio-environmental assessments of food and virtual water trades of Iran

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-93928-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Fatemeh Karandish ◽

Hamideh Nouri ◽

Marcela Brugnach

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Water Consumption ◽

Crop Production ◽

Water Footprint ◽

Virtual Water ◽

Environmental Indicators ◽

Blue Water ◽

Water Crisis ◽

Food Trade ◽

Water Limitations

AbstractEnding hunger and ensuring food security are among targets of 2030’s SDGs. While food trade and the embedded (virtual) water (VW) may improve food availability and accessibility for more people all year round, the sustainability and efficiency of food and VW trade needs to be revisited. In this research, we assess the sustainability and efficiency of food and VW trades under two food security scenarios for Iran, a country suffering from an escalating water crisis. These scenarios are (1) Individual Crop Food Security (ICFS), which restricts calorie fulfillment from individual crops and (2) Crop Category Food Security (CCFS), which promotes “eating local” by suggesting food substitution within the crop category. To this end, we simulate the water footprint and VW trades of 27 major crops, within 8 crop categories, in 30 provinces of Iran (2005–2015). We investigate the impacts of these two scenarios on (a) provincial food security (FSp) and exports; (b) sustainable and efficient blue water consumption, and (c) blue VW export. We then test the correlation between agro-economic and socio-environmental indicators and provincial food security. Our results show that most provinces were threatened by unsustainable and inefficient blue water consumption for crop production, particularly in the summertime. This water mismanagement results in 14.41 and 8.45 billion m3 y−1 unsustainable and inefficient blue VW exports under ICFS. “Eating local” improves the FSp value by up to 210% which lessens the unsustainable and inefficient blue VW export from hotspots. As illustrated in the graphical abstract, the FSp value strongly correlates with different agro-economic and socio-environmental indicators, but in different ways. Our findings promote “eating local” besides improving agro-economic and socio-environmental conditions to take transformative steps toward eradicating food insecurity not only in Iran but also in other countries facing water limitations.

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Water Footprint and Virtual Water Trade of Maize in the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina

Water ◽

10.3390/w13131769 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (13) ◽

pp. 1769

Author(s):

Maria Macarena Arrien ◽

Maite M. Aldaya ◽

Corina Iris Rodriguez

Keyword(s):

Buenos Aires ◽

Water Footprint ◽

Local Level ◽

Virtual Water ◽

Buenos Aires Province ◽

Pollution Load ◽

Basin Scale ◽

Water Volumes ◽

Water Scarce ◽

First Time

Agriculture is the largest fresh water consuming sector, and maize is the most produced and consumed crop worldwide. The water footprint (WF) methodology quantifies and evaluates the water volumes consumed and polluted by a given crop, as well as its impacts. In this work, we quantified for the first time the green WF (soil water from precipitation that is evapotranspired) and the green virtual water exports of maize from Buenos Aires province, Argentina, during 2016–2017, due to the relevance of this region in the world maize trade. Furthermore, at local level, we quantified the green, blue (evapotranspired irrigation), and grey (volume of water needed to assimilate a pollution load) WF of maize in a pilot basin. The green WF of maize in the province of Buenos Aires ranged between 170 and 730 m3/ton, with the highest values in the south following a pattern of yields. The contribution of this province in terms of green virtual water to the international maize trade reached 2213 hm3/year, allowing some water-scarce nations to ensure water and water-dependent food security and avoid further environmental impacts related to water. At the Napaleofú basin scale, the total WF of rainfed maize was 358 m3/ton (89% green and 11% grey) and 388 m3/ton (58% green, 25% blue, and 17% grey) for the irrigated crop, showing that there is not only a green WF behind the exported maize, but also a Nitrogen-related grey WF.

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A spatially detailed blue water footprint of the United States economy

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences ◽

10.5194/hess-22-3007-2018 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 22 (5) ◽

pp. 3007-3032 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Richard R. Rushforth ◽

Benjamin L. Ruddell

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Water Use ◽

Water Footprint ◽

Virtual Water ◽

The United States ◽

Energy Information Administration ◽

Blue Water ◽

Consumptive Use ◽

The Us ◽

Per Capita

Abstract. This paper quantifies and maps a spatially detailed and economically complete blue water footprint for the United States, utilizing the National Water Economy Database version 1.1 (NWED). NWED utilizes multiple mesoscale (county-level) federal data resources from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), the US Department of Transportation (USDOT), the US Department of Energy (USDOE), and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to quantify water use, economic trade, and commodity flows to construct this water footprint. Results corroborate previous studies in both the magnitude of the US water footprint (F) and in the observed pattern of virtual water flows. Four virtual water accounting scenarios were developed with minimum (Min), median (Med), and maximum (Max) consumptive use scenarios and a withdrawal-based scenario. The median water footprint (FCUMed) of the US is 181 966 Mm3 (FWithdrawal: 400 844 Mm3; FCUMax: 222 144 Mm3; FCUMin: 61 117 Mm3) and the median per capita water footprint (FCUMed′) of the US is 589 m3 per capita (FWithdrawal′: 1298 m3 per capita; FCUMax′: 720 m3 per capita; FCUMin′: 198 m3 per capita). The US hydroeconomic network is centered on cities. Approximately 58 % of US water consumption is for direct and indirect use by cities. Further, the water footprint of agriculture and livestock is 93 % of the total US blue water footprint, and is dominated by irrigated agriculture in the western US. The water footprint of the industrial, domestic, and power economic sectors is centered on population centers, while the water footprint of the mining sector is highly dependent on the location of mineral resources. Owing to uncertainty in consumptive use coefficients alone, the mesoscale blue water footprint uncertainty ranges from 63 to over 99 % depending on location. Harmonized region-specific, economic-sector-specific consumption coefficients are necessary to reduce water footprint uncertainties and to better understand the human economy's water use impact on the hydrosphere.

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Non-negligible regional differences in the driving forces of crop-related water footprint and virtual water flows: a case study for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-3208 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Meng Li ◽

La Zhuo ◽

Pute Wu

Keyword(s):

Water Consumption ◽

Regional Differences ◽

Crop Production ◽

Water Resource Management ◽

Water Footprint ◽

Driving Forces ◽

Significant Risk ◽

Virtual Water ◽

Driving Factors ◽

Bth Region

Water scarcity is a significant risk for meeting increasing food demand around the world. The importance of identifying the driving forces behind water consumption in agriculture and relative virtual water (VW) flows has been widely reported in order to provide practical advice for sustainable agricultural water resource management. However, the regional differences in the driving forces behind either water consumption or VW flows were largely ignored. To fill the crucial gap, taking nine major crops grown in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region in China over 2000-2013 as the study case, we investigate the regional differences in socio-economic driving forces on both the estimated water footprint (WF) in crop production and relative inter-city VW flows for each crop per year. Results show that although there is little change in total WFs in crop production (~43.3 billion m3/y on annual average), the WF per unit mass of crop decreased and the crop structure in the total WFs changed greatly. The BTH region was a VW importer with net VW import of 11.7 billion m3/y by 2013. The per capita GDP was the main positive driver of both total WFs of crop production and relative VW flows. Whereas the economic productivity and consumption ability were inhibiting factors for the WFs and VW flows, respectively. The levels of total crop WFs in agricultural cities were more sensitive to the effects of the main driving factors. The intensity of driving factors behind the inter-regional crop-related VW flows was shown to be directly related to the regional role as an importer or exporter. The current analysis suggests to develop characteristic agriculture considering the local role and regional differences in terms of water consumption and relative inter-regional VW flows, aiming for a balance between water sustainability, food security and economic developments.

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Agricultural infrastructure: the forgotten key driving force on crop-related water footprints and virtual water flows in developing countries: a case for China

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-3366 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Hongrong Huang ◽

La Zhuo ◽

Pute Wu

Keyword(s):

Developing Countries ◽

Water Consumption ◽

Environmental Sustainability ◽

Crop Production ◽

Water Footprint ◽

Water Productivity ◽

Virtual Water ◽

High Water ◽

North Coast ◽

Water Flows

Agricultural infrastructure plays important roles in boosting food production and trade system in developing countries, while as being a &#8216;grey solutions&#8217;, generates increasingly risks on the environmental sustainability. There is little information on impacts of agricultural infrastructure developments on water consumption and flows, (i.e. water footprint and virtual water flows) related to crop production, consumption and trade especially in developing countries with high water risk. Here we, taking mainland China over 2000-2017 as the study case, identified and evaluated the strengths and spatial heterogeneities in main socio-economic driving factors of provincial water footprints and inter-provincial virtual water flows related to three staple crops (rice, wheat and maize). For the first time, we consider irrigation (II), electricity (EI) and road infrastructures (RI) in the driving factor analysis through the extended STIRPAT (stochastic impacts by regression on population, affluence and technology) model. Results show that the II, EI and RI in China were expanded by 33.8 times, 4.5 times and 2.4 times, respectively by year 2017 compared to 2000. Although the II was the most critical driver to effectively reduce the per unit water footprint, especially the blue water footprint in crop production (i.e., increasing water efficiency), the developments of II led to the bigger total water consumption. Such phenomenon was observed in Jing-Jin region, North Coast and Northwest China with water resource shortage. The EI and RI had increasing effects on provincial virtual water export, and the corresponding driving strengths varied across spaces. Obviously, the visible effects from the agricultural infrastructures on regional water consumption, water productivity and virtual water patterns cannot be neglected.&#160;

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