Water Prodiction Flashcards
HOP 2011
Global demand for water is estimated to outstrip supply by 40% in 2030
Due to
Pop growth
Economic growth
Meat consumption
Impacts of excessive consumption
Water in foods- alters water cycle, degraded production areas, intensified economic problems
Building reservoirs: alters streamflow, displacement of ppl
Degradation: high water levels extracted
Maintaining: expansive and requires fuel consumption
Water footprint
Measure my of water used to produce goods and services
What is virtual water
Sum of all water used in the production process
What is green water
Rainwater consumed- stored in root zone and evaporated or incorporated by plants
Blue water
Water sourced from the surface or sub-surface resources
Grey water
Contaminated waste water
Advantage of virtual water
1- resource efficiently assessment
2- helps measure role of product in economy
3- used as indicators for social political and environmental risks
4- helps towards achieving SDG
Disadvantages of virtual water
1-Flows not determined by availability high levels suggest reduction needed but not always case
2-Doesn’t express social economic or environmental value of water in local communities
3-Concept conceals how economic power and water politics influences livelihoods
4-not a direct or universal indicator of ecological damage by related to economic opportunity
Hoekstra
2012
Freshwater resources are subject to increasing pressure pin the form of consumption and pollution this problem needs to be addressed in a global scale
Few govs currently consider reducing water use via water footprint l- don’t consider country of origin
76% of Virtual water flows are related to agricultural activity
Hoekstra et al
Imbalance between water availability and demand
Water demand varies across different scales and regions
E.g Europe water footprint spikes in summer but not in Asia as the experience heterogenous climates
2.7bn people are living in basins that have experienced water scarcity for at least 1 month of the year
HOP 2011
95% of water use is invisible many countries are not conscious about how much virtual water they use
Business only starting to consider the risks
Coca Cola starting to quantify their water footprint
Hoekstra 2010
Businesses recognising that WF should be incorporated into their “corporate social responsibility”
Incentives:
1- risk related to shortages in supply
2- regulatory control of water
3- ability to enforce corporate image and strengthen brand name
No longer a localised problem
Bai
2001
Sustainable water resource management has become a critical issue for the development of cities that suffer water scarcity
China- has the most polluted water scare basins
Illegal use of urban sewage
