The water footprint of a product good or service is the volume of fresh water used to produce the product, summed over the various steps of the production chain. The calculations are based on the water requirements per unit of product as in your country of residence. Environment is a complex of many variables, which surrounds man as well. In the usa, the average water footprint per year per capita is as much as the water needed to fill an olympic swimming pool 2 842 cubic metres, that is an average of 7 786 litres of water per person per day.
The water footprint of an individual, community or business is defined as the. Water footprint of an animal sum of water for feed, drinking and servicing water footprint of a crop or livestock product distribute the water footprint of the root product over its derived products the water footprint m3ton of primary crops can be calculated as the crop water use at field level m3ha divided by the crop yield tonha. An indicator of both direct and indirect water use by a consumer or producer. According to mekonnen and hoekstra, 2010a, mekonnen and hoekstra, 2010b, in uzbekistan around 5000 m 3 of water is needed to produce one ton t of rice and as much as two times more water is needed to produce 1 t of meat. Water footprint simple english wikipedia, the free. The water footprint wf is an indicator that accounts for both the direct domestic water use and indirect water required to produce industrial and agricultural products water use of a. It is probably an extension of the concept of ecological footprints developed by the ecologist william rees at the university of british columbia in the early 1990s. Sourcing sugar sustainably in 2011, the cocacola company conducted a wide ranging water footprint sustainability assessment looking at sugar sourcing in europe. Analysis of water footprints depend on the boundaries of the system, recognizing the footprint for a barn is a component of the footprint for a county, which is. Water footprint manual university of twente research information.
This file is licensed under the creative commons attributionshare alike 3. The water footprint network 16 is a measure of humanitys appropriation of fresh water in volumes by water consumed andor polluted, but not the impacts on the runoff. Arjen hoekstra who, along with the others at the wfn, developed the framework and established the international organization as the foremost research network in the discipline. This study sought new evidence, using a recently developed life cycle impact assessment method for water use to assess six. Iso 14046 environmental management water footprint a practical guide for smes cover iso 14046 water footprint a practical guide for smes dd 4 20170804 08.
The water footprint assessment manual water footprint network. A global standard for water stewardship find out more about the aws standard join the alliance for water stewardship equip your organization to be a freshwater steward train in the aws standard find a training session that suits your needs a global water stewardship collaboration find out more about the alliance for water stewardship. The volume of water required to produce this milk is 0. Your personal water footprint is related to your consumption habits, lifestyle and country of residence. A mixture of lecture day 1 and practical modeling day 2, this course will guide you through steps for. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. Please enter your email address in th understanding water scarcity. Global water governance in the twentyfirst century, heather cooley, newsha ajami, mailan ha, veena srinivasan, jason morrison, kristina donnelly. Review of data on embodied water in clothing summary report. A water footprint shows the extent of water use in relation to consumption by people.
Incomebased projections of water footprint of food. The volume of fresh water used to produce the product, summed over the various steps of the production chain. The total volume of fresh water used by an individual, a household, a business, a community or a country, internal footprint all the water used inside a country. It tracks this demand through an ecological accounting system.
The concepts of water footprint and virtual water gdrc. Africa ecological footprint report green infrastructure. This manual presents a scientifically rigorous method to help companies understand their dependency and impact on global water resources, and offers guidance on response strategies that conserve water for industry, communities, and nature. It can cover a process, product, or even a whole company. Drinking a plainglass of water requires little more than the water itself. This study sought new evidence, using a recently developed life cycle impact assessment method for water use to assess six geographically defined. There are large differences in the water footprint of consumption of nations. The combined measures of ecological footprint, water footprint and living planet index show us that africa is now at a crossroad in terms of figure 1. The virtual water trade also known as trade in embedded or embodied water, a concept introduced by tony allan, is the hidden flow of water if food or other commodities are traded from one place to another. Footprint definition is an impression of the foot on a surface. Water footprinting water footprinting concept was developed by prof. Information from its description page there is shown below. The water footprint concept, sources and methodology come from the water footprint network wfn. Drinking the same volume of orange juice or apple juice would require 170 and 190 litres of water respectively.
Nov 30, 2011 water use in the livestock sector has featured in the debate about sustainable food systems. The water footprint is an indicator of water use that looks at both direct and indirect water use of a consumer or producer. Agricultural production accounts for most of global water use, but drinking, manufacturing, cooking, recreation, washing, cleaning, landscaping, cooling, and processing all contribute to water use. A comprehensive introduction to water footprints pseau. Pdf an estimation of agriculture water footprint in chile. The calculations take the following resources into account. Here you will find data tables from the worlds water series. Our surrounding includes biotic factors like human beings, plants, animals, microbes, etc and abiotic factors such as light, air, water, soil, etc. For instance, it takes 1,340 cubic meters of water based on the world average to produce one metric tonne of wheat. The accounts contrast the biologically productive area people use for their consumption to the biologically productive area available within a region or the world biocapacity, the productive area that.
When a country imports one tonne of wheat instead of producing it domestically, it is saving about 1,300 cubic meters of real indigenous water. How to reduce your water footprint how to reduce your water footprint eating local saves water, but might not be possible 100% of the time for everyone in the u. Achieving the mdg drinking water and sanitation target poses two major challenges. A water footprint can be broken into three different subareas. As a result, both the water footprint of products and diet composition can explain the high water footprint of food consumption in ca. A water footprint is a measure of the amount of water used to produce goods and services and the water impacted by the system. Your individual water footprint is equal to the water required to produce the goods and services consumed by you. People use a lot of water for drinking, cooking and washing, but significantly more for producing things such as food, paper and cotton clothes. Quick and costefficient agricultural water footprint. Following the animal products, the consumption of grains, particularly water intensive rice, represents the largest share of diet related water consumption in the region. Many african countries compensate for biocapacity and water shortfalls by importing goods and services from elsewhere.
The water footprint is an indicator of water use that. They consider water footprint as a volumetric approach. Ecological footprint the theoretical measurement of the amount of land and water a population requires to produce the resources it consumes and to absorb its waste, under prevailing technology. The ecological footprint measures human demand on nature, i. It was adopted and further developed in a methodology guide hoekstra et al. The internal water footprint is the volume of water used from domestic water resources. Quick and costefficient agricultural water footprint calculation for farms, catchments and supply chains introduction good stuff international gsi is well known for its track record and leadership in the application of the water footprint assessment at catchment and site level based on local data. The water footprint of an individual, community or business is defined as the total volume of freshwater that is used to produce the goods and services consumed. Footprint standard covers a comprehensive set of definitions and methods for water footprint. Getting good data on the many issues related to freshwater has long been a challenge. But at the national level, this becomes complex the water footprint of a nation is equal to the use of domestic water resources, minus the. The external water footprint of a country is the annual volume of water resources used in other countries to produce goods and services imported into and consumed in the country considered. Water use in the livestock sector has featured in the debate about sustainable food systems. At the individual level, this is expressed in litres.
Corporate water accounting an analysis of methods and tools for. The concept of water footprinting has emerged relatively recently, introduced under the terminology of virtual water allan, 1997 and coined as water footprint by hoekstra and hung 2002. An introduction to water footprinting linkedin slideshare. This is defined as the total freshwater consumption and pollution within the boundaries of the area. Only 2% of the total water footprint is consumed in uk comprising 0. The best way to reduce your water bottled footprint. Footprint definition of footprint by merriamwebster. Green water consumption of water or rainfall that is stored in the soil or plants. But at the national level, this becomes complex the water footprint of a nation is equal to the use of domestic water resources, minus the virtual water export flows, plus the virtual water import flows.
A measure of the amount of freshwater used by a person, organization or state in a given time. A water footprint is an illustrative tool to measure total freshwater consumption for countries, states, counties, cities, organizations, or even a single person. Water footprint simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. A complete and uptodate overview of the global standard on water footprint assessment available in four languages. A carbon footprint has historically been defined as the total set of greenhouse gas ghg emissions caused by an organization, event, product or person. The virtual water trade is the idea that when goods and services are exchanged, so is virtual water. Water footprint within a geographically delineated area. Most evidence has come from virtual water calculations which lack impact assessment and adequate consideration of the heterogeneity in livestock production. Definitionenvironment the word environment is derived from the french word environ which means surrounding. The area can be for example a hydrological unit such as a catchment area or a river basin or an administrative unit like a municipality, province, state or nation. Water footprint definition of water footprint by medical. Footprint network and serves as the water footprint guidelines promoted by the wfn. The water footprint is the sum of the water used directly or indirectly to produce goods and services consumed by humanity. Jun 25, 2015 dont run the faucet while doing dishes by hand.
Dont run the water when youre brushing your teeth, shaving or daydreaming. The water footprint values of agricultural products vary among ca countries due to variation in climatic conditions, production systems, crop varieties and yields. A water footprint is the amount of freshwater used by individuals, groups or companies in order to make goods or provide services used by the community. Milk to produce one kilogram of cheese 10 litres of milk are needed. Water footprint on site this course will familiarize you with the relevant concepts and background information of water footprinting and water use assessment in lca. Consider your personal water footprint when you make a purchase, especially food grown in california. Water footprint assessment, policy and practical measures in a specific. The internal water footprint is the water use within the country in so far it is used to produce goods and services consumed by the national population. Instead, fill a basin with hot, soapy water and turn the tap off. Did you know that it takes 1,850 gallons of water to produce 1. Arjen hoekstra, university of twente netherlands water footprint manual freely available from the water footprint network. You can put the used soapy water in your toilet tank to use it again. Mekonnen people use lots of water for drinking, cooking and washing, but even more for producing things such as food, paper, cotton clothes, etc. Definitions and measurements on may 7, 2012 in water security the water footprint of humanity water scarcity pricing in urban centres urban water.
Only air and soil emissions that impact water quality are included in the assessment, and not all air and soil emissions are included. These goods and services may be needed around the entire world. Nov 05, 2014 the internal water footprint is the water use within the country in so far it is used to produce goods and services consumed by the national population. The precise volume can be more or less depending on climatic conditions. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in. It will be a living document, requiring frequent updates and improvement. A mixture of lecture day 1 and practical modeling day 2, this course will guide you through steps for preforming a water footprint study. In china, the average water footprint is 1 071 cubic.
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