Virtual water

2021 ◽  
pp. 131-150
Author(s):  
Mohammad Delpasand ◽  
Omid Bozorg-Haddad ◽  
Erfan Goharian
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Virtual Water ◽  
Domestic Water ◽  
Unequal Distribution ◽  
Water Scarce ◽  
Near Future ◽  
Pressure On Water Resources ◽  
Virtual Water Trading

Abstract In many regions of the world, water scarcity has created numerous problems for the supply of domestic water use, agricultural production, and for the human life cycle in general. Perhaps in the near future water will be synonymous with gold. Over the past two decades, the virtual water concept has become known as a mitigating water scarcity crisis solution which can balance the unequal distribution of world water resources. Virtual water is the amount of water that a product consumes in a production process from start to end. Developers of the virtual water idea believe that by exporting and importing commodities, large volumes of water can be traded which is referred to as virtual water trading. In the theory of virtual water trade, in order to reduce the pressure on water resources, it is recommended that water-scarce countries import products instead of producing them from internal water sources and allocate these water resources for other lucrative business activities. Therefore, in this chapter, the virtual water concept and its specifications and evaluations are fully explained.

Water Wars by Other Means: Virtual Water and Global Economic Restructuring

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 86-103
Author(s):  
Andrew Biro
Keyword(s):  
North Africa ◽  
Political Legitimacy ◽  
Economic Restructuring ◽  
Virtual Water ◽  
Policy Measure ◽  
Domestic Water ◽  
Historical Trends ◽  
Water Wars ◽  
American Primacy ◽  
Water Scarce

In the mid-1990s, Tony Allan coined the term “virtual water” to describe international grain shipments, arguing that for purposes of economic efficiency and political legitimacy, governments in water-scarce nations would be better served by importing grain and diverting limited domestic water supplies to higher-value purposes than by producing grain. This concept has gained considerable traction in explaining the absence of “water wars,” particularly in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). As a prescriptive policy measure, I argue first that the exemplarity of the MENA serves an ideological function, premised on a market environmentalist approach, and framing “water crisis” as a problem of physical scarcity rather than underdevelopment. Historical trends in virtual water imports, as well as the problem of American primacy in virtual water exports, are then used to develop an account of virtual water trade that situates it within the political and economic restructuring associated with US-led globalization.

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

Atmosphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 593 ◽  
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.

Calculation and Analysis of Water Footprint in Shunyi District of Beijing

2013 ◽  
Vol 295-298 ◽  
pp. 964-969 ◽  
Author(s):  
Su Ling Liu ◽  
Yu Xin Wang ◽  
Xiao Hui Mao
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Resource ◽  
Carrying Capacity ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
Virtual Water ◽  
Consumption Pattern ◽  
Water Resources Carrying Capacity ◽  
Per Capita

The water footprint and consumption pattern is an effective tool for quantitifying the volume of water resources consumption in certain region [ ].Shunyi’s water footprint in the period 2006-2010 is calculated in this article from the view of virtual water. The general water footprint in Shunyi District at the year 2010 reached 790 million m3 and water footprint per capita was 536.48 cubic meters. Shunyi 's water resource quantity per capita was 501.27 m3 in the same year and the Water Scarcity Index was 1.98. The result of calculation shows that the water resource volume of exploitation in Shunyi District of Beijing has been beyond the water resources carrying capacity.

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 Analyses of impacts of China's international trade on its water resources and uses

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 3543-3570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Y. Zhang ◽  
H. Yang ◽  
M. J. Shi ◽  
A. J. B. Zehnder ◽  
K. C. Abbaspour
Keyword(s):  
International Trade ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Virtual Water ◽  
Total Water ◽  
Production Chain ◽  
Water Flows ◽  
Water Scarce ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Water Uses

Abstract. This study provides an insight into the impact of China's international trade of goods and services on its water resources and uses. Virtual water flows associated with China's international trade are quantified in an input-output framework. The analysis is scaled down to the sectoral and provincial levels to trace the origins and destinations of virtual water flows associated with the international trade. The results reveal that China is a net virtual water exporter of 4.7 × 1010 m3 year−1, accounting for 2.1% of its total water resources and 8.9% of the total water use. Water scarce regions tend to have higher percentages of virtual water export relative to their water resources and water uses. In the water scarce Huang-Huai-Hai region, the net virtual water export accounts for 7.9% of the region's water resources and 11.2% of its water uses. For individual sectors, major net virtual water exporters are those where agriculture provides raw materials in the initial process of the production chain and/or pollution intensity is high. The results suggest that China's economic gains from being a world "manufacture factory" have come at a high cost to its water resources and through pollution to its environment.

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

Resources ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iulia Dolganova ◽  
Natalia Mikosch ◽  
Markus Berger ◽  
Montserrat Núñez ◽  
Andrea Müller-Frank ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Consumption ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
Virtual Water ◽  
The United States ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Product Categories ◽  
External Water ◽  
Agricultural Imports ◽  
Water Scarce

This study investigates the Water Footprint (WF) resulting from the agricultural imports of the European Union (EU-28). Import trade statistics were compiled and linked with crop- and country-specific water consumption data and water scarcity factors. Within the study, the virtual water imports of 104 agricultural commodities for the baseline year 2015 were assessed and product and country hotspots were evaluated. It was shown that (a) Europe imported 100 million tons of agricultural goods and 11 km3 of associated virtual irrigation water; (b) the highest impacts of water consumption do not necessarily result from high import amounts, but from water-intensive goods produced in water scarce countries; (c) the largest external EU-28 water footprint occurred due to the product categories cotton, nuts and rice; and (d) the highest share of the EU external water footprint took place in the United States (US), Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and India.

scholarly journals Virtual water trade and its implications on water sustainability

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiv Narayan Nishad ◽  
Naresh Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Balance ◽  
Water Budget ◽  
Virtual Water ◽  
The Other ◽  
Water Sustainability ◽  
Virtual Water Trade ◽  
Increasing Demand ◽  
Water Scarce

Abstract Limited and declining water resources, increasing demand of water resources from different sectors has posed a major challenge for maintaining water sustainability and thus overall sustainability for a populous and water scarce country like India. Over extraction and changing climate have put additional pressure to maintain water sustainability. Therefore, there is a need of proper planning of utilization and management of water resource. Recently, virtual water trade has received much attention and become important tool for balancing the water budget. On the other hand, virtual water trade may also adversely effects on water balance of exporter's country as well as economy. Analysis of virtual water trade with its implications on water resources are missing, hence, there is a need of such analysis that will help in management of water resources. In this study an attempt is made to present a quantitative analysis of virtual water trade and its implications on water sustainability. For this study rice crop is considered only due to its characteristics as rice is major water consumer crop and water exporter crop from India.

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 Comprehensive Assessment of Water Footprints and Water Scarcity Pressure for Main Crops in Shandong Province, China

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1856 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mengran Fu ◽  
Bin Guo ◽  
Weijiao Wang ◽  
Juan Wang ◽  
Lihua Zhao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
Shandong Province ◽  
Total Water ◽  
Gis Technology ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Meteorological Observations ◽  
Water Scarce

Rapid economic development has posed pressure on water resources, and the potential for a water crisis has become an important obstacle to the sustainable development of society. Water footprint theory and its applications in agriculture provide an important strategic basis for the rational utilization and sustainable development of water resources. Based on the monthly meteorological observations and agricultural data of Shandong Province, CROPWAT 8.0 and Geographic Information System (GIS) technology, the green, blue and grey water footprints of wheat, maize, cotton and groundnut from 1989 to 2016 were calculated and the spatial variations of water footprints for crops in different rainfall years were analyzed. Additionally, assessment of water stress for agricultural productions was conducted in this study. The results showed that the average water footprints of wheat, maize, cotton and groundnut were 2.02 m3/kg, 1.24 m3/kg, 7.29 m3/kg and 1.75 m3/kg, respectively in Shandong Province. A large amount of the average total water footprint was calculated for wheat (420.59 × 108 m3/yr), maize (222.16 × 108 m3/yr), cotton (72.70 × 108 m3/yr) and groundnut (50.07 × 108 m3/yr). The average total water footprint of the four crops was 765.52 × 108 m3/yr (29.98% blue) and exhibited a gradual decreasing trend over time. Specifically, the total water footprint of wheat was the highest among four main crops in Shandong Province and exhibited a decreasing trend during 1989–2016. The maize was ranked in the second place, and was the only crop still increasing rapidly. The spatial and temporal changes of water footprints for crops were obvious in different rainfall years. Additionally, agricultural productions in most regions were facing the threat of water scarcity. Therefore, the scientific planning of crop planting structures and rational control of sown areas of crops with large water footprints should be implemented in severely water-scarce regions. This study can give some suggestions on the adjustment of planting structure for the sustainable development of agriculture and the realization of efficient utilization of water resources.

scholarly journals Rainwater Harvesting to Address Current and Forecasted Domestic Water Scarcity: Application to Arid and Semi-Arid Areas

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (24) ◽  
pp. 3583
Author(s):  
Tariq Judeh ◽  
Isam Shahrour
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Water Demand ◽  
Rainwater Harvesting ◽  
West Bank ◽  
Arid Areas ◽  
Total Water ◽  
Domestic Water ◽  
The West ◽  
Semi Arid

This paper discusses the effectiveness of rooftops rainwater harvesting (RRWH) in addressing domestic water scarcity, emphasizing the West Bank (Palestine) as an example of arid to semi-arid areas with limited water resources. The paper deals with the actual and future water demand by considering climate-change impact and urban growth. The analysis is based on the evaluation of (i) the supply–demand balance index (SDBI), which designates the ratio between the total water supply (TWS) and total water demand (TWD), and (ii) the potential of RRWH. Applying this methodology to the West Bank shows that the potential RRWH can contribute by about 40 million cubic meters/year in 2020, which is approximately the same amount of water as the municipal water supply (42 million cubic meters/year). This contribution can effectively reduce the suffering governorates from 64% to 27% in 2020. Furthermore, it can support water-related decision-makers in the arid to semi-arid areas in formulating efficient and sustainable water resources strategies. The analysis also shows that the domestic water scarcity in 2050 will be worse than in 2020 for all governorates. For example, 73% of the West Bank governorates are expected to suffer from extreme to acute water scarcity in 2050 compared to 64% in 2020. Thus, RRWH appears to be highly efficient in mitigating the current and future domestic water scarcity in the West Bank.

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