The water footprint of humans

Question 1

WF

Answer 1

Water Footprint

Question 2

Virtual water flow

Answer 2

All the water needed for 1 product and its flow trough trade

Question 3

Countries and water

Answer 3

• they are often not aware of their own WF

- Not aware if production of specific goods can lead to water depletion in (another) country

Question 4

Blue WF

Answer 4

consumption of surface and groundwater

Question 5

Green WF

Answer 5

consumption of rainwater

Question 6

Grey WF

Answer 6

indicator of the degree of freshwater pollution

Question 7

Top 3 countries largest water footprint

Answer 7

1) China
2) India
3) USA

Question 8

Largest part of WF of a country is

Answer 8

agriculture

Question 9

The use of … and … is not visible in the … of a product

Answer 9

water
water stress
price

Question 10

Many agri producing countries

Answer 10

are under water stress, using their limiting blue water supply for export products

Question 11

WF is largely influenced by

Answer 11

consumption pattern.

large numbers and luxury products have a larger WF

Question 12

What determines the WF of a product

Answer 12

location of production

Question 13

External WF

Answer 13

water used to produce products we consume

Question 14

Two factors that determine the magnitude of WF per country

Answer 14

1) volume and pattern of consumption

2) the WF per ton of consumped products

Question 15

… of the global WF was for …

Answer 15

20%

export

Question 16

water is not factored in

Answer 16

price of traded commodities

Question 17

the WF at home

Answer 17

is only 1% of the WF of a consumer

Question 18

… % of the WF of consumers is ….

Answer 18

99%

invisible in bought products

Question 19

86% of WF of consumers

Answer 19

comes from agricultural products

Question 20

There can be a conflict between … and … footprint because

Answer 20

water
carbon

a water friendly option might be carbon intensive, or the other way around

Question 21

Special about water (6)

Answer 21

• complex specific resource (economic solutions will never work) (CPR)
• local but also global
• flowing, limited storage possibilities
• not transportable over large distances
• renewable but finite
• downstream externalities

Question 22

WF of animals

Answer 22

are difficult to establish because it depends on the type of feed ant the type of farm (and location)

Question 23

29% of the total WF is

Answer 23

from animals

Question 24

WF animal products

Answer 24

Feed conversion efficiency (high efficiency has high WF) vs. WF of feed

Question 25

Addressing water scarcity

Answer 25

by linking nutritional values to water use

Question 26

Footprints are an indicator of

Answer 26

human pressure on the environment

Question 27

Environmental footprints

Answer 27

measure how much of the available capacity within the planetary boundaries is already consumed

Question 28

difficulty with planetary boundaries

Answer 28

• boundaries determined by humans often have uncertainties
• boundaries are sometimes reached by consensus
  (like the 2 degree scenario)

Question 29

Companies almost always only set targets for ….. footprints and neglect …

Answer 29

direct (operational)

Indirect (supply-chain)

Question 30

Considering the … and the global WF, the … needs to be …

Answer 30

projected population increase
average WF per capita
reduced

Question 31

Option to reduce WF

Answer 31

buy products with low footprints

Question 32

difficulties in reducing WF

Answer 32

often there is no data available for the consumer on what the WF of a product is