Abstract
This paper deals with the construction, decomposition and comparison of water footprint time series in 40 countries and one aggregate macro-region, in the period 1995-2009. The analysis of the different “footpaths” allows us to investigate on the possible causes behind the time evolution of water footprints in the various countries. We notice that the physical and economic impact of economic growth on water resources has been significantly lower than what it could have been, for several reasons. First, both production and consumption patterns are shifting away from water intensive goods. Second, a large part of consumed water is actually not blue water, susceptible of alternative uses. Finally, we do not find strong evidence of gains in the economic productivity of water (dollars per water unit) in many countries, but we do find evidence of indirect efficiency gains, related to the composition of factors in the production processes.
Highlights
The water footprint and related concepts, like the ecological footprint (Costanza [1]) or the carbon footprint (Weber and Matthews [2]), are aimed at gauging the impact of economic activities on natural resources
The water footprint is increasingly being used as an indicator of the human pressure on water resources (Hoekstra and Mekonnen [3]), and efforts are under way to set standard rules for its process of construction (Hoekstra et al [4])
It is difficult to devise a clear trend, except for the BRIC countries of Brazil, India, China and Russia, with the addition of Indonesia, where economic growth was strongest and where water footprints are characterized by a steady increase over time
Summary
The water footprint and related concepts, like the ecological footprint (Costanza [1]) or the carbon footprint (Weber and Matthews [2]), are aimed at gauging the impact of economic activities on natural resources. We compute production and consumption footprints, which are those related to production activities (using water resources in the country where production is carried out) and to consumption levels (requiring water from different regions through imported commodities). The analysis and comparison of the different footpaths, which is presented in the fourth section of this paper, allows us to speculate about the causes behind the time evolution of water footprints in the various countries. This analysis provides some general insights, which are useful for a better understanding of how the pressure on water resources may change in the future. A concluding section summarizes and lays out some final comments
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