Globalisation of water resources
International virtual water flows
What is virtual water flows?
For a country to secure water, food, energy and international relations, it needs to consider how it is using its own water and the water of other countries to provide goods and services to its citizens.
International virtual water flows
In this research, we argue that where the river basin is generally seen as the appropriate unit for analysing freshwater availability and use, this paper shows that it becomes increasingly important to put freshwater issues in a global context. International trade in commodities implies flows of ‘virtual water’ over large distances, where virtual water should be understood as the volume of water required to produce a commodity. Virtual water flows between nations have been estimated from statistics on international product trade and the virtual water content per product in the exporting country. With increasing globalization of trade, global water interdependencies and overseas externalities are likely to increase. At the same time liberalization of trade creates opportunities to increase physical water savings.
Water Footprint of nations
This is a first milestone in estimating the water footprint of nations. Following this report, hundreds of reports on water footprint of individual countries, group of countries, or a region are published. The water footprint of a nation is an indicator of water use in relation to the consumption volume and pattern of the people. As an aggregated indicator it shows the total water requirement of a nation.
Globalisation of water resources
I've co-authored the book "Globalization of Water: Sharing the Planet's Freshwater Resources [A.Y. Hoekstra, A.K. Chapagain, Blackwell, Oxford, 2008]" The book critically examines the relationship between globalization and sustainable water management. It explores the impact of international trade on local water depletion and pollution, explores the water footprints of nations, and identifies “water dependent” regions.