The Water Footprint Assessment Manual

by Hoekstra, Arjen Y.; Chapagain, Ashok K.; Aldaya, Maite M.; Mekonnen, Mesfin M.

• ISBN13: 9781849712798
• ISBN10: 1849712794
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-02-22
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

People use lots of water for drinking, cooking and washing, but even more for producing things such as food, paper and cotton clothes. The water footprint is an indicator that looks at both direct and indirect water use of a consumer or producer. Indirect use can include virtual water embedded in tradable goods and commodities, such as cereals, sugar or cotton. 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 produced by the business. This book offers a complete and up-to-date overview of the global standard on water footprint assessment as developed by the international Water Footprint Network. More specifically it: #x2B22; Provides a comprehensive set of methods for water footprint accounting #x2B22; Shows how water footprints can be calculated for individual processes and products, as well as for consumers, nations and businesses #x2B22; Contains a detailed worked example of water footprint accounting for sugar beet crop production and the final refined sugar product, as an illustration of how the methods can be applied in practice

Author Biography

Arjen Y. Hoekstra is Professor in Water Management at the University of Twente, the Netherlands; creator of the water footprint concept and Scientific Director of the Water Footprint Network. Ashok K. Chapagain was an irrigation engineer in Nepal for more than a decade, has worked as a researcher at the University of Twente and currently works for the WWF in the UK. Maite M. Aldaya works as a consultant for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and is a researcher at the Water Footprint Network. Mesfin M. Mekonnen was an energy expert at the Ministry of Mines and Energy in Ethiopia, and is currently a PhD student at the University of Twente.

Table of Contents

List of Figures, Tables and Boxes	p. ix
Acknowledgements	p. xiii
Preface	p. xvii
Acronyms	p. xix
Introduction	p. 1
Background	p. 1
The water footprint concept	p. 2
Water footprint assessment	p. 3
Guide for the reader	p. 5
Goals and Scope of Water Footprint Assessment	p. 7
Goals of water footprint assessment	p. 7
Scope of water footprint accounting	p. 9
Scope of water footprint sustainability assessment	p. 15
Scope of water footprint response formulation	p. 16
Water Footprint Accounting	p. 19
Human appropriation of fresh water: What do we measure and why?	p. 19
Coherence between different sorts of water footprint accounts	p. 21
Water footprint of a process step	p. 23
Blue water footprint	p. 23
Green water footprint	p. 29
Grey water footprint	p. 30
Calculation of the green, blue and grey water footprint of growing a crop or tree	p. 40
Water footprint of a product	p. 46
Definition	p. 46
Schematization of the production system into process steps	p. 47
Calculation of a product water footprint	p. 48
Water footprint of a consumer or group of consumers	p. 52
Definition	p. 52
Calculation	p. 52
Water footprint within a geographically delineated area	p. 53
Definition	p. 53
Calculation	p. 53
National water footprint accounting	p. 54
The national water footprint accounting scheme	p. 54
Calculation of the water footprint within a nation	p. 55
Calculation of the water footprint of national consumption	p. 56
Water savings related to trade	p. 60
National water dependency versus water self-sufficiency	p. 61
Water footprint accounting for catchments and river basins	p. 61
Water footprint accounting for municipalities, provinces or other administrative units	p. 63
Water footprint of a business	p. 63
Definition	p. 63
Choosing the organizational boundaries of the business	p. 65
Calculation of the business water footprint	p. 68
Water Footprint Sustainability Assessment	p. 73
Introduction	p. 73
Geographic sustainability: Sustainability of the water footprint within a catchment or river basin	p. 76
Introduction	p. 76
Environmental sustainability criteria for identifying environmental hotspots	p. 78
Social sustainability criteria for identifying social hotspots	p. 87
Economic sustainability criteria for identifying economic hotspots	p. 88
Assessing primary and secondary impacts in the hotspots identified	p. 88
Sustainability of the water footprint of a process	p. 89
Sustainability of the water footprint of a product	p. 91
Identifying the unsustainable components in the water footprint of a product	p. 91
Water footprint impact indices reflecting local environmental impacts	p. 94
Sustainability of the water footprint of a business	p. 97
Sustainability of the water footprint of a consumer	p. 97
Library of Water Footprint Response Options	p. 99
Shared responsibility	p. 99
Reducing the water footprint of humanity: What is possible?	p. 99
Consumers	p. 103
Companies	p. 106
Farmers	p. 107
Investors	p. 109
Governments	p. 110
Limitations	p. 115
Future Challenges	p. 119
Water footprint assessment methodology and data	p. 119
Application of the water footprint in different contexts	p. 122
Embedding the water footprint in existing water and environmental accounts and reports	p. 123
Linking to ecological, energy and carbon footprint methods	p. 124
Linking to material flow analysis, input-output modelling and life cycle assessment	p. 125
Conclusion	p. 129
Calculation of Green and Blue Evapotranspiration Using the CROPWAT Model	p. 131
Calculating the Process Water Footprint of Growing a Crop: An Example for Sugar Beet in Valladolid (Spain)	p. 135
Calculating the Water Footprint of a Product: Example for Refined Sugar from Valladolid (Spain)	p. 143
Examples of Grey Water Footprint Calculations	p. 147
Environmental Flow Requirements	p. 151
Frequently Asked Questions	p. 155
References	p. 169
List of Symbols	p. 183
Glossary	p. 187
Index	p. 199
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