Assessment of water footprint under wheat cultivation in Uttar Pradesh

Abstract

With the advent of the industrial revolution and population growth in the 19th century, the criticality level of water resources had intensified manifold. Additionally, the growing concentration of pollutants has severe implicationsfor human health. The demand for water has risen commendably in agricultural, industrial and domestic use, while usage of commodities and goods, which also use water in either the processing or finished stage, has increased multifold. Similar to the carbon footprint, water also has its footprint possibly in each commodity or good that exists on the surface of the earth. Although earlier research has proposed the water footprint (WFP) assessment approach whereas their practical applicability was tested on few commodities, especially in developed countries, thus came about the present study of propensity micro-level (district-level) WFP assessment of wheat cultivation in Uttar Pradesh. The results show that blue WFP contributes a large fraction in wheat cultivation due to winter crop with the prevailing irrigation practices followed by grey and green WFPs. Subsequently, a balanced approach among WFP components has been recommended to ensure sustainability and efficiency in wheat cultivation.