Water Footprint and Virtual Water Trade of Brazil

Vicente Da Silva,José De Brito,Danilo Aleixo,Lincoln De Araújo,Romildo De Holanda,Márcio De Souza,José Dantas Neto,Sonaly De Oliveira,Arjen Hoekstra,João Campos,Célia Braga

doi:10.3390/w8110517

Abstract

Freshwater scarcity has increased at an alarming rate worldwide; improved water management plays a vital role in increasing food production and security. This study aims to determine the water footprint of Brazil’s national food consumption, the virtual water flows associated with international trade in the main agricultural commodities, as well as water scarcity, water self-sufficiency and water dependency per Brazilian region. While previous country studies on water footprints and virtual water trade focused on virtual water importers or water-scarce countries, this is the first study to concentrate on a water-abundant virtual water-exporting country. Besides, it is the first study establishing international virtual water trade balances per state, which is relevant given the fact that water scarcity varies across states within the country, so the origin of virtual water exports matters. The results show that the average water footprint of Brazilian food consumption is 1619 m3/person/year. Beef contributes most (21%) to this total. We find a net virtual water export of 54.8 billion m3/year, mainly to Europe, which imports 41% of the gross amount of the virtual water exported from Brazil. The northeast, the region with the highest water scarcity, has a net import of virtual water. The southeast, next in terms of water scarcity, shows large virtual water exports, mainly related to the export of sugar. The north, which has the most water, does not show a high virtual water export rate.

Highlights

As a consequence of continued economic growth and population expansion, freshwater demands are increasing worldwide, with local water shortages occurring more frequently than ever before.Nearly one billion people in the developing world do not have access to clean and safe drinking water
Europe is the largest importer of virtual water in agricultural commodities from Brazil, with a gross export of 27.7 billion m3 /year, which corresponds to 41% of the total amount of gross virtual water export
We find that beef gives the largest contribution (21%) to the total water footprint of the national consumption of agricultural commodities in Brazil

Summary

Introduction

As a consequence of continued economic growth and population expansion, freshwater demands are increasing worldwide, with local water shortages occurring more frequently than ever before.Nearly one billion people in the developing world do not have access to clean and safe drinking water. As a consequence of continued economic growth and population expansion, freshwater demands are increasing worldwide, with local water shortages occurring more frequently than ever before. Many regions in the world are facing serious water scarcity [1], mainly due to the consumption of water for agricultural production [2]. Porkka et al [3] report that in Central Asia, over 80% of the population suffer from water stress and approximately 50% suffer from water shortage. Water 2016, 8, 517 demand and appropriation continue to increase while the available resources are comparatively fixed. Nõges et al [4] note that multiple stresses on surface and groundwater resources from natural and man-made disturbances have become the rule rather than the exception

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