Virtual water flows and water-footprint of agricultural crop production, import and export: A case study for Israel

2018 ◽  
Vol 622-623 ◽  
pp. 1438-1447 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Shtull-Trauring ◽  
N. Bernstein
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
Virtual Water ◽  
Agricultural Crop ◽  
Water Flows ◽  
Import And Export

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

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

<p>Agricultural infrastructure plays important roles in boosting food production and trade system in developing countries, while as being a ‘grey solutions’, 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. </p>

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

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.

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

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

<p>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 m<sup>3</sup>/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 m<sup>3</sup>/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.</p>

A multi-region input-output model for optimizing virtual water trade flows in agricultural crop production

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen B. Aviso ◽  
Sed Anderson K. Holaysan ◽  
Michael Angelo B. Promentilla ◽  
Krista Danielle S. Yu ◽  
Raymond R. Tan
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
Virtual Water ◽  
Trade Flows ◽  
Input Output ◽  
Virtual Water Trade ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Economic Productivity

Purpose The onset of climate change is expected to result in variations in weather patterns which can exacerbate water scarcity issues. This can potentially impact the economic productivity of nations as economic activities are highly dependent on water especially for agricultural countries. In response to this, the concepts of virtual water and water footprint have been introduced as metrics for measuring the water intensity of products, services and nations. Researchers have thus looked into virtual water trade flows as a potential strategy for alleviating water scarcity. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach Environmentally extended input-output models (IOMs) are often used to analyze interactions between economic and ecological systems. This work thus develops a multi-regional input-output model for optimizing virtual water trade between different geographic regions in consideration of local environmental resource constraints, product demands and economic productivity. Findings A case study on agriculture crop production and trade in different regions of the Philippines is utilized to demonstrate the capabilities of the model. The results show that the optimal strategy does not necessarily limit a water-scarce region to produce less water-intensive crops. Research limitations/implications The model uses an input-output framework whose fixed coefficients reflect a fixed technological state. As such, the model is best used for short-term projections, or projections for mature technological state (i.e. where no major gains in efficiency or yield can be foreseen). Practical implications The proposed modeling framework can be used in any geographic region (provided relevant statistical data are available for calibration) to provide decision support for optimal use of limited water resources. Originality/value The model proposed in this work has general applicability to the optimal planning of agro-industrial systems under water footprint constraints. This modeling approach will be particularly valuable in the future, as climate change causes changes in precipitation patterns and water availability.

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

2010 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-128 ◽  
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).

scholarly journals Trade-offs between crop-related (physical and virtual) water flows and the associated economic benefits and values: a case study of the Yellow River Basin

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pute Wu ◽  
La Zhuo ◽  
Guoping Zhang ◽  
Mesfin M. Mekonnen ◽  
Arjen Y. Hoekstra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Yellow River ◽  
Virtual Water ◽  
Yellow River Basin ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Economic Returns ◽  
Water Flows ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Net Benefits ◽  
The Yellow River Basin

Abstract. Water issues in many river basins associated with droughts, water over-exploitation and pollution are increasingly being driven by remote pressures through intensified virtual water (VW) flows. However, little attention has been paid to the internal trade-offs between the (physical and virtual) water flows and the associated economic benefits and incomes that the water generated. Here we estimate the concomitant reversed flows of economic benefits and values to the physical and VW flows in crop production and consumption at a basin level, by taking the Yellow River Basin (YRB) in both current three typical years (2003, 2004, and 2006, which were dry, average, and wet, respectively) and possible four scenarios for 2050 under climate-socio-economic changes as the study case. An algorithm for estimation of the economic net benefits of green and blue water use for crop production based on the water footprint (WF) accounting is developed. Results show that the net benefit of blue water (irrigation) was 13–42 % lower than that of green water used in irrigated croplands in the basin. Cropping pattern has defined the spatial heterogeneity in the levels of net benefits of water used for crops within the YRB. Provinces located in the relatively drier upper and middle reaches had high irrigation withdrawal rates while a low economic return to farmers because of growing relatively cheap crops. The YRB got increasingly net income due to exports of wheat, cotton and apples even though as a crop-related net VW importer associated to the intra-national trades. Considered scenarios for 2050 suggested that the economic returns of crop-related physical and VW flows were more sensitive than the quantity levels of corresponding water flows. This study implies the importance of managing the internal trade-offs or mutual effects between the water resources consumption and economic returns, in order to get a win-win situation in maximizing both the water use efficiency and economic productivities per drop of water flows.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document