Background materials can be freely downloaded from. Water footprint matters and china appears to have recognised this and is looking to reduce its virtual water dependency. Nov 05, 2014 the internal water footprint is the water use within the country in so far it is used to produce goods and services consumed by the national population. Footprint definition of footprint by merriamwebster. In the banana industry, water management practices have significantly reduced its water footprint, defined as the measure of the consumption and contamination of freshwater resources for the production of a good or service 3. International virtual water flows are estimated based on trade in. These goods and services may be needed around the entire world. In this lesson, students check their direct water use from faucets, baths, etc. International virtual water flows are estimated based on. Water footprint of the banana industry world banana forum. The water footprint concept was introduced in 2002 by a. The water footprint of a product is defined as the total volume of.
First, new standards are now provided to address ecological footprint assessments for products and organizations sections iii and iv. A water footprint is an indicator that looks at both the direct and indirect water use of an individual, business, community, city or country direct water use refers to the water we see coming out of the tap. The water footprint of wood for lumber, pulp, paper, fuel and firewood. Water footprinting water footprinting concept was developed by prof. Glossary virtual water content the virtual water content of a product a commodity, good or service is the volume of freshwater used to produce the product, measured at the place where the product was actually produced productionsite definition. A blue water footprint is the volume of water that has been sourced from surface or groundwater resources lakes, rivers, wetlands and aquifers and has either evaporated for example while irrigating crops, or been incorporated into a product or taken from one body of water and returned to another, or returned at a different time. Water footprints are estimated per nation from both a production and consumption perspective. An introduction to water footprinting linkedin slideshare. Water is a precious resource that must be conserved globally by all sectors of the economy, including agriculture and thus livestock farming. Hoekstra from the unescoihe institute for water education, now at wwfuk.
A water footprint is the amount of fresh water used to produce the goods and services we consume, including growing, harvesting, packaging, and shipping. Direct and virtual water footprint sedona recycles. Iso 14046 environmental management water footprint a practical guide for smes cover iso 14046 water footprint a practical guide for smes dd 4 20170804 08. A water footprint is a way of assessing not only water use but potential environmental impacts related to water. A life cycle assessment or an lca is used to determine the potential environmental impact of a particular product or process. This water footprint may be a green water footprint rainwater consumed, blue water footprint volume of surface and groundwater consumed evaporated as a result of production of the product and gray water footprint meaning the volume of freshwater required to assimilate the load of.
In contrast to other available water risk assessment tools, wfns water footprint assessment tool does not use the term water stress, but instead identifies waterchallenged regions sometimes referred to as hot spots based on water scarcity, water pollution levels, benchmarks, i. The water footprint of an individual, community or business is defined as the total volume of freshwater that is used to produce the goods and services consumed by the individual or community or. Water footprint manual university of twente research information. The water footprint assessment manual is an extremely valuable tool and standard methodology that we hope will be widely adopted by governments, nonprofits, corporations, and watershed managers to ensure the sustainability of producing various goods and services in various locations and to accurately report water use and management information. The water footprint of wood for lumber, pulp, paper, fuel and. Take our quick quizzes to practise your vocabulary. Based on the pure measure of water quantity used, the associated environmental impacts of both direct and indirect water use are of eminent importance to identify the life cycle based water footprint of corporations see kohler, 2008. With the growing diversity of land uses in rural areas agricultural, residential, recreational it is important to have tools that can provide objective information about air quality issues associated with livestock production. The water footprint of an individual, community or business is defined as the total volume of freshwater used to produce the goods and services consumed by the individual or community or produced by the business.
The water footprint of wood for lumber, pulp, paper, fuel. The methodology for calculating a water footprint has been available for some time now, but the first regionalised inventory database has only just been released. Only air and soil emissions that impact water quality are included in the assessment, and not all air and soil emissions are included. Green water consumption of water or rainfall that is stored in the soil or plants. The water footprint assessment manual water footprint network. Water footprint assessment, policy and practical measures in a specific. The external water footprint of a country is the annual volume of water resources used in other countries to produce goods and services imported into and consumed in the country considered. Water footprint definition of water footprint by medical. The water footprint of national production is defined as the total freshwater. The water footprint is the amount of water consumed by human activity as well as the assimilation capacity used the ability of a body of water to cleanse itself. Valueofwater researchreportseriesno water footprint. Water use in the livestock sector has featured in the debate about sustainable food systems. The water footprint of a business consists of its direct water.
Water footprint is an indicator showing the consumption impact on environment withwater equivalent, which allows a detailed quantification of water use directly and. It reports on consumptive use of rainwater green wf and ground and surface water blue wf and volumes of water polluted gray wf. The total water footprint of a consumer or producer refers, by definition, to both the direct and the indirect water use of this consumer or producer. At the individual level, this is expressed in litres. Footprint definition is an impression of the foot on a surface. In fact there is a lot of energy embedded in our water, and our water use has a massive carbon footprint due to pumping, treating, and heating. Direct and virtual water footprint developed by jean turocy, sedona recycles overview less than 1% of all the water on earth is available for human consumption so it is necessary to conserve it. The concept was refined and accounting methods were established with a series of publications from two lead authors a. A water footprint is an illustrative tool to measure total freshwater consumption for countries, states, counties, cities, organizations, or even a single person. An indicator of both direct and indirect water use by a consumer or producer. The water footprint of a consumer is the sum of its direct water use, i.
A water footprint can be broken into three different subareas. This manual presents a scientifically rigorous method to help companies understand their dependency and impact on global water resources, and offers guidance on response strategies that conserve water for industry, communities, and nature. The average american lifestyle is kept afloat by about 2,000 gallons of h2o a day. Water footprint simple english wikipedia, the free. The result of a water footprint assessment is a single value or a profile of impact indicator results. Iso 14046, the standard on water footprinting, was only released in 2014. The water footprint of an individual, community or business is defined as the total volume of freshwater that is used to produce the. Recent research has shown that about 4 % of the water footprint of humanity relates to water use at home hoekstra and mekonnen 2012. Water footprint simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Your water footprint reveals the true cost of our lifestyle. A comprehensive introduction to water footprints pseau. But at the national level, this becomes complex the water footprint of a nation is equal to the use of domestic water resources, minus the virtual water export flows, plus the virtual water import flows.
A global hectare is a common unit that encompasses the average productivity of all the biologically productive land and sea area in the world in a given year. The water footprint is an indicator of freshwater use that looks not only at direct water use of a consumer or producer, but also at the indirect water use. This study quantifies and maps the water footprint wf of humanity at a high spatial resolution. The water footprint of a product is defined as the volume of freshwater used to produce the product 11. Despite criticisms, water footprint has certainly proven to be a useful concept and it is heartening to see the continued growth of water footprint research. Nov 05, 2015 water footprinting water footprinting concept was developed by prof. Water footprint of crops university of twente research information. Lifecycle thinking and personal carbon footprint gelfand. Hoekstra from unescoihe as an alternative indicator of water use. This concept is analogous to the ecological footprint of a nation, a. The water footprint is an indicator of freshwater use that looks at both direct and indirect water use of a consumer or producer. Water footprinting requires a detailed water modelling approach and the use of specialised impact assessment methods and data. The water footprint of a product a commodity, good or service is the volume of freshwater used to produce the product, measured at the place where the product was actually made.
The water footprint is an indicator of water use that looks at both direct and indirect water use of a consumer or producer. Water use is an essential environmental indicator for all activities in the product life cycle. Whereas reporting is within the scope of iso 14046. But at the national level, this becomes complex the water footprint of a nation is equal to the use of domestic water resources, minus the. Most evidence has come from virtual water calculations which lack impact assessment and adequate consideration of the heterogeneity in livestock production. Tools such as the water footprint and lca are available, but their interpretation by policy makers has to be refined. Detailed definitions understanding key water stewardship terms. Consumption based like a carbon footprint but quite different to calc. Water footprints and sustainable water allocation mdpi. The internal water footprint is the water use within the country in so far it is used to produce goods and services consumed by the national population.
While our water footprints are expanding, climate change is exacerbating water scarcity in many parts of the. Water footprint wf is an indicator showing the total volume of freshwater consumption of a product or process. A measure of the amount of freshwater used by a person, organization or state in a given time. Footprint standard covers a comprehensive set of definitions and methods for water. As water footprint is a relatively recent concept, few studies have been published on the topic. Inventory boundaries of water footprint sustainability assessment.
The virtual water concept has received increased interest in policy circles, development agencies and the private sector in the past 10 years. The water footprint tracks the volume of virtual water used by a population, where virtual water is the volume of freshwater used to produce a commodity, good or. From longman dictionary of contemporary english water footprint. And bs iso 14046 can be conducted and reported as a standalone assessment where only potential environmental impacts related to water are assessed or as part of a life cycle assessment where consideration is given to all relevant potential environmental impacts, and not only. Now, all the building blocks to calculate a proper water footprint are available in simapro. Water footprint of the banana industry world banana. The concepts of water footprint and virtual water gdrc. Virtual water is the amount of embedded water in a commodity required to produce, package and ship the commodity to consumers.
Iso 14046 water footprint principles, requirements and. Biologically productive areas include cropland, forest and fishing grounds, and do not include deserts, glaciers and the open ocean. Nov 30, 2011 water use in the livestock sector has featured in the debate about sustainable food systems. It is not only measures the water we use from the tap, but the hidden water used to produce our food, energy, clothes, cars and other items.
For example, the use of the water footprint indicator volume of water used. Blue water concept is defined as the amount of exploited surface and groundwater. This study sought new evidence, using a recently developed life cycle impact assessment method for water use to assess six. Water footprint of an animal sum of water for feed, drinking and servicing water footprint of a crop or livestock product distribute the water footprint of the root product over its derived products the water footprint m3ton of primary crops can be calculated as the crop water use at field level m3ha divided by the crop yield tonha. A water footprint is the amount of freshwater used by individuals, groups or companies in order to make goods or provide services used by the community. Earlier this week, aiche announced its new water initiative, which will help determine the role and approaches the aiche and its members can take to have a positive affect on water quality, security, and sustainability. The ecological footprint standards 2009 includes a number of substantial revisions to the previous 2006 edition.
Detailed definitions understanding key water stewardship. Corporate water accounting an analysis of methods and tools for. Water and energy are linked, and both are related to climate change. This study sought new evidence, using a recently developed life cycle impact assessment method for water use to assess six geographically defined. Water balance of global aquifers revealed by groundwater. The total volume of fresh water used by an individual, a household, a business, a community or a country, internal footprint all the water used inside a country.
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