The carbon footprint is the total set of greenhouse gas emissions we individually cause. The calculations are based on the water requirements per unit of product as in your country of residence. It can cover a process, product, or even a whole company. Green water consumption of water or rainfall that is stored in the soil or plants. In the context of a business, this means enabling the business to take a better decision regarding how it manages it plants, how it works with suppliers, or how it engages with governments on. Blue water footprint refers to water sourced from surface and groundwater reservoirs which can either be incorporated into products or other water reservoir systems. The water footprint assessment manual water footprint network. The usefulness of the carbon footprint differs from the energy footprint and has been justified in two respects. 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. Footprint standard covers a comprehensive set of definitions and methods for water footprint accounting. Most evidence has come from virtual water calculations which lack impact assessment and adequate consideration of the heterogeneity in livestock production.
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. The concepts of water footprint and virtual water gdrc. Water neutral means that one reduces the water footprint of an activity as much as reasonably possible and offsets the negative externalities of the remaining water footprint. At the individual level, this is expressed in litres. Water footprint matters and china appears to have recognised this and is looking to reduce its virtual water dependency. The water footprint is an indicator of water use that includes both direct and indirect water use of a consumer or producer. Footprint definition of footprint by merriamwebster. 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. Water footprints are composed of three separate calculations. This study quantifies and maps the water footprint wf of humanity at a high spatial resolution.
Water footprint simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Understanding the carbon footprint of your water use. International virtual water flows are estimated based on trade in. Water footprint definition of water footprint by medical. What is ecological footprint and ways to reduce it earth. Your individual water footprint is equal to the water required to produce the goods and services consumed by you. The water footprint of a product good or service is the volume of fresh water used to produce the product, summed over the various steps of the production chain. This calculation is based on an annual clothing use of 2,488,396 tonnes. Japan with a footprint of 1,150 m 3 per year per capita, has about 65.
The amount of surface water and groundwater required evaporated or used directly to produce an item. Carbon footprint definition is the amount of greenhouse gases and specifically carbon dioxide emitted by something such as a persons activities or a products manufacture and transport during a. 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. 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. Fifth, the ecological footprint represents a stock measure.
Understanding their water footprint can help individuals understand how their consumption affects others access to. Green water footprint is water from precipitation stored in soil and incorporated by plants. The water footprint of a product is defined as the volume of freshwater used to produce the product 11. Often, when considering someones carbon footprint, it is usually in terms of the amount of carbon dioxide they directly or indirectly produce. A measure of the amount of freshwater used by a person, organization or state in a given time. The water footprint of chinese consumption is still relatively small and largely internal 90%, but given the countrys rapid growth and the growing water stress particularly in north china, the country is likely to increasingly rely on water resources outside its territory, evidenced by chinas policy already today to buy or lease lands.
The water footprint of an intermediate or final product is the aggregate of the water footprints of the various process steps relevant in the production of the product. The water footprint of a business, the corporate water footprint, is defined as the total volume of fresh water that is used directly or indirectly to run and support a business. The water footprint concept was introduced in 2002 by arjen y. Learn more about water footprints concepts, how they are calculated, the difference between direct and virtual water use and how different countries use water. Gray water footprint refers to the quantity of water needed to assimilate pollutants to meet stringent water quality standards. Carbon footprint definition is the amount of greenhouse gases and specifically carbon dioxide emitted by something such as a persons activities or a products manufacture and transport during a given period. First, new standards are now provided to address ecological footprint assessments for products and organizations sections iii and iv. Growing and processing crops and livestock consumes large quantities of water. A water footprint is an illustrative tool to measure total freshwater consumption for countries, states, counties, cities, organizations, or even a single person. It would be useful to integrate the stock measure with the. 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. Water use is an essential environmental indicator for all activities in the product life cycle. An indicator of both direct and indirect water use by a consumer or producer. International virtual water flows are estimated based on.
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. Background materials can be freely downloaded from further. Your personal water footprint is related to your consumption habits, lifestyle and country of residence. The ecological footprint standards 2009 includes a number of substantial revisions to the previous 2006 edition. Carbon footprint definition of carbon footprint by. The water footprint of china is about 700 m 3 per year per capita. 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. Any teacher looking to get a very detailed introduction to the topic or anyone who wants a comprehensive read on lcas should look here.
Water footprints and sustainable water allocation mdpi. The water footprint shows the extent of water use in relation to consumption by people. Definition of the green and blue wf in relation to the water balance of a catchment area. The water footprint of an individual consumer is a function of the water footprints of the various products consumed by the consumer. Feb 28, 2012 the water footprint of chinese consumption is still relatively small and largely internal 90%, but given the countrys rapid growth and the growing water stress particularly in north china, the country is likely to increasingly rely on water resources outside its territory, evidenced by chinas policy already today to buy or lease lands. Analysis of water footprints depend on the boundaries of the system, recognizing the footprint for a barn is a component of the footprint for a county, which is. The water footprint of biofuel production can be divided into three different classes, namely green, blue, and gray water footprint. It includes your tap water use and the virtual water used to produce. Water footprints are estimated per nation from both a production and consumption perspective. Only about 7 percent of the chinese water footprint falls outside china. Find out how many planets would be needed if everyone in the world lived like you.
The water footprint of a nation is defined as the total amount of water. It reports on consumptive use of rainwater green wf and ground and surface water blue wf and volumes of water polluted gray wf. The water footprint of humanity pubmed central pmc. Water use in the livestock sector has featured in the debate about sustainable food systems. People use a lot of water for drinking, cooking and washing, but significantly more for producing things such as food, paper and cotton clothes. 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.
A water footprint is more than a figure for the total water volume used. Review of data on embodied water in clothing summary report. 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. To produce one cup of coffee we need 140 litres of water. 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. It has become one of the most widely used measures of humanitys effect upon the environment and has been used to highlight both the apparent unsustainability of current practices and global inequalities. The report discusses what the water footprint results. Linkages, overlaps, and differences among the three indicators are then highlighted to show how the indicators interact and complement each other. 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. 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. Apr 21, 2020 a water footprint is a measurement of how much water someone uses in a set period of time. Water footprint simple english wikipedia, the free.
These goods and services may be needed around the entire world. Carbon footprint definition of carbon footprint by merriam. A water footprint can be broken into three different subareas. International trade in wheat is responsible for 75 billionm3 of virtual water exports annually, which is about 6% of the total sum. 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. Rationale in water footprint and virtual water trade assessment. This study sought new evidence, using a recently developed life cycle impact assessment method for water use to assess six. The water footprint is an indicator of water use that looks at both direct and indirect water use of a consumer or producer. Water footprints encompass not only the water directly used by the consumer, but the water indirectly used to produce consumer goods. Only air and soil emissions that impact water quality are included in the assessment, and not all air and soil emissions are included. Water footprints were developed by the water footprint network to assess the amount of water in different types that is consumed in producing food and other products.
It shows how green, blue and grey water footprints are. Water footprint refers to the amount of water used both directly and indirectly by each consumer. Footprint definition is an impression of the foot on a surface. 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. In order to manage more efficiently the control over human freshwater expenditure, dutch professor arjen hoekstra coined in 2002 the concept of water footprint. Water footprint manual university of twente research information. A comprehensive introduction to water footprints pseau. A water footprint is only useful when it informs better decision making. The water footprint of an individual, community or business is defined as the total volume of fresh water used to produce the goods and services consumed by the individual or community or produced by the business.