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The Water Footprint Concept: State of the art, research outlook and opportunities for education

Explore the concept of water footprint and its implications on global water resources. Discover the water footprints along the cotton supply chain and the need for sustainable water use. Learn about the challenges and responsibilities in reducing water footprints. Find resources for water footprint awareness and education.

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The Water Footprint Concept: State of the art, research outlook and opportunities for education

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  1. The Water Footprint Concept: State of the art, research outlook and opportunities for education Lara Wöhler – School projects coordinator WFN 05-10-2018 International Conference of the Water Agency Association RogaškaSlatina, Slovenia

  2. World Economic Forum – Global Risk Report 2016

  3. UN Sustainable Development Goals

  4. Our blue planet – global water resources

  5. Cotton cultivation in the Aral Sea Basin, Central Asia 1999 1977 1986 2006 2013 2009

  6. Water footprints along a supply chain – example cotton Clothing manufacturer Industrial processing Cotton cultivation Retailer Consumer Water footprint Water footprint Water footprint Water footprint Water footprint Virtual water flow through the supply chain NL Italy China NL Uzbekistan

  7. 2700 litres of water for 1 cotton shirt

  8. The Water Footprint Concept

  9. The Water Footprint Concept

  10. The average water footprint of a Dutch consumer 4000 litre/day Source: Mekonnen & Hoekstra (2011) National Water Footprint Accounts, UNESCO-IHE.

  11. National Water Footprints – a comparison National water footprint explorer on waterfootprint.org

  12. The Global Challenge

  13. The water footprint of humanity: not fairly distributed Global average water footprint Source: Hoekstra & Mekonnen (2012) The Water Footprint of Humanity, PNAS

  14. The water footprint of humanity: inter-regional dependencies wheat, sunflower seed, cotton, industrial products soybean coffee cotton, industrial products cotton cotton Cotton, coffee soybean coffee soybean, sunflower seed 40% of the water footprint of European consumers is outside Europe

  15. The blue water footprint of humanity: not sustainable Blue water scarcity = blue WF / maximum sustainable blue WF Source: Mekonnen & Hoekstra (2016) We need to agree on water footprint caps per river basin (specified per month)

  16. The grey water footprint of humanity: not sustainable Water pollution level = grey WF / maximum sustainable grey WF Nitrogen Source: Mekonnen & Hoekstra (2015)

  17. The Grey Water Footprint of Pharmaceuticals

  18. Grey WF of pharmaceutical pollution - comparing sources ?

  19. Water Footprint Network • Achieving our vision of a world in which we share clean fresh water fairly amongst all people to sustain thriving communities and nature’s diversity is going to take a global community of committed organisations and dedicated individuals. • Water Footprint Network wants to be that community, specifically gathered around the water footprint concept, as our mission makes clear: • Our mission is to use the water footprint concept to promote the transition toward sustainable, fair and efficient use of fresh water resources worldwide. www.waterfootprint.org

  20. WFN School Projects • Providing, sharing and spreading school materials www.waterfootprint.org

  21. Water Footprint awareness and education • Infographics • Apps • Art works • Calculators and tools • Games and role plays • Other educational materials

  22. www.waterfootprint.org

  23. University of Twente – Water Footprint Kids Game [Hoekstra et al, 2011]

  24. l.wohler@utwente.nl

  25. The maximum sustainable green and blue water footprint Precipitation in a catchment Evapotranspiration (green water) Runoff (blue water) Environmental water needs Green water availability Blue water availability Environmental water needs Maximum sustainable green WF Maximum sustainable blue WF

  26. Water footprint reduction: a shared responsibility Direct responsibility - Governments - Direct water users: farmers, industries, households, water supply utilities Supply-chain responsibility - Consumers - Companies - Investors - International cooperation Source: Hoekstra (2013) The Water Footprint of Modern Consumer Society, Routledge, London, UK

  27. Policy & research challenges Technology • Remote sensing to estimate water use, water availability & water scarcity • Smart irrigation • Zero water footprint in industries Policy & governance • WF cap per river basin • WF benchmark per product • Product transparency • Pricing of water scarcity • Fair WF shares

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