The virtual water trade (also known as embedded or embodied water) is the hidden flow of water in food or other commodities that are traded from one place to another.[1] The virtual water trade is the idea that when goods and services are exchanged, so is virtual water. Virtual water trade allows a new, amplified perspective on water problems: In the framewond balancing different perspectives, basic conditions, and interests. Analytically, the concept enables one to distinguish between global, regional, and local levels and their linkages. However, the use of virtual water estimates may offer no guidance for policymakers seeking to ensure that environmental objectives are being met.
For example, cereal grains have been major carriers of virtual water in countries where water resources are scarce. Therefore, cereal imports can play a crucial role in compensating local water deficit.[2] However, low-income countries may not be able to afford such imports in the future which could lead to food insecurity and starvation.
The virtual water concept, also known as embodied water, was coined by John Anthony Allan (Tony Allan) in 1993. He received the Stockholm Water Prize for the concept in 2008.[3][4]
The virtual water trade is the idea that when goods and services are exchanged, so is virtual water. When a country imports one tonne of wheat instead of producing it domestically, it is saving about 1,300 cubic meters of real indigenous water. If this country is water-scarce, the water that is 'saved' can be used towards other ends. If the exporting country is water-scarce, however, it has exported 1,300 cubic meters of virtual water since the real water used to grow the wheat will no longer be available for other purposes. This has obvious strategic implications for countries that are water-constrained such as those found in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) area.[5][6][7]
Water-scarce countries like Israel discourage the export of oranges (relatively water intensive crops) precisely to prevent large quantities of water from being exported to different parts of the world.[8]
In recent years, the concept of virtual water trade has gained weight both in the scientific as well as in the political debate. The notion of the concept is ambiguous. It changes between an analytical, descriptive concept and a political induced strategy. As an analytical concept, virtual water trade represents an instrument that allows the identification and assessment of policy options not only in the scientific but also in the political discourse. As a politically induced strategy, the question if virtual water trade can be implemented in a sustainable way, whether the implementation can be managed in a social, economical, and ecological fashion, and for which countries the concept offers a meaningful option.
The data that underlie the concept of virtual water can readily be used to construct water satellite accounts, and brought into economic models of international trade such as the GTAP Computable General Equilibrium Model.[9] Such a model can be used to study the economic implications of changes in the water supply or water policy, as well as the water resource implications of economic development and trade liberalization.
In sum, virtual water trade allows a new, amplified perspective on water problems: In the framework of recent developments from a supply-oriented to demand-oriented management of water resources, it opens up new fields of governance and facilitates differentiation and balancing of different perspectives, basic conditions, and interests. Analytically, the concept enables one to distinguish between global, regional, and local levels and their linkages. This means, that water resource problems have to be solved in problems[10][11] if they cannot be successfully addressed in the local or regional watershed. Virtual water trade can thus overcome the hydro-centricity of a narrow watershed view. According to the proceedings of a 2006 conference in Frankfurt, Germany, it seems reasonable to link the new concept with the approach of integrated water resources management.
Related termsEdit
Water footprintEdit
The concept of virtual water trade was introduced to refer to the idea that countries can save domestic water by importing food. Imported food, however, comes from somewhere. In 2002, Arjen Y. Hoekstra, while working for UNESCO-IHE, introduced the concept of water footprint.[12] The water footprint shows the link between consumer goods or a consumption pattern and water use and pollution. Virtual water trade and water footprint can be seen as part of a bigger story: the globalization of water.
For instance, it takes 1,340 cubic meters of water (based on the world average) to produce one tonne of wheat. The precise volume can be more or less depending on climatic conditions and agricultural practice. Hoekstra has defined the virtual-water content of a product (a commodity, good or service) as "the volume of freshwater used to produce the product, measured at the place where the product was actually produced".[13] It refers to the sum of the water use in the various steps of the production chain.
Embodied energyEdit
Some researchers have attempted to use the methods of energy analysis, which aim to produce embodied energy estimates, to derive virtual, or embodied water estimates.[14]
Virtual water content of selected productsEdit
The following table shows the average virtual water content of some selected products for a number of selected countries (m3/ton):[15]
The virtual water or the water footprint concepts have faced lot of criticism. Some valid, others asking the indicators to be everything. Australia's National Water Commission considers that the measurement of virtual water has little practical value in decision making regarding the best allocation of scarce water resources.[16]
Other limitations more specific to the MENA (the Middle East & North Africa) region include the fact that importing food could pose the risk of further political dependence. The notion of "self-sufficiency" has always been the pride of the MENA region.[17]
^Y., Hoekstra, A. (2003). Virtual water trade : proceedings of the international expert meeting on virtual water trade. IHE. OCLC 66727970.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Yang, Hong; Reichert, Peter; Abbaspour, Karim C.; Zehnder, Alexander J. B. (2003). "A Water Resources Threshold and Its Implications for Food Security". Environmental Science & Technology. 37 (14): 3048–3054. doi:10.1021/es0263689. ISSN 0013-936X. PMID 12901649.
^Kruzman, Diana (31 May 2021). "U.S. Southwest, Already Parched, Sees 'Virtual Water' Drain Abroad". Undark. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
^Stack Whitney, Kaitlin; Whitney, Kristoffer (Spring 2018). "John Anthony Allan's 'Virtual Water': Natural Resources Management in the Wake of Neoliberalism". Environment & Society Portal, Arcadia. Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society (11). doi:10.5282/rcc/8316. ISSN 2199-3408. S2CID 158594930. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
^Turton, A.R. (1998). The Hydropolitics of Southern Africa: The Case of the Zambezi River Basin as an Area of Potential Co-operation Based on Allan's Concept of 'Virtual Water' (MA Thesis ed.). Pretoria: University of South Africa.
^Turton, A.R., Moodley, S., Goldblatt, M. & Meissner, R. 2000. An Analysis of the Role of Virtual Water in Southern Africa in Meeting Water Scarcity: An Applied Research and Capacity Building Project. Johannesburg: Group for Environmental Monitoring (GEM).
^Earle, A. & Turton, A.R. 2003. "The Virtual Water Trade amongst Countries of the SADC". In Hoekstra, A. (Ed.) Virtual Water Trade: Proceedings of the International Experts Meeting on Virtual Water Trade. Delft, the Netherlands, 12–13 December 2002. Research Report Series No. 12. Delft: IHE. pp. 183-200.
^. Bloomberg News. 2020-03-06. Archived from the original on 2020-03-06. Retrieved 2021-09-20.
^Berrittella M, Hoekstra AY, Rehdanz K, Roson R, Tol RS (2007). "The Economic Impact of Restricted Water Supply: A Computable General Equilibrium Analysis". Water Research. 41 (8): 1799–813. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2007.01.010. PMID 17343892.
^Allan, Tony (1998). . Middle East Review of International Affairs. 2 (1). Archived from the original on November 27, 2006.
^Earle, A. 2003. "Watersheds and Problemsheds: A Strategic Perspective on the Water/Food/Trade Nexus in Southern Africa". In Turton, A.R., Ashton, P.J. & Cloete, T.E. (Eds.) Transboundary Rivers, Sovereignty, and Development: Hydropolitical Drivers in the Okavango River Basin. Pretoria & Geneva: AWIRU & Green Cross International. pp. 229-249.
^"Aims & History". Water Footprint Network. Retrieved 10 June 2020. In 2002, Arjen Hoekstra, whilst working at the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, created the water footprint as a metric to measure the amount of water consumed and polluted to produce goods and services along their full supply chain.
^Hoekstra AY, Chapagain AK (2007). "Water footprints of nations: water use by people as a function of their consumption pattern". Water Resources Management. 21 (1): 35–48. doi:10.1007/s11269-006-9039-x. S2CID 154320617.
^Lenzen M, Foran B (2001). "An Input-Output analysis of Australian water usage". Water Policy. 3 (4): 321–40. doi:10.1016/S1366-7017(01)00072-1.
^Craswell, E.; Bonnell, M.; Bossio, D.; Demuth, S.; van de Giesen, N. (2007). Integrated Assessment of Water Resources and Global Change: A North-South Analysis. Springer Netherlands. p. 40. ISBN978-1-4020-5591-1. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
^WA WATER (2014) Western Australia Branch Newsletter, June 2014, p. 1
^Expert Statement on Virtual Water July 22, 2011, at the Wayback Machine by Dr. Hazim El-Naser and Mohammad Abbadi (2005).
Further readingEdit
Chapagain, A.K. and Hoekstra, A.Y. (2008) 'The global component of freshwater demand and supply: An assessment of virtual water flows between nations as a result of trade in agricultural and industrial products' Water International 33(1): 19–32.
Hoekstra, A.Y. (2003) (ed) ‘Virtual water trade: Proceedings of the International Expert Meeting on Virtual Water Trade’ Value of Water Research Report Series No.12, UNESCO-IHE, Delft, the Netherlands
September 27, 2023
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The virtual water trade also known as embedded or embodied water is the hidden flow of water in food or other commodities that are traded from one place to another 1 The virtual water trade is the idea that when goods and services are exchanged so is virtual water Virtual water trade allows a new amplified perspective on water problems In the framewond balancing different perspectives basic conditions and interests Analytically the concept enables one to distinguish between global regional and local levels and their linkages However the use of virtual water estimates may offer no guidance for policymakers seeking to ensure that environmental objectives are being met For example cereal grains have been major carriers of virtual water in countries where water resources are scarce Therefore cereal imports can play a crucial role in compensating local water deficit 2 However low income countries may not be able to afford such imports in the future which could lead to food insecurity and starvation Contents 1 Concept 2 Related terms 2 1 Water footprint 2 2 Embodied energy 3 Virtual water content of selected products 4 Limitations 5 See also 6 References 7 Further readingConcept EditThe virtual water concept also known as embodied water was coined by John Anthony Allan Tony Allan in 1993 He received the Stockholm Water Prize for the concept in 2008 3 4 The virtual water trade is the idea that when goods and services are exchanged so is virtual water When a country imports one tonne of wheat instead of producing it domestically it is saving about 1 300 cubic meters of real indigenous water If this country is water scarce the water that is saved can be used towards other ends If the exporting country is water scarce however it has exported 1 300 cubic meters of virtual water since the real water used to grow the wheat will no longer be available for other purposes This has obvious strategic implications for countries that are water constrained such as those found in the Southern African Development Community SADC area 5 6 7 Water scarce countries like Israel discourage the export of oranges relatively water intensive crops precisely to prevent large quantities of water from being exported to different parts of the world 8 In recent years the concept of virtual water trade has gained weight both in the scientific as well as in the political debate The notion of the concept is ambiguous It changes between an analytical descriptive concept and a political induced strategy As an analytical concept virtual water trade represents an instrument that allows the identification and assessment of policy options not only in the scientific but also in the political discourse As a politically induced strategy the question if virtual water trade can be implemented in a sustainable way whether the implementation can be managed in a social economical and ecological fashion and for which countries the concept offers a meaningful option The data that underlie the concept of virtual water can readily be used to construct water satellite accounts and brought into economic models of international trade such as the GTAP Computable General Equilibrium Model 9 Such a model can be used to study the economic implications of changes in the water supply or water policy as well as the water resource implications of economic development and trade liberalization In sum virtual water trade allows a new amplified perspective on water problems In the framework of recent developments from a supply oriented to demand oriented management of water resources it opens up new fields of governance and facilitates differentiation and balancing of different perspectives basic conditions and interests Analytically the concept enables one to distinguish between global regional and local levels and their linkages This means that water resource problems have to be solved in problems 10 11 if they cannot be successfully addressed in the local or regional watershed Virtual water trade can thus overcome the hydro centricity of a narrow watershed view According to the proceedings of a 2006 conference in Frankfurt Germany it seems reasonable to link the new concept with the approach of integrated water resources management Related terms EditWater footprint Edit The concept of virtual water trade was introduced to refer to the idea that countries can save domestic water by importing food Imported food however comes from somewhere In 2002 Arjen Y Hoekstra while working for UNESCO IHE introduced the concept of water footprint 12 The water footprint shows the link between consumer goods or a consumption pattern and water use and pollution Virtual water trade and water footprint can be seen as part of a bigger story the globalization of water For instance it takes 1 340 cubic meters of water based on the world average to produce one tonne of wheat The precise volume can be more or less depending on climatic conditions and agricultural practice Hoekstra has defined the virtual water content of a product a commodity good or service as the volume of freshwater used to produce the product measured at the place where the product was actually produced 13 It refers to the sum of the water use in the various steps of the production chain Embodied energy Edit Some researchers have attempted to use the methods of energy analysis which aim to produce embodied energy estimates to derive virtual or embodied water estimates 14 Virtual water content of selected products EditThe following table shows the average virtual water content of some selected products for a number of selected countries m3 ton 15 Product USA China India Russia Indonesia Australia Brazil Japan Mexico Italy Netherlands World averageRice paddy 1 275 1 321 2 850 2 401 2 150 1 022 3 082 1 221 2 182 1 679 2 291Rice husked 1 656 1 716 3 702 3 118 2 793 1 327 4 003 1 586 2 834 2 180 2 975Rice broken 1 903 1 972 4 254 3 584 3 209 1 525 4 600 1 822 3 257 2 506 3 419Wheat 849 690 1 654 2 375 1 588 1 616 734 1 066 2 421 619 1 334Maize 489 801 1 937 1 397 1 285 744 1 180 1 493 1 744 530 408 909Soybeans 1 869 2 617 4 124 3 933 2 030 2 106 1 076 2 326 3 177 1 506 1 789Sugar cane 103 117 159 164 141 155 120 171 175Cotton seed 2 535 1 419 8 264 4 453 1 887 2 777 2 127 3 644Cotton lint 5 733 3 210 18 694 10 072 4 268 6 281 4 812 8 242Barley 702 848 1 966 2 359 1 425 1 373 697 2 120 1 822 718 1 388Sorghum 782 863 4 053 1 212 582 2 853Coconuts 749 2 255 1 954 2 545Millet 2 143 1 863 3 269 4 534 4 596Coffee green 4 864 6 290 12 180 28 119 17 373Coffee roasted 5 790 7 488 14 500 33 475 20 682Tea made 11 110 7 002 9 205Beef 13 193 12 560 16 482 37 762 21 167 11 681 15 497Pork 3 946 2 211 4 397 6 559 6 377 3 790 4 856Goat meat 3 082 3 994 5 187 10 252 4 180 2 791 4 043Sheep meat 5 977 5 202 6 692 16 878 7 572 5 298 6 143Chicken meat 2 389 3 652 7 736 5 013 2 198 2 222 3 918Eggs 1 510 3 550 7 531 4 277 1 389 1 404 3 340Milk 695 1 000 1 369 1 345 1 143 915 1 001 812 2 382 861 641 990Milk powder 3 234 4 648 6 368 6 253 5 317 4 255 4 654 3 774 11 077 4 005 2 982 4 602Cheese 3 457 4 963 6 793 6 671 5 675 4 544 4 969 4 032 11 805 4 278 3 190 4 914Leather bovine 14 190 13 513 17 710 22 575 15 929 18 384 18 222 11 864 40 482 22 724 12 572 16 656Limitations EditThe virtual water or the water footprint concepts have faced lot of criticism Some valid others asking the indicators to be everything Australia s National Water Commission considers that the measurement of virtual water has little practical value in decision making regarding the best allocation of scarce water resources 16 Other limitations more specific to the MENA the Middle East amp North Africa region include the fact that importing food could pose the risk of further political dependence The notion of self sufficiency has always been the pride of the MENA region 17 See also EditPeak water Water footprint Water management Deficit irrigation Water resource policyReferences Edit Y Hoekstra A 2003 Virtual water trade proceedings of the international expert meeting on virtual water trade IHE OCLC 66727970 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Yang Hong Reichert Peter Abbaspour Karim C Zehnder Alexander J B 2003 A Water Resources Threshold and Its Implications for Food Security Environmental Science amp Technology 37 14 3048 3054 doi 10 1021 es0263689 ISSN 0013 936X PMID 12901649 Kruzman Diana 31 May 2021 U S Southwest Already Parched Sees Virtual Water Drain Abroad Undark Retrieved 10 June 2021 Stack Whitney Kaitlin Whitney Kristoffer Spring 2018 John Anthony Allan s Virtual Water Natural Resources Management in the Wake of Neoliberalism Environment amp Society Portal Arcadia Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society 11 doi 10 5282 rcc 8316 ISSN 2199 3408 S2CID 158594930 Retrieved 10 June 2021 Turton A R 1998 The Hydropolitics of Southern Africa The Case of the Zambezi River Basin as an Area of Potential Co operation Based on Allan s Concept of Virtual Water MA Thesis ed Pretoria University of South Africa Turton A R Moodley S Goldblatt M amp Meissner R 2000 An Analysis of the Role of Virtual Water in Southern Africa in Meeting Water Scarcity An Applied Research and Capacity Building Project Johannesburg Group for Environmental Monitoring GEM Earle A amp Turton A R 2003 The Virtual Water Trade amongst Countries of the SADC In Hoekstra A Ed Virtual Water Trade Proceedings of the International Experts Meeting on Virtual Water Trade Delft the Netherlands 12 13 December 2002 Research Report Series No 12 Delft IHE pp 183 200 The End of the Jaffa Orange Highlights Israel Economic Shift Bloomberg Bloomberg News 2020 03 06 Archived from the original on 2020 03 06 Retrieved 2021 09 20 Berrittella M Hoekstra AY Rehdanz K Roson R Tol RS 2007 The Economic Impact of Restricted Water Supply A Computable General Equilibrium Analysis Water Research 41 8 1799 813 doi 10 1016 j watres 2007 01 010 PMID 17343892 Allan Tony 1998 Watersheds and Problemsheds Explaining the absence of Armed Conflict over water in the Middle East Middle East Review of International Affairs 2 1 Archived from the original on November 27 2006 Earle A 2003 Watersheds and Problemsheds A Strategic Perspective on the Water Food Trade Nexus in Southern Africa In Turton A R Ashton P J amp Cloete T E Eds Transboundary Rivers Sovereignty and Development Hydropolitical Drivers in the Okavango River Basin Pretoria amp Geneva AWIRU amp Green Cross International pp 229 249 Aims amp History Water Footprint Network Retrieved 10 June 2020 In 2002 Arjen Hoekstra whilst working at the UNESCO IHE Institute for Water Education created the water footprint as a metric to measure the amount of water consumed and polluted to produce goods and services along their full supply chain Hoekstra AY Chapagain AK 2007 Water footprints of nations water use by people as a function of their consumption pattern Water Resources Management 21 1 35 48 doi 10 1007 s11269 006 9039 x S2CID 154320617 Lenzen M Foran B 2001 An Input Output analysis of Australian water usage Water Policy 3 4 321 40 doi 10 1016 S1366 7017 01 00072 1 Craswell E Bonnell M Bossio D Demuth S van de Giesen N 2007 Integrated Assessment of Water Resources and Global Change A North South Analysis Springer Netherlands p 40 ISBN 978 1 4020 5591 1 Retrieved August 8 2015 WA WATER 2014 Western Australia Branch Newsletter June 2014 p 1 Expert Statement on Virtual Water Archived July 22 2011 at the Wayback Machine by Dr Hazim El Naser and Mohammad Abbadi 2005 Further reading EditChapagain A K and Hoekstra A Y 2008 The global component of freshwater demand and supply An assessment of virtual water flows between nations as a result of trade in agricultural and industrial products Water International 33 1 19 32 Hoekstra A Y 2003 ed Virtual water trade Proceedings of the International Expert Meeting on Virtual Water Trade Value of Water Research Report Series No 12 UNESCO IHE Delft the Netherlands Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Virtual water amp oldid 1152541506, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
