Voices on Virtual Water on the Nation’S Own Water Resources and Environment

trade could deprive farmers and their fami- lies of their livelihoods unless alternatives are developed in terms of alternative crops (not necessarily saving water but maybe getting higher returns, which requires access to markets – local and international – and production or marketing may be subsidised like in USA and Europe) or alternative employment which saves water, but how does one create this employment? Here the question arises whether this would also develop to its local potential without having to think about virtual water. Unemploy- ment is a problem most of the virtual water importing countries are facing. Including virtual water as a policy op- tion requires thorough understanding of the impact and interactions of virtual water trade on the local social, economic, environmental and cultural situation. Import of virtual water will relieve the pressure Voices on Virtual Water on the nation’s own water resources and environment. Countries, especially those that are water abundant, can export virtual water, but this has also it’s environmental Clear signs of a water-defi cit driven import of cereals – so called virtual water fl ow consequences (overexploitation of local re- – and intensifying water stress in the semi-arid tropics suggest a major switch in sources, including water). Further research global food trade. Food production in water rich regions may come to play a n increa s - should be carried out on the natural, social, ing role to alleviate hunger in water-short countries. economic, environmental and political implications of using virtual water trade as a VIRTUAL WATER: the decision [to import low value but high strategic instrument in water policy. This water consuming food like cereals] is made includes an analysis of the geo-political Conscious Choices consciously relating to water policies. Some importance of virtual water, the opportu- Virtual water trade is not new; it is as old as countries where these conscious choices are nities and threats involved and the associ- there is food trade. Also the amount of trade made are Morocco, Jordan, Israel and Egypt ated political processes underlying decision is steadily increasing. However, we can only as importers. Exporters (like USA) are not making on application of this concept. speak of a shift towards virtual water trade if (yet) thinking of virtual water trade but Common procedures of virtual water ac- more respond to the food import require- counting and references should be developed ments of water scarce countries. and disseminated. To enable introduction of Virtual water trade should be encour- virtual water accounts, an instrument should aged to promote water savings for arid be included in any national or regional water countries and at a global level through and agricultural policy analysis. enhancing food security through appropri- Reduction of virtual water in our diets ate and fair trade agreements. However, may also contribute signifi cantly to water countries cannot do this in isolation. They savings. Showing people this virtual wa- have to consider the strategies and policies ter content through water footprints will of their neighbours. The consequences of increase water awareness and may lead to change in food trade patterns for water water saving consumption patterns. reasons should be examined in terms of money (currencies), food security, food Mr. Paul van Hofwegen, World Water Council, sovereignty, employment and of course wa- E-mail:[email protected] ter resources. On a local level, virtual water I Virtual Water in Stockholm Virtual water will be one of the issues in focus during the Stockholm Water Symposium in August. A Symposium workshop is devoted to the subject, which will no doubt form a part of discussion in other workshops where, for example, food security will be addressed. To kick-start the discussion in advance of the Symposium, Water Front asked three leading experts for contributions on virtual water. Professor Tony Allan, Professor Arjen Hoekstra and Mr. Paul van Hofwegen framed their responses by exemplifying countries where there is a shift towards virtual water trade, indicating how countries could adjust their national strategies on food production, trade and subsidies, and identifying urgent questions to be addressed by the water expert community. 4 VIRTUAL WATER: Achieving a Non-hydrocentric Understanding of Water Allocation and Management Virtual water is an important concept. problems of water resource allocation and The availability of invisible virtual water also First, it is an “intensive concept” in that it management outside the water sector. enables governments and water profession- links water resources with food production, Virtual water is a good example of a so- als to avoid involvement in lethal debates on emphasising that the water that produces lution that lies outside the local watershed water resource insecurity. A negative impact, food comes from rainfed soil profi les as well in what has been termed a “problemshed” however, is the tendency to reduce the sali- as from freshwater resources. Secondly, it without a hydrological identity. It is not just ence of the local water balance situation and is an “extensive concept,” as it links food hydrological processes, nor even hydraulic as a consequence to reduce the pace of water availability in water rich regions with the ones, that ameliorate local water short- policy reform which would be good for the amelioration of water defi cits in water short ages, but economic and trading processes economy in general. regions via trade. operating in facilitating political contexts. The concept is an awkward one for Virtual water is also a very fl exible solution. Professor J A (Tony) Allan, School of African and the water resource scientist and the water International access to virtual water out- Oriental Studies, London, England, resource manager because it requires a will- matches in fl exibility and scale any other E-mail: [email protected] ingness to address and plan water resources competing form of water resource reserve that derive from soil profi les as well as from to meet occasional defi cits. Editor’s Note: Due to space limitations in the freshwater. Both engineers and economists, Virtual water “trade” has a number of ad- above article, Professor Allan could not address and even some hydrologists, prefer to relate ditional important qualities. It is economi- the different types of economies that can use the to freshwater only because it can be pumped cally invisible and politically silent. Though virtual water “solution.” The author is aware that and valued. Soil water cannot. invisible and silent it enables a water-short sub-Saharan Africa is different from the oil rich The concept is also awkward because region to avoid fi nding water to produce the Middle East. it requires that water resource scientists tonnes of water-intensive and politically sen- I and managers shift their perspective from sitive food commodities. The process is very one that is hydrocentric – albeit ill focused effective and economically advantageous to – to a willingness to identify solutions to the importer at this point in history. VIRTUAL WATER: prints – the total virtual water content of the An Instrument in Relieving the Pressure on the goods consumed – be effectively reduced? World’s Water Resources? Dr. Arjen Hoekstra, International Institute for Infrastructural, Hydraulic and Environmental There are a number of arid countries – such water resources, arid countries can better Engineering (IHE-Delft), E-mail: [email protected] as Jordan and Israel – that have intention- limit the export of water-intensive crops and I ally formulated policies to reduce export focus on the crops that have high benefi t per of water-intensive products, notably crops. cubic metre of water used (for instance dates In fact they use virtual water as an increas- or grapes). Reducing virtual water export is ingly important source of water. The im- step one; consciously aiming at more virtual port of water in virtual form in these coun - water import, thus leaving the idea of water tries goes already far beyond the export of self-suffi ciency is step two. Many develop- virtual water. The remaining virtual water ing countries face here the problem, how- export is largely related to crops that yield ever, that they don’t have water-extensive relatively high income per cubic metre of products to be exported in return. This is the water consumed. But the examples of con- area where investments have to be made. scious virtual water trade are still scarce. One basic question is: can virtual water Countries haven’t looked yet so much on trade be an instrument in relieving the the relation between their trade and the im- pressure on the world’s water resources? pacts on their water resources. I don’t think What can, for instance, be the global water that people in the usa are aware that 1/15 of saving if we locate the water-intensive pro- their available water resources are used for duction processes in regions where water is producing crops for export. In Thailand, abundant and where it requires less water this is even one quarter! per unit of product? What, on the other Subsidising water supply to farmers is hand, are the economic, environmental, commonplace everywhere in the world. social, cultural and political implications Sometimes there are good reasons for it, but of an increase in global virtual water trade ? one might seriously question whether this The second basic question is: how do makes sense if the farmers use scarce water consumption patterns and in particular resources to produce crops for export. In diets infl uence the water footprint of an indi- Should water-short countries export highly order to relieve the pressure on the domestic vidual or a nation? And how can water foot- water-consumptive goods? 5.

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