Virtual Water

Question 1

What is virtual water?

Answer 1

The water requires to produce agricultural and industrial commodities

Question 2

How much water does 1l of milk use?

Answer 2

800 litres

Question 3

Statistic about maize and virtual water

Answer 3

If you import 1 cup of maize, you have imported about a cubic metre of virtual water = the annual impart action of 50 million tonnes of grain to Middle East and North Africa amounts to the importation of 50km3 of water = the equivalent to the annual flow of the Nile

Question 4

How much of the global water footprint is exported as virtual water

Answer 4

19%

Question 5

What is water footprint

Answer 5

The consumptive use of green water, blue water and grey water

Question 6

What dominates the global water trade?

Answer 6

Food

Question 7

What is the problem with the global water trade?

Answer 7

It is primarily from cash poor to cash rich countries rather than water-rich to water-poor

Relying on virtual water is unproblematic if you can afford imported food

Question 8

What is Sen’s theory of entitlements

Answer 8

Access to food is governed by economics rather than actual food availability

Question 9

Name two water scarce counties with a high external water footprint that also have a high GDP

Answer 9

Kuwait, United Arab Emirates

Question 10

What is the outsourced water footprint of the USA, UK, Germany and Netherlands?

Answer 10

60-95%

Question 11

What is the outsourced water footprint of Niger, Mali, Sudan?

Question 12

Why are governments adverse to virtual water?

Answer 12

• don’t want to be dependent on other economies for their water and food
• virtual water threatens vital farming livelihoods in farming communities

Question 13

What is the problem with foreign agricultural subsidies?

Answer 13

Due to US agricultural subsidies, some crops can be imported at half the cost of their production, undercutting local farmers

Question 14

What is perhaps the best use of virtual water?

Answer 14

It provides flexibility
Eg Sri Lankan droughts due to failing monsoon rains, 1995-1998
Food imports rose dramatically
More flexible than storing water behind dams
Quick solution to a short-term problem

Question 15

How much does agricultural production contribute to the global annual average water footprint?

Answer 15

92% (hoekstra and mekonnen 2012)

Question 16

How can we achieve a comprehensive view of the sustainability of a nations water consumption?

Answer 16

By looking at their externalised water footprint

Virtual water imports could impact water scarcity/depletion and pollution elsewhere, in their country of origin

Water scarcity must be put in global context