Virtual Water Export Research Articles

A Study of Virtual Water Trade among G20 Countries from a Value-Added Trade Perspective

Abstract: From a value-added trade perspective, this study utilizes the world input–output tables and the water footprint data of each industry in each country in the Eora database to explore the virtual water resources of 19 countries (the G20 countries excluding the European Union) in 2016. We calculated nine value chain decompositions and the pattern of virtual water flows and then explored the implied virtual water use due to the trade of intermediate goods and final goods, and we also analyzed the unequal trade of virtual water and added value among countries. The results indicate the following. Firstly, in most countries, the largest portion of virtual water is attributed to exports of intermediate inputs that are produced in the source country and fully utilized by the direct import countries, followed by the foreign value-added component of intermediate goods, while the smallest share of virtual water is returned to the country. Secondly, in value-added trade, excluding the rest of the world (ROW), China, France, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, and Germany are net importers in the virtual water trade between G20 countries, and the USA is the largest net exporter of virtual water. Thirdly, intermediate product trade is the dominant form of implied virtual water trade among countries, which leads to a net flow ratio of implied virtual water of about 80% to 90%. Lastly, the Virtual Water Inequality Index shows that thirteen country combinations, including Brazil and Argentina, exhibit significant inequality, and most countries are in a relatively equal state. In addition, the virtual water and added value of the relatively economically developed regions benefit more from the virtual water trade. Therefore, it is crucial for countries to reduce their consumption of virtual water when trading intermediate products to develop high-value-added and low-water-consumption industries and to choose appropriate virtual water trade targets.

Assessment of Agricultural Virtual Water Export of Türkiye

As the negative effects of climate change are amplified, the agriculture sector is becoming more fragile. Food security is under risk because agriculture is highly dependent on climatic conditions and availability of water resources all over the world. For this reason, the concepts of virtual water and water footprint have begun to gain importance as decision-support tools for the effective and efficient use of water. However, there is a gap in the literature, where few studies focus on virtual water trade. Given the increasing stress caused by reasons such as the scarcity of water resources and climate change, this concept is likely to gain serious attention in the coming years. Türkiye is a water-stressed country whose water resources are decreasing due to the impact of climate change. More effective water management is needed to meet the increasing demand. In this study, virtual water was determined for Türkiye's agricultural export, and it was observed that crops with high water footprint but low economic returns were also exported in large amounts. It was revealed that the virtual amount of water exported by the evaluated crops was 5.9 billion m3 annually. This value is high enough to meet the domestic water needs of a metropolitan city like Istanbul for seven years. It is evident that water footprint and virtual water concepts would help decision makers to support optimized water consumption and sustainable water management.

Spatial correlations and risk transmission of virtual water flow at city scale: A case study of the Yellow River Basin

By introducing virtual water (VW) flow correlation coefficients and risk indicators, this study examines the VW transmission relationship between urban agglomerations and cities in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) and its impact on regional water resources pressure. The results show that: except for the Shandong Peninsula Urban Agglomeration (SPUA) and Central Plains Urban Agglomeration (CPUA), the other urban agglomerations primarily act as VW exporting regions, while virtual water-importing cities are concentrated in the eastern regions. Notably, the Ningxia Urban Agglomeration (NUA) demonstrates significantly higher values in VW impact and sensitivity coefficients than the remaining six urban agglomerations. First-tier cities generally display lower virtual water impact and sensitivity coefficients, whereas emerging cities exhibit the opposite trend. Additionally, we observe uneven risk variations between VW importing and exporting regions. Taking NUA as an example, the risk increase resulting from VW exports significantly exceeds the risk reduction associated with VW imports in the corresponding regions. It's important to highlight that first-tier cities consistently decrease water resource risk through VW imports in both study years. However, among second and third-tier cities, only 38.9% experience reduced water resource risk through VW imports. Therefore, we recommend a focused examination of VW imports and exports in western region urban agglomerations, cities, and second and third-tier cities within the watershed. Leveraging virtual water's asymmetric and high-value transfer can alleviate water resource pressure and scarcity risks in high-pressure regions by shifting them to lower-pressure regions, thus mitigating water resource stress across regions.

Crop Water Use and a Gravity Model Exploration of Virtual Water Trade in Ghana’s Cereal Agriculture

Agricultural water productivity is crucial for sustainability amidst the escalating demand for food. Cereals are pivotal in providing nutritious food at affordable prices. This study was based on Ghanaian data spanning from 1992 to 2021 to evaluate water usage in the cultivation of major cereals. It also examined the virtual water losses or gains in cereal trade alongside influencing factors. The analysis utilized secondary data encompassing the virtual water content, production quantity, export and import quantities, distance, GDP per capita, population, and land per capita of Ghana and its 75 trade partners. In the last 5 years, crop water use (CWU) reached an average of 7.08 billion m3/yr for maize, 3.48 billion m3/yr for rice, 1.08 billion m3/yr for sorghum, and 0.63 billion m3/yr for millet production. Ghana’s major partners for exported virtual water (EVW) were Niger, Burkina Faso, South Africa, and Togo. Major partners for imported virtual water (IVW) were Argentina, South Africa, Ukraine, Togo, Russia, Burkina Faso, Canada, Senegal, Nigeria, Portugal, UK, Niger, and the USA. The Panel Least Squares Method of regression was used to apply the Gravity Model principle in assessing influencing factors. The findings indicate that Ghana is a net importer of virtual water in the cereal trade, with significant influences from geographical distance, GDP per capita, population, land per capita, and cereal water use.

Modelling the impacts of future droughts and post-droughts on hydrology, crop yields, and their linkages through assessing virtual water trade in agricultural watersheds of high-latitude regions

This study elaborates on the effects of future drought and post-drought conditions on the reliability of global breadbaskets. The study simulates agro-hydrological processes in the Nelson River Basin, a large agricultural watershed in western Canada that supplies food for over 170 countries globally. In temperate zones of higher latitudes, future climate change scenarios suggest that global breadbaskets will likely experience increased precipitation and higher crop yields (Y). This could be perceived as an increased export potential of food from these regions. However, projected drought events in the future can affect agro-hydrological processes, Y, and, therefore, export potentials during and following the drought events. Using a process-based agro-hydrologic model, this research examines the potential impacts of future agricultural droughts and post-drought conditions on hydrological water yield (WYLD), Y, and their linkages through assessing the net virtual water export (NVWE), the water embodied in the production of crops that are destined for export. The results indicate that long-term average Y, NVWE, and WYLD are expected to improve in the future. However, droughts will become more extreme in the future, leading to considerable reductions in Y, NVWE, and WYLD. During the post-drought period, the recovery time for WYLD is considerably longer than Y and NVWE across regions. The slow recovery of WYLD, following an agricultural drought, is related to crop water uptake, which can be controlled by optimization of the cropping pattern. The continuous loss of WYLD during and after prolonged and more frequent droughts in the future can significantly affect not only the environment and several economic sectors but also the irrigated crop production and export potential from these regions. This finding highlights the connections between local hydrology and global trade systems in agricultural watersheds of higher-latitude regions. Future adaptation measures, such as changes in cropping patterns, can preserve WYLD during and after droughts, supporting water and food security.

Wastewater and Grey Water Footprint Assessment of the Olive Oil Production Process in Northwest Argentina

Argentina stands as the leading producer and exporter of olive products in the Americas, with the province of La Rioja as its main productive area. Since the 1990s, the olive grove cultivated area and related agro-industry in La Rioja have expanded. However, the resulting wastewater has generally been neglected. The water footprint (WF) provides information about the water volume consumed and polluted by a production process. Since the 1990s, agricultural and agro-industrial activities in La Rioja have experienced substantial growth. This study aims to analyze the generation, quality, and management of Oil Mill Wastewater (OMWW) using the grey WF of chloride and nitrate as an indicator and focusing on two olive mills (OM) in La Rioja. Additionally, it seeks to examine the relationship between the international trade of provincial olive oil and the estimated grey WF. For the diagnosis of OMWW generation, a description of the production process was made coupled with flow and physico-chemical characterization. The total grey WF was 8.69 and 45.5 L water/L olive oil for OM 1 and OM 2, respectively. Nitrate was identified as the critical pollutant. The grey virtual water export related to the export of olive oil was 5569 m3 for OM 1 and 28,000 m3 for OM 2. The provincial grey virtual water export related to olive oil was 161,955 m3 with major trade destinations including Spain, the United States, and Brazil. The article analyses for the first time the grey WF of olive oil industries and assess the related grey virtual water exports. This research represents a step forward in the knowledge of wastewater management in the olive oil sector and facilitates the search for solutions to minimize negative environmental impacts while promoting cleaner production.

Distortions in China's agricultural virtual water trade: A perspective on value chain decomposition

Due to the exacerbation of climate change, agricultural water security has risen to a prominent position on the global agenda. However, virtual water trade isn't always beneficial for enhancing water resource sustainability; instead, it often leads to serious trade distortion problems due to unreasonable industrial and trade structures. This study employs pathway decomposition method to highlight the path characteristics of such distortions, revealing how virtual water trade distortions occur, why there are regional differences, and what insights can be gained for policy formulation. The study focuses on the agricultural sectors of seven key provinces in China. Findings indicate that virtual water in these provinces' agricultural sectors is predominantly exported through inter-regional and inter-sectoral intermediate goods trade. Furthermore, in regions where virtual water trade distortion is more severe, this characteristic becomes more apparent, leading to significant exports of virtual water. However, the trade chains for importing virtual water are usually short and direct, resulting in a relatively low volume of virtual water imports. These characteristics are closely related to the value chain participation mode. The policy implication is: while "value chain upgrading" has become a trendy term, merely improving trade conditions without enhancing the processing of agricultural products for export, or simply increasing imports of low-end intermediate inputs without upgrading the agricultural input structure for imports, offers no assistance in alleviating virtual water trade distortions. Based on these findings, we propose several differentiated strategies to mitigate virtual water trade distortions.

Diversities and sustainability of dietary water footprint and virtual water flows in China

Increasing dietary diversity while avoiding additional stress on water resources remains a critical challenge for sustainability. However, the precise understanding of the physical water consumption and virtual water flows associated with diversified diets remains unclear. This study estimated the dietary water footprints (WFs), interprovincial virtual water flows, followed by assessing the unsustainable blue WF and water scarcity footprint (WSF) in China over 2015–2019. Rural and urban food intake, waste, and differences between eating at home and out were considered. The findings reveal that China’s dietary patterns have gradually strayed from recommended guidelines, with an overconsumption of cereals and inadequate intake of dairy products and potatoes. Despite a decrease, both unsustainable blue WF and WSF remained significant, measuring 249.61 Gm3 and 807.77 Gm3 H2O-eq, respectively, in 2019. Notably, water-scarce regions still accounted for a substantial portion of unsustainable virtual blue water exports. The diet related virtual water reallocation can offset the water savings on the crop production side.

Physical and virtual water transfers in China and their implication for water planetary boundary.

China is an extremely water-scarce country with an uneven distribution of regional water resources. We define two absolute sustainability indicators, using the multi-regional input‒output (MRIO) model to outline the contribution of China's physical and virtual water transfers in mitigating the problem of regional water boundary-exceeding. Although the overall use of freshwater resources is within the safe operation space, 55% of province's water resource development transgresses the local water planetary boundary. Physical and virtual water transfers effectively mitigate the stress of water supply to the water planetary boundary in China's water-scarce regions. Among them, the role of virtual water transfers occupies the main part. The cost of using physical water in water-receiving regions and the situation of virtual water flowing from water-scarce regions to developed water-rich regions cannot be ignored, and a small number of provinces are responsible for most of the virtual water net imports and exports. The obtained results are helpful for the redistribution of water planetary boundary transgressing responsibilities among provinces and the formulation of absolute sustainable water resources management policies.

Modeling the water security in a watershed using the water footprint concept and water scarcity indicators

Abstract Water scarcity has received global attention in the last decade as it challenges food security in arid and semi-arid regions. This study employs water scarcity indices to assess water resources in the agricultural sector of Iran's Jazmourian watershed. Overall, we find that the watershed is experiencing a “very high stress” water situation. This is primarily due to intensive water usage for diverse crops, which has resulted in a negative net virtual water balance and contributed to a rise in water stress and poverty levels. The water stress index is 0.88, and the agricultural water stress is 1.25. The agricultural water footprint is 2,018.53 million cubic meters (MCM), with the share of blue, green and gray water footprints being 80.21, 6.08, and 13.72%, respectively. The region possesses 3,210 MCM of available water for crops, with 17.1% sourced from green waters and 82.9% from blue waters. Despite low annual rainfall and limited water resources, the region excessively exploits water for diverse crops. The net virtual water balance is negative, indicating high virtual water export (1,112–1,605 MCM) compared to imports (58–265 MCM). With declining water availability and increasing crop production, the region experiences rising water stress. The spatial analysis of sub-watersheds reveals diverse patterns of water stress and poverty, as detailed in the study.

Ecological impact assessment of green virtual water flow in inter-provincial crop commutation within China

Green water is crucial for to regional ecological sustainability. Currently, there is a lack of research on the impact of crop green water communication on the regional ecology in China. The ecological impact index (EII) and integrated ecological water supply (IES) were proposed to comprehensively evaluate the regional ecological impact of the green virtual water flow (GVWF) of crops. Based on the principle of trade cost minimization, this study simulated the inter-provincial crop commutation within China during 2010–2019 by assigning weights to production, demand, and transportation costs, and analyzed the impact of crop communication on regional ecology. The results showed that multi-year average GVWF among provinces was 216.45 Gm3, accounting for 33.7 % of the total green water footprint of crops. The ecological impact of GVWF varies among provinces and years. The EII values in Beijing, Shanghai, and Jiangsu were all >100, whereas it was <1 in Yunnan and Xizang. Regional management policies for water resources, ecology, and economic development should be formulated taking into account the IES and EII jointly. It is recommended to increase the export of green virtual water of crops and expand the ecological area while ensuring the utilization rate of green water in regions with higher EII values, such as Guangxi and Yunnan. In the future, it is important for district managers to prioritize the quality of ecological development and protect ecological areas from erosion while pursuing urban development. This study innovatively evaluated the ecological impact of crop communication in different regions, which has guiding significance for the trade management in the ecologically water-deficient areas.

A Study of Initial Water Rights Allocation Coupled with Physical and Virtual Water Resources

Virtual water exerts an indispensable influence on water resources, yet the existing studies on the water rights allocation of transboundary rivers hardly consider virtual water transfer (VWT). Therefore, in this paper, we used Taihu Lake as an example with data collected in 2017 that described both physical and virtual water use. We used these data to evaluate water rights allocation schemes by coupling virtual and physical water use. In order to achieve this goal, we first determined the physical water rights allocated for the four regions connected to the Basin. Next, we employed the multi-regional input–output (MRIO) approach to calculate the VWT among the four regions; then, we converted the VWT to the riparian level via the water efficiency coefficient. Finally, with virtual water included in the physical water rights allocation, we formulated a final water rights allocation for Taihu Lake. The results showed the following findings: (1) The ranking of the amount of physical water rights allocation is: Jiangsu &gt; Zhejiang &gt; Shanghai &gt; Anhui. (2) Anhui and Jiangsu produce a net export of virtual water (2.259 billion m3 and 1.78 billion m3, respectively), while Zhejiang and Shanghai have a net import of virtual water (2.344 billion m3 and 1.695 billion m3, respectively), indicating that Anhui houses more water-consuming industries and is in greater need of economic restructuring. (3) The integration of virtual water makes a difference: Jiangsu achieved 16.208 billion m3 in terms of the amount of water rights allocated, Zhejiang achieved 6.606 billion m3, Shanghai achieved 3.040 billion m3, and Anhui achieved 4.319 billion m3, with a ranking of Jiangsu &gt; Zhejiang &gt; Anhui &gt; Shanghai. The results detailed above prove that virtual water exerts an indispensable influence, and integrating virtual water can make the physical water rights allocation of transboundary rivers more equal and reasonable.

Maximizing Water Use Efficiency in Rice Farming: A Comprehensive Review of Innovative Irrigation Management Technologies

Rice is a water-guzzling crop cultivated mostly through inefficient irrigation methods which leads to low water use efficiency and many environmental problems. Additionally, the export of virtual water through rice trading and the looming water crisis poses significant threats to the sustainability of rice production and food security. There are several alternative rice production methods to improve water use efficiency. These include aerobic rice, direct-seeded rice (DSR), alternate wetting and drying (AWD), saturated soil culture (SSC), drip-irrigated rice, a system of rice intensification (SRI), and smart irrigation with sensors and the Internet of Things (IoT). However, each method has its own advantages and disadvantages. For example, drip-irrigated rice and IoT-based automated irrigation are not feasible for poor farmers due to the high production costs associated with specialized machinery and tools. Similarly, aerobic rice, drip-irrigated rice, and the SRI are labor-intensive, making them unsuitable for areas with a shortage of labor. On the other hand, DSR is suitable for labor-scarce areas, provided herbicides are used to control weeds. In this article, the suitability of different water-saving rice production methods is reviewed based on factors such as climate, soil type, labor, energy, and greenhouse gas emissions, and their prospects and challenges are evaluated. Additionally, the article examines how cultural practices, such as seed treatment, weed control, and nutrition management, contribute to enhancing water use efficiency in rice production.

Assessment of Virtual Water Flows in Morocco’s Foreign Trade of Crop Products

As a semi-arid/arid country located in the northwest of Africa, Morocco is facing serious water scarcity driven by the dual stresses of decreasing availability of water resources and increasing water demands. Virtual water trade could be an effective tool to alleviate water scarcity. The paper presents an analysis of the relationships between agrarian productions, foreign trade, and the water sector in Morocco by deriving a comprehensive estimate of virtual water export and import in Morocco’s foreign trade of 40 crop products during the period from 2000 to 2017. Our objectives include determining the intensity of water consumption of exported and imported crop products and quantifying the water consumed and saved, respectively, by locally producing and importing these products. To this end, FAO’s Penman-Monteith climate model was used to estimate crop water requirements based on data on meteorological factors. The results show that Morocco was a net virtual water importer during the study period. The deficit was 595.74 Gm3. The tendency of total virtual water export was on a rising trend, while the total virtual water import was on a downward trend. The main exported virtual water was from vegetables (68.87 Gm3, 72.47%) and the main imported virtual water was from cereals (679.68 Gm3, 98.4%). Regarding crop product’s water intensity, we found that the exported crop products were excessively concentrated on water-intensive products such as mandarins and clementines, figs, oranges, apricots, plums, citrus fruits, olives, tomatoes, asparagus, peas, and artichokes. On the other hand, the agricultural policy of 2009–2020 increased the production of water-intensive products. This finding seems to be going against the virtual water trade theory, which states that water-poor countries should import water-intensive products and produce local products with lower water requirements.

Research on the association of China-US virtual water trade based on hypothesis extraction method.

Based on the EORA input-output tables from 2006 to 2016, this paper divided 189 countries in the world into three economies (China, the USA, and other countries) and used the hypothetical extraction method to calculate the virtual water trade volume of the three economies in the Sino-US bilateral trade. Combining with the analysis of the global value chain, the following conclusions were drawn: (1) the virtual water trade volume exported by China and the USA showed an overall increasing trend. The virtual water trade volume exported by the USA was far less than that of China, but more virtual water was transferred through trade. (2) Compared with intermediate products, China's virtual water exports of final products were larger, but the USA was the opposite. (3) Among the three major industrial sectors, the secondary sector was the largest virtual water export sector in China, but it was the primary sector in the USA that had the largest volume of. (4) Bilateral trade had brought environmental disadvantages to China, but this situation was gradually improving.

Determining the impact of virtual water scarcity risk on the global food crisis 2022 as a result of hostilities

The object of this study is the process that forms conceptual foundations for managing the impact of virtual water deficiency risks on the global food crisis. The main idea of the study focuses on determining the consequences of the global food crisis in the world under the influence of a significant reduction in virtual water exports from Ukraine to agri-food markets. It is determined that most likely, in the context of the replacement of Ukrainian exports of grain and agricultural products as a result of Russian aggression in Ukraine, the countries of the world will resort to new ways of obtaining effective imports of virtual water from other countries. The study proved that rapid structural changes in the economies of the countries of the world and the reorientation of their national economies towards the development of the agricultural sector under modern conditions of global uncertainty would inevitably lead to certain consequences. Namely, either to the fall in the growth rate of national economies, or to the state of the "bifurcation explosion" with the subsequent dispersion of possible states of development. The proposed scientific and methodological approach to assessing the sustainability of the systemic development of the territory over time for water-intensive regions makes it possible to take calculated decisions at the national level regarding the scale and prospects for the development of economic activities in the state. The described theoretical and methodological foundations of the interdependence of water and food security and the developed fundamental provisions of the economies of countries under the conditions of the global food crisis and the risk of a shortage of virtual water will create the following opportunities. Specifically, they enable state authorities to assess the depth of the specified crisis in the world and its consequences for all countries in 2022–2023. Such an understanding creates the conditions for making effective decisions on the volume of import of virtual water in a particular country

Effects of multidimensional urbanisation on water footprint self-sufficiency of staple crops in China

Rapid urbanisation in developing countries has exerted ever-increasing pressure on food and water resource systems. Existing studies mostly focus on impacts of population urbanisation on agricultural water use, disregarding the multidimensional characteristics of urbanisation. Accounting for four dimensions of urbanisation: population, economy, spatial distribution, and society, we assessed the impact of multidimensional urbanisation on the water footprint self-sufficiency rate (WFSS) of three staple crops, that is, the ratio of the water footprint (WF) of crop production to the WF of crop-related consumption, through the case for China over 2000–2017. The socio-economic driving factors and spatial heterogeneity of crop WFSS were further tested. Results show that <30% of high-crop WFSS provinces supplied more than 70% of low-crop WFSS provinces. Social urbanisation and economic urbanisation were the governing positive and negative driving factors of the rice WFSS, respectively. Population urbanisation was the dominant factor attenuating wheat WFSS during the study period, while playing a reverse role in maize WFSS. Impacts of different dimensions of urbanisation on crop WFSS were heterogeneous and even contradictory depending on the crop type, the different processes of urbanisation, and the water endowment and economic level of the provinces. The quantile regression results further indicate that population urbanisation, spatial urbanisation and social urbanisation had greater impact on the higher WFSS (i.e., resulted in virtual water export) of rice and wheat. The current analysis challenges the conventionally monotonous urbanisation-water relationships, and suggests that additional dimensions of urbanisation should be considered when assessing the effects of urbanisation on agricultural water use.

India-China Agricultural Trade Based on Virtual Water: A Heckscher- Ohlin Approach

Aim: This paper provides the economics of Virtual Water (VW) exporting to other countries through major agricultural commodities from India. Virtual Water is interconnected with food sustainability and it is the amount of hidden water transferred to other countries through trade. India produces and exports high water-consuming products but contains only 2.56 per cent of total water available in our world. By analysing VW, the total VW export from and import to India and the comparative advantage in producing the commodity in India can be obtained.&#x0D; Methodology: VW for major crops is estimated by dividing the total water required or applied for the specified crop by the total yield of the crop. In this paper, we computed the virtual water trade for the major crops in India and analysed the comparative advantage for India in producing the crop. The data required for the analysis are collected from various secondary sources like the Directorate of Economics and Statistics (DES, GoI), Indian Agricultural Statistical Research Institute (IASRI), EXIM Bank, and FAO Aqua Stat.&#x0D; Results: In the years 2018-19 and 2017-18, India exported 34515 MCM and 41080 MCM of VW through rice followed by 420 MCM and 622 MCM of VW through Wheat, 276 MCM and 184 MCM of VW through Maize. When comparing the production of rice and groundnut in China and India in water requirement aspect, India has the comparative advantage in the production of groundnut and china has the comparative advantage in the production of rice and also shows the same in the yield aspect.&#x0D; Conclusion: With the growing water scarcity in India, we should shift the focus from the high-water requirement crop to the lower crop. In the end, we sort out the water scarcity problem and can attain sustainability.

Revisiting the Concept of 'Virtual Water' in Light of the Impact of the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on Egypt's Water Interests

Revisiting the Concept of 'Virtual Water' in Light of the Impact of the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on Egypt's Water Interests Marwa Mamdouh-Salem (bio) Introduction Virtual water is one of the few concepts that serious disagreements have not been raised on its definition. Simply, it is the amount of water that is embedded in food or other products needed for its production. It also refers to the hidden flow of water if food or other commodities are traded from one place to another.1 Virtual water allows some countries to support other countries in their water needs. Instead of producing these goods themselves, the importing country can utilize this water for other purposes that else would have been necessary for its production. So, a water scarce country can import products that require a lot of water for their production rather than producing them domestically. By doing so, real water savings can be attained relieving the pressure on the water resources worldwide. Accordingly, several countries – such as Jordan, Israel, and the Gulf States – have consciously formulated policies to enable water saving by [End Page 12] reducing export of water-intensive products, notably crops. It is important to mention that the virtual water content of a product may inform about the environmental impact of consuming this product. By knowing the virtual water content of products, an awareness of the amount of water needed to produce a specific commodity is created. This informs us of the impact that some goods have on the water system. Moreover, the water volume results from the country's import of virtual water should be added to the total water use of the country, thus getting a picture of a nation's real call on the global water resources. Similarly, virtual water export should be subtracted from the volume of the country's water use. The sum of national water use and net virtual water import is known by the 'water footprint' of a country. This 'water footprint' can be a strong tool to show people their impact on the natural resources. The awareness of one's 'individual water footprint' aims to stimulate a more careful use of water. It may also be included in agricultural and industrial production plans and leads to more environment friendly trade policies.2 Ever since Tony Allan introduced an updated version of the concept 'embedded water' in the mid-1990s,3 virtual water trade has been subject to strong academic and scientific debate. This debate produced two main trends: The first trend – which is adopted by the majority – views virtual water as a fact of life exercised by the people since ancient times. The Old Testament tells us about the prophecy of Joseph on how "the seven years of plenty which were in the land of Egypt ended, and the seven years of famine began to come."4 Egyptians stored big quantities of food crops that they cultivated during the time of water abundance to compensate for the food shortage that will happen because of the seven years of drought. This is simply a 'water storing technique' based on the concept of virtual water. In this context, the logic of virtual water is: if the country does not have enough water to cultivate the needed food crops, then it can "import water." This can be done through the importing of crops and other food products from other countries that have water abundance.5 Therefore, this trend endorses the view that since virtual water is a reality, it is necessary to acknowledge [End Page 13] its existence and to start incorporating it – in a scientific way – into the state's national agricultural, economic, and trade strategies. The second trend is an attempt to think outside the virtual water's box as it tends to consider the political, economic, and social factors related to the cultivation of crops. Among the significant works that demonstrate this vision is Jessica Barnes who believes that water is not only limited to agricultural production; rather it should be seen as a more comprehensive process that involves people's lives. Rural environment is characterized by unique social and economic traditions and customs that control the peasants' lifestyle...

Water footprint of nations amplified by scarcity in the Belt and Road Initiative

The growing water scarcity due to international trade poses a serious threat to global sustainability. Given the intensified international trade throughout the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), this paper tracks the virtual water trade and water footprint of BRI countries in 2005–2015. By conducting a multi-model assessment, we observe a substantial increase in BRI's water footprint after taking water scarcity into account. Globally the BRI acts as a net exporter of virtual water, while the export volume experiences a decreasing trend. Noticeable transitions in nations' role (net exporters vs. net importers) are found between the BRI and global scales, but also between with and without considering water scarcity. Overall economic and population growth is major drivers of scarcity-weighted water footprint for BRI nations, as opposed to the promotion of water-use efficiency and production structure that can reduce water scarcity. Improving international trade and strengthening cooperation on water resources management deserve priority in alleviating the water scarcity of BRI.