1. The Increasing Relevance of Virtual Water
Melvin Woodhouse –

2. The Increasing Relevance of Virtual Water – What is Virtual Water ?
Water requirement equivalent of main food products
PRODUCT
UNIT
EQUIVALENT WATER (m3 per unit)
cattle
head
4,000
sheep and goats
500
fresh beef kg 15
fresh poultry 6
cereals
1.5
citrus fruits 1
palm oil 2
pulses, roots and rubber
Source: FAO, Published in the UN World Water Development Report.
Definitions
The water embedded in commodities
About 15% of the water used in the world is for export, in virtual form
50% of the water to produce vegetables and 80% of water in fruit eaten in UK is a virtual import
Virtual Water Trade / Virtual Water Footprint

3. The Increasing Relevance of Virtual Water – UK and Food

4. The Increasing Relevance of Virtual Water – Virtual Water Footprint - Morocco

5. The Increasing Relevance of Virtual Water - Boundaries

6. The Increasing Relevance of Virtual Water
Top 10 virtual exporting countries ( )
COUNTRY
NET EXPORT VOLUME (109 m3)
USA
758.3
Canada
272.5
Thailand
233.3
Argentina
226.3
India
161.1
Australia
145.6
Viet Nam
90.2
France
88.4
Guatemala
71.7
Brazil
45.0
Top 10 virtual importing countries ( )
COUNTRY
NET IMPORT VOLUME (109 m3)
Sri Lanka
428.5
Japan
297.4
Netherlands
147.7
Korea Rep.
112.6
China
101.9
Indonesia
101.7
Spain
82.5
Egypt
80.2
Germany
67.9
Italy
64.3

7. The Increasing Relevance of Virtual Water
Global virtual water trade between nations: top 10 crop products ( )
PRODUCT
% OF THE VIRTUAL WATER TRADE
wheat
30.20
soybean
17.07
rice
15.36
maize
8.85
raw sugar
7.20
Source: A.Y. Hoekstra; P.Q. Hung. Virtual water trade - A quantification of virtual water flows between nations in relation to international crop trade.

8. The Increasing Relevance of Virtual Water – The Hydrological Cycle

9. The Increasing Relevance of Virtual Water – Hortons 1931 Hydrocycle
Robert Horton US Natural Resources Board 1934

10. The Increasing Relevance of Virtual Water- Puntland Somalia

11. The Increasing Relevance of Virtual Water - Puntland

12. The Increasing Relevance of Virtual Water - Puntland

13. The Increasing Relevance of Virtual Water – Drought Resistant Economy ?
Zimbabwe

14. The Increasing Relevance of Virtual Water - Mauritius

15. The Increasing Relevance of Virtual Water - Mauritius

16. The Increasing Relevance of Virtual Water - Mauritius
Sector
Use of nations water
Contribution to GDP
Water Productivity %
US$/m³ *
US$/m³ **
Commercial, Industrial, Tourism 20 45
153
236
Agriculture small planters 8 3 5
Agriculture large planters & sugar estates 40 4
0.5
0.38
Hydro power 32
National Average
27.41
* Estimates by different authors

17. The Increasing Relevance of Virtual Water - Mauritius

18. The Increasing Relevance of Virtual Water – Sugar in Mauritius
Currently sugar as an export “food” generates 2% of the GDP but uses 30% of the nations water
Mauritius uses over 20% of its GDP to import “energy” – petroleum products and coal
Tonnes

19. The Increasing Relevance of Virtual Water – Sugar in Mauritius

20. The Increasing Relevance of Virtual Water –Asparagus in Peru

21. The Increasing Relevance of Virtual Water

22. The Increasing Relevance of Virtual Water

23. The Increasing Relevance of Virtual Water

24. The Increasing Relevance of Virtual Water
Virtual Water is moving from being an “academic / intellectual project” to being of interest to commerce
It is not yet part of the Hydrological Cycle concept
Virtual water is a hugely significant component of the hydrological cycle in water stressed countries……but engineers are not aware of it…..it is not the subject of law or policy.
International Water Law: focus on “blue” water – rivers and lakes…and a western law adversarial approach. Win - lose outcomes
The sum total of benefits when acting cooperatively in the use of water far outweigh the total of benefit by acting alone….Positive sum outcomes can be realised
The basket of benefits available to water users is significantly increased if we include virtual water.

25. The Increasing Relevance of Virtual Water
Should a Community / Region / Nation actively manage its virtual water footprint?
Should a State have the power to enable or prevent virtual water movement using Law?
And so…..What will happen if we engineer a “Water Fortress” approach…..who will trade with who….what will they trade?
Harmon Doctrine…..Absolute territorial sovereignty ?

26. The Increasing Relevance of Virtual Water
Thank you !

27. The Increasing Relevance of Virtual Water – some references
Allan, JA 2003, Virtual water eliminates water wars? A case study from the Middle East. In: Virtual Water Trade: Proceedings of the International Expert Meeting on Virtual Water Trade (Hoekstra, A.Y., Ed.), pp Value of Water Research Report Series No. 12, November 2003, IHE Delft, the Netherlands.
Allan, JA 1998, Virtual water: A strategic resource. Global solutions to regional deficits. Groundwater, 36 (4),
Linton, Jamie 2008 'Is the Hydrologic Cycle Sustainable? A Historical-Geographical Critique of a Modern
Concept', Annals of the Association of American Geographers,98:3,630 — 649
Chapagain, AK & Hoekstra, AY 2004a, Water Footprints of Nations. Volume 1: Main Report. UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, Value of Water Research Report Series No. 16, Delft, the Netherlands.
Chapagain, AK & Hoekstra, AY 2008, The global component of freshwater demand and supply: An assessment of virtual water flows between nations as a result of trade in agricultural and industrial products. Water International, 33 (1),
DEFRA UK Food Security Assessment: Detailed analysis (August 2009; updated January 2010)