The Ingenieur Vol 57 January-March 2014 The Ingenieur Vol 57 January-March 2014 | Page 29

It takes 109,671 liters of water
to produce a Kg of beef on the
supermarket shelf.

A kg of rice requires 2091 liters
of water to produce.

It takes 1534 liters of water
produce a kg of corn

both the volume of water from the
domestic water sources and the
volume used in other countries
to produce goods and services
imported and consumed by the
inhabitants of the country.
The
Water
Footprint
Network (WFN) was set up to
drive sustainable water use
as part of its mission to drive
local, national and international
improvements to the way water
is managed and used. WFN
provides clear insights into how
water is used and the impact
resulting from its usage through
its published link at WFA tools
website.
Accordingly, people use
lots of water for drinking, cooking
and washing, but even more for
producing things such as food,
paper, cotton clothes etc. The
water footprint is an indicator

of water use that looks at both
direct and indirect use of a
consumer or producer. The
water footprint of an individual,
community or business is defined
as the total volume of fresh
water that is used to produce the
goods and services consumed
by the individual or community or
produced by the business.
In the words of Prof Arjen
Y. Hoekstra, creator of the water
footprint concept, the interest
in the water footprint is rooted
in the recognition that human
impact on freshwater systems
can ultimately be linked to human
consumption. Issues such as
water shortages and pollution
can be better understood and
addressed
by
considering
production and supply chains
as a whole. Water problems
are often closely tied to the

structure of the global economy.
Many countries have significantly
externalized their water footprint
by importing water-intensive
goods from elsewhere. This puts
pressure on the water resources
of exporting regions, where too
often mechanisms for wise water
governance and conservation are
lacking. Not only Governments,
but also consumers, businesses
and civil society can play a role in
achieving a better management
of water resources.
Virtual Water
With this new thinking,
the concept of virtual water
was established, linking it to
the water footprint of water
scarce nations. Those nations
could ease pressure on their
meagre
internal
freshwater
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