How does virtual water affect the environment?

How does virtual water affect the environment?

Increased water contamination and water extraction for export from relative dry areas affects local ecosystems and communities. Simultaneously, the increased virtual water trade has weakened the local control over water resources by local communities, to the expense of multinational agribusiness and retailer companies.

What are the significance of virtual water?

The concept of virtual water is important because it enables us to understand why we enjoy the illusion of water and food security despite strong evidence that the water resources available to sustain our national economies are inadequate.

How does virtual water affect our water use?

International Virtual Water Flows As food and other products are traded internationally, their water footprint follows them in the form of virtual water. This allows us to link the water footprint of production to the water footprint of consumption, wherever they occur.

What two factors control the water footprint of a country?

The four major direct factors determining the water footprint of a country are: volume of consumption (related to the gross national income); consumption pattern (e.g. high versus low meat consumption); climate (growth conditions); and agricultural practice (water use efficiency).

Can virtual water be used to help alleviate water conflicts?

[36] As elaborated earlier, implementing the virtual water strategy can be an effective way to alleviate water scarcity in a country and region.

When did virtual water become a problem?

[1] In its broadest sense, virtual water refers to the water required for the production of food commodities. Issues relating to virtual water have drawn much attention in scientific communities and the political sphere since the mid 1990s.

What are the factors affecting the water demand?

Factors Affecting the Rate of Demand of Water | Water Engineering

• Factor # 2. Cost of Water:
• Factor # 3. Pressure in the Distribution System:
• Factor # 4. Economic Status of Consumers:
• Factor # 5. Number of Commercial Establishments and Industries:
• Factor # 6.
• Factor # 8.
• Factor # 9.

Why do some countries have a larger water footprint?

The water footprints vary between countries because they’re based on consumption habits of people within each country, as well as that country’s climate and water-use practices.

What are virtual water flows and why are they important?

This allows us to link the water footprint of production to the water footprint of consumption, wherever they occur. Virtual water flows help us see how the water resources in one country are used to support consumption in another country.

Is it time to consider virtual water?

Whether the food and/or agricultural commodities are traded intranationally or internationally does not change the fact that the water was extracted and embedded. The author argues that it is time to consider the concept of virtual water from the perspective of a global food consumption and production system.

What is an example of a virtual water economy?

This happens, for example, in Mediterranean countries, the Middle East and Mexico. Northern European countries import a lot of water in virtual form (more than they export), but this is not driven by water scarcity. Instead it results from protection of their domestic water resources, land availability and land uses.

What can virtual water teach us about energy and food security?

A country may select energy security by using its natural resources to produce electricity in exchange for food security by importing food. The water footprint and its translation into virtual water can illuminate these choices and their inter-dependencies. Virtual water helps us understand the dependencies our economies have on others’ resources.