An attempt to develop a policy framework for the global sustainability of freshwater resources in the virtual water trade

Abstract

International trade in agricultural products transfers significant virtual water flow between countries. However, it must be clarified whether countries or trade agreements take virtual water in products and goods that are traded into account. Despite unprecedented worldwide attention paid to water status, there is currently no framework for virtual water usage that may serve as the basis for global virtual water administration. The primary objective of this study is to address this research gap. This study attempted to develop an international policy framework in which political actors, governments, and private companies create shared responsibility agreements regarding water as the most fundamental natural resource for sustainable use. In this study, we performed a global assessment of the virtual water trade (VWT) of wheat from 2002 to 2021. Although previous research has hypothesized that will use the world's freshwater resources sustainably by transferring virtual water from water-abundant to water-deficient countries, However, based on the developed policy framework, we discovered that there is no positive correlation between the water abundance of virtual water exporting countries and the global sustainability of freshwater resources. A total of 68.3 % of the global VWT for wheat is unsustainable. Water-abundant countries, such as the United States, Australia, and the Russian Federation, are responsible for the greatest unsustainability in the VWT of wheat. Our results could contribute to developing decision-making tools for the global sustainability of freshwater resources used in VWT.