scholarly journals Sustainable Water Use for International Agricultural Trade: The Case of Pakistan

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 2259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tariq Ali ◽  
Abdul M. Nadeem ◽  
Muhammad F. Riaz ◽  
Wei Xie
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
Virtual Water ◽  
Agricultural Trade ◽  
Agricultural Commodities ◽  
Virtual Water Trade ◽  
Use Of Resources ◽  
Sustainable Water Use

Sustainable use of resources is critical, not only for people but for the whole planet. This is especially so for freshwater, which in many ways determines the food security and long-term development of nations. Here, we use virtual water trade to analyze the sustainability of water used by Pakistan in the international trade of 15 major agricultural commodities between 1990 and 2016 and in 2030. Most of the existing country-level studies on virtual water trade focused on net virtual water importers, which are usually water-scarce countries as well. This is the first study to concentrate on a water-stressed net virtual water-exporting country. Our results show that Pakistan has been trading large and ever-increasing volumes of virtual water through agricultural commodities. Despite the overall small net export of total virtual water per year, Pakistan has been a net-exporter of large quantities of blue (fresh) virtual water through its trade, even by fetching a lower value for each unit of blue water exported. Given Pakistan’s looming water scarcity, exporting large volumes of blue virtual water may constrain the country’s food security and long-term economic development. Improving water use efficiency for the current export commodities, for example, rice and exploring less water-intensive commodities, for example, fruits and vegetables, for export purposes can help Pakistan achieve sustainable water use in the future.

scholarly journals Virtual Water Trade in the Yellow River Economic Belt: A Multi-Regional Input-Output Model

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 748
Author(s):  
Ming Li ◽  
Qingsong Tian ◽  
Yan Yu ◽  
Yueyan Xu ◽  
Chongguang Li
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Inner Mongolia ◽  
Yellow River ◽  
Cumulative Risk ◽  
Virtual Water ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
The Yellow River ◽  
Input Output ◽  
Virtual Water Trade

The sustainable and efficient use of water resources has gained wide social concern, and the key point is to investigate the virtual water trade of the water-scarcity region and optimize water resources allocation. In this paper, we apply a multi-regional input-output model to analyze patterns and the spillover risks of the interprovincial virtual water trade in the Yellow River Economic Belt, China. The results show that: (1) The agriculture and supply sector as well as electricity and hot water production own the largest total water use coefficient, being high-risk water use sectors in the Yellow River Economic Belt. These two sectors also play a major role in the inflow and outflow of virtual water; (2) The overall situation of the Yellow River Economic Belt is virtual water inflow, but the pattern of virtual water trade between eastern and western provinces is quite different. Shandong, Henan, Shaanxi, and Inner Mongolia belong to the virtual water net inflow area, while the virtual water net outflow regions are concentrated in Shanxi, Gansu, Xinjiang, Ningxia, and Qinghai; (3) Due to higher water resource stress, Shandong and Shanxi suffer a higher cumulative risk through virtual water trade. Also, Shandong, Henan, and Inner Mongolia have a higher spillover risk to other provinces in the Yellow River Economic Belt.

scholarly journals Implications of water policy reforms for virtual water trade between South Africa and its trade partners: economy-wide approach

Water Policy ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 649-663 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rashid Hassan ◽  
Djiby Racine Thiam
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
Virtual Water ◽  
Policy Reforms ◽  
Virtual Water Trade ◽  
Agricultural Exports ◽  
Recent Trends ◽  
Use Efficiency

This paper employs an economy-wide framework to evaluate impacts of water and trade policy reforms in South Africa (SA) on virtual water flows. To pursue this analysis, the study derives net virtual water trade flows between SA and its partners to assess implications of recent trade agreements within the South African Development Community compared to economic cooperation with other major trading blocks (e.g. European Union, Asia, and Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC)). Recent trends in actual trade confirm model predictions that liberalization of water allocation would switch water from field crops to horticulture and promote growth in non-agricultural exports. The results suggest that it is necessary to introduce policies that enhance likely outcomes of liberalization promoting higher water use efficiency within irrigation agriculture such as increased adoption of more efficient irrigation methods (sprinkler, drip, etc.) as water becomes more expensive under wider open competition. Moreover, investment in higher water use efficiency and improved competitiveness of dryland agriculture therefore represent the sound economic options for strengthening the capacity to achieve food security objectives as the country strives to lower net water exports. Finally, careful coordination of trade and water policy reforms is another necessary challenge for SA's strive to manage a water stressed economy.

scholarly journals Analysis of Trade-offs between Food Security and Water-Land Savings through Food Trade and Structural Changes of Virtual Water Trade in the Arab World

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sang-Hyun Lee ◽  
Rabi H. Mohtar ◽  
Seung-Hwan Yoo
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Virtual Water ◽  
Virtual Water Trade ◽  
Food Trade ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Crop Area ◽  
Shed Light

Abstract. The aim of this study is to analyze the impacts of food trade on food security and water-land savings in the Arab World in terms of virtual water trade (VWT). We estimated the total volume of virtual water imported for four major crops – barley, maize, rice, and wheat – from 2000 to 2012, and assessed their impacts on water and land savings, and food security. The largest volume of virtual water was imported by Egypt (19.9 billion m3/year), followed by Saudi Arabia (13.0 billion m3/year). Accordingly, Egypt would save 13.1 billion m3 in irrigation water and 2.1 million ha of crop area through importing crops. In addition, connectivity and influence of each country in the VWT network was analyzed using degree and eigenvector centralities. The study revealed that the Arab World focused more on increasing the volume of virtual water imported during the period 2006–2012 with little attention to the expansion of connections with country exporters, which is a vulnerable expansion. This study shed light on opportunities and risks associated with VWT and its role in food security and land management in the Arab World.

scholarly journals Assessment of Blue and Green Virtual Water Trade: A Case Study of India

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 15-22
Author(s):  
Shiv Narayan Nishad ◽  
Naresh Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Policy Design ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Virtual Water ◽  
Water Sustainability ◽  
Virtual Water Trade ◽  
Design For Sustainability ◽  
Increasing Demand ◽  
The Impact

Declining water resources and increasing demand of water for agricultural, industrial, and domestic sector and potential climate change has posed a major challenge to maintain water sustainability of a nation. There is a need to adopt long-term perspective for assessment and policy design for sustainability of primary resources like water. It is also argued that virtual water trade has raised issues of water sustainability as even small but continuous net virtual water trade may influence the water sustainability through irreversible losses. With the constraints for water sustainability, virtual water trade has received much attention in the recent years. While the impact of virtual water trade on water sustainability of virtual water exporter country is less explored and assessed. India is a major water exporting country resulted tremendous pressure on water resources that has serious threat to food security and the negative impact on development of economy and other sectors.

scholarly journals Dynamic and Volatility of World Agricultural Market Prices: Impacts on Importations and Food Security in WAEMU

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Baoubadi Atozou ◽  
Koffi Akakpo
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Price Volatility ◽  
The United States ◽  
Agricultural Commodities ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Causality Test ◽  
Member States ◽  
Distributed Lag

Over the last decade, the use of foodstuffs such as corn, wheat and soybean in biofuels production has been growing sharply in the United States, Canada and Europe. This growth has increased total demand for agricultural commodities and stimulated agricultural prices. However, corn, rice, wheat and soybean are the most important sources of calorific energy for West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) member states’ population, and WAEMU countries are highly dependent on the imports of these products. Consequently, rising prices can have an important impact on imports and severe consequences on food security in these developing countries. This paper aims to investigate: (i) the short-term and long-term relationships between the prices of corn, rice, wheat, soybean and oil and their volatilities, and (ii) the effects of these agricultural commodities prices shocks on the imports of each WAEMU member states. The Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model, the Multivariate Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (MGARCH) model and the Granger causality test are used in this investigation. The results show that imports of agricultural commodities in WAEMU countries are highly and significantly sensitive to price changes in international market. In short term as well as in long term, there is a significant relationship between the prices of these products. We find a positive relationship in general between prices volatilities, and negative effects of price volatility on imports. Thus, distortions in world agricultural markets threaten considerably food security in WAEMU countries, especially access to food for vulnerable and low-income populations. Policy makers must adopt viable strategies to increase agricultural production and limit their dependence on imports.

Virtual water flows and trade liberalization

2004 ◽  
Vol 49 (7) ◽  
pp. 25-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Ramirez-Vallejo ◽  
P. Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Trade Liberalization ◽  
Formal Model ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Virtual Water ◽  
Agricultural Trade ◽  
Virtual Water Trade ◽  
Water Flows ◽  
The Impact

The linkages between agricultural trade and water resources need to be identified and analyzed to better understand the potential impacts that a full liberalization, or lack thereof, will have on water resources. This paper examines trade of virtual water embodied in agricultural products for most countries of the world. The main purpose of the paper, however, is to examine the impact of trade liberalization on virtual-water trade in the future. Based on a simulation of global agricultural trade, a scenario of full liberalization of agriculture was used to assess the net effect of virtual water flows from the relocation of meat and cereals’ trade. The paper also identifies the main reasons behind the changes in the magnitude and direction of the net virtual water trade over time, and shows that virtual water trade flows are independent of water resource endowments, contrary to what the Heckscher-Ohlin Theorem states. Finally, based on a formal model, some input demand functions at the country level are estimated. The estimates of the income and agricultural support elasticities of demand for import of virtual water have the expected sign, and are statistically significant. Variables found to have some explanatory power of the variance of virtual water imports are average income; population; agriculture as value added; irrigated area, and exports of goods and services.

Workshop 7 (synthesis): role and governance implications of virtual water trade

2004 ◽  
Vol 49 (7) ◽  
pp. 199-201
Author(s):  
P. Rogers ◽  
M. Nakayama ◽  
J. Lundqvist ◽  
K. Furuyashiki
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Virtual Water ◽  
International Negotiations ◽  
Potential Solution ◽  
Transboundary Water ◽  
Virtual Water Trade ◽  
Transboundary Water Resources

Virtual water trade (VWT) is a powerful concept which stimulates fresh thinking about water scarcity and management. It is a potential solution for water-short countries to achieve food security. VWT may also have the potential to play a key role in international negotiations over management of transboundary water resources.

scholarly journals A virtual water network of the Roman world

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. 5025-5040 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. J. Dermody ◽  
R. P. H. van Beek ◽  
E. Meeks ◽  
K. Klein Goldewijk ◽  
W. Scheidel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Resource Management ◽  
Climate Variability ◽  
Water Resource ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Virtual Water ◽  
Water Network ◽  
Virtual Water Trade ◽  
Roman World ◽  
Interannual Climate Variability

Abstract. The Romans were perhaps the most impressive exponents of water resource management in preindustrial times with irrigation and virtual water trade facilitating unprecedented urbanization and socioeconomic stability for hundreds of years in a region of highly variable climate. To understand Roman water resource management in response to urbanization and climate variability, a Virtual Water Network of the Roman World was developed. Using this network we find that irrigation and virtual water trade increased Roman resilience to interannual climate variability. However, urbanization arising from virtual water trade likely pushed the Empire closer to the boundary of its water resources, led to an increase in import costs, and eroded its resilience to climate variability in the long term. In addition to improving our understanding of Roman water resource management, our cost–distance-based analysis illuminates how increases in import costs arising from climatic and population pressures are likely to be distributed in the future global virtual water network.

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