Virtual water trade - a realistic concept for resolving the water crisis? (original) (raw)
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Assessment and policy design for sustainability in primary resources like arable land and water need to adopt long-term perspective; even small but persistent effects like net export of water may influence sustainability through irreversible losses. With growing consumption, this virtual water trade has become an important element in the water sustainability of a nation. We estimate and contrast the virtual (embedded) water trades of two populous nations, India and China, to present certain quantitative measures and time scales. Estimates show that export of embedded water alone can lead to loss of water sustainability. With the current rate of net export of water (embedded) in the end products, India is poised to lose its entire available water in less than 1000 years; much shorter time scales are implied in terms of water for production. The two cases contrast and exemplify sustainable and non-sustainable virtual water trade in long term perspective. W ater availability, quality, management and distribution have emerged as critical issues at regional scales for populous countries like China and India 1. Several studies have highlighted the challenges faced by both China and India in meeting their water demands 2-5. In general, water sustainability has emerged as a major global concern 6-8 , with uncertainties and added vulnerability due to climate change 9,10. An emerging issue of growing importance and debate in the context of water and food sustainability is the virtual water trade 11,12. Virtual trade of water has become an important component of global fresh water demand and supply 13 and has resulted in globalization of water resource 14-17. It has also become a medium of the global fresh water sharing 15-18. It needs to be further emphasized that the demands of virtual trade of water also need to take into account the trade requirement of food, and hence the potential production 19-21. The role of virtual water in the overall resource management has been recognized early 21-23. Several studies have emphasized the role of virtual water trade in globalization of water resource and in the overall food requirement. Several studies have emphasized the emerging but critical roles of network of virtual water trade in water management 21-23 and regional water systems 22. While virtual water can provide a more integrated approach to water management 23 , it can also affect regional food sustainability 24 and other processes 25. Importance and impacts of virtual water trade on food and water sustainability have been discussed at the global 26,27 as well as regional scale 28-30. An index for water scarcity based on virtual water has been also proposed 25 , highlighting the importance of water use efficiency; however, such an index is focused on usage and influence of virtual water and not on implications for water sustainability due to trade of virtual (embedded) water. Analysis of virtual water profiles at global and regional scales using inputoutput model for 112 nation-level regions revealed India, USA, and China as the world's leading virtual water consumers 16,17. In terms of agriculture and food, virtual water can be defined both in terms of water required for the production, and as water content embedded in the end products 24,27. In production perspective, the volume of water used to produce an agricultural product is considered; this volume of water depends on the agricultural practices, water use efficiency, place and time of production 31,32. Water footprint of a crop also strongly depends on local climate conditions; for example, water required for producing 1 kg of a crop in an arid region is two or three times more than that in a humid region 31,32. Thus assessment of water sustainability in terms of agricultural production needs to adopt a regional perspective. The issue of virtual water is a particularly important concept for water scarce countries 19-28 with large demands. India and China are the two most populous countries with limited arable land 33 and fresh water resources. Similarly, fresh water resources of India and China are, respectively, 3.83 percent and 6 percent of the world's fresh water resources 34. A large fraction of the total annual rainfall is