IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/wtowps/ersd201005.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The relation between international trade and freshwater scarcity

Author

Listed:
  • Hoekstra, Arjen

Abstract

It is becoming increasingly important to put freshwater issues in a global context. Local water depletion and pollution are often closely tied to the structure of the global economy. With increasing trade between nations and continents, water is more frequently used to produce exported goods. International trade in commodities implies long-distance transfers of water in virtual form, where virtual water is understood as the volume of water that has been used to produce a commodity and that is thus virtually embedded in it. Knowledge about the virtual-water flows entering and leaving a country can cast a completely new light on the actual water scarcity of a country. For example, Jordan imports about 5 to 7 billion m3 of virtual water per year, which is in sharp contrast with the 1 billion m3 of water withdrawn annually from domestic water sources. This means that people in Jordan apparently survive owing to the import of water-intensive commodities from elsewhere, for example the USA.

Suggested Citation

  • Hoekstra, Arjen, 2010. "The relation between international trade and freshwater scarcity," WTO Staff Working Papers ERSD-2010-05, World Trade Organization (WTO), Economic Research and Statistics Division.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:wtowps:ersd201005
    DOI: 10.30875/3563958d-en
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/57607/1/639993036.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.30875/3563958d-en?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wichelns, Dennis, 2004. "The policy relevance of virtual water can be enhanced by considering comparative advantages," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 49-63, April.
    2. Yang, Hong & Wang, Lei & Zehnder, Alexander J.B., 2007. "Water scarcity and food trade in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(5-6), pages 585-605.
    3. de Fraiture, Charlotte & Cai, X & Amarasinghe, Upali & Rosegrant, M. & Molden, David, 2004. "Does international cereal trade save water?: the impact of virtual water trade on global water use," IWMI Research Reports H035342, International Water Management Institute.
    4. Gregory F. McIsaac & Mark B. David & George Z. Gertner & Donald A. Goolsby, 2001. "Nitrate flux in the Mississippi River," Nature, Nature, vol. 414(6860), pages 166-167, November.
    5. Ricardo, David, 1821. "On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation," History of Economic Thought Books, McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought, edition 3, number ricardo1821.
    6. Chapagain, A.K. & Hoekstra, A.Y. & Savenije, H.H.G. & Gautam, R., 2006. "The water footprint of cotton consumption: An assessment of the impact of worldwide consumption of cotton products on the water resources in the cotton producing countries," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 186-203, November.
    7. de Fraiture, Charlotte & Cai, Ximing & Amarasinghe, Upali A. & Rosegrant, Mark W. & Molden, David J., 2004. "Does international cereal trade save water? The impact of virtual water trade on global water use," IWMI Research Reports 92832, International Water Management Institute.
    8. Wichelns, Dennis, 2001. "The role of `virtual water' in efforts to achieve food security and other national goals, with an example from Egypt," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 131-151, July.
    9. A. Hoekstra & A. Chapagain, 2007. "Water footprints of nations: Water use by people as a function of their consumption pattern," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 21(1), pages 35-48, January.
    10. Eric Neumayer, 2004. "The WTO and the Environment: Its Past Record is Better than Critics Believe, but the Future Outlook is Bleak," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 4(3), pages 1-8, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Elina Lehikoinen & Tuure Parviainen & Juha Helenius & Mika Jalava & Arto O. Salonen & Matti Kummu, 2019. "Cattle Production for Exports in Water-Abundant Areas: The Case of Finland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-20, February.
    2. Pier Paolo Miglietta & Domenico Morrone, 2018. "Managing Water Sustainability: Virtual Water Flows and Economic Water Productivity Assessment of the Wine Trade between Italy and the Balkans," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-19, February.
    3. Alexandre Le Vernoy & Patrick Messerlin, 2010. "Water and the WTO: Don’t kill the messenger," Sciences Po publications info:hdl:2441/5l6uh8ogmqi, Sciences Po.
    4. Niemeyer, Insa & Garrido, Alberto, 2011. "Latin American Agricultural Trade: The Role of the WTO in Sustainable Virtual Water Flows," 2011 International Congress, August 30-September 2, 2011, Zurich, Switzerland 114615, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    5. Marta Antonelli & Martina Sartori, 2014. "Unfolding the Potential of the Virtual Water Concept. What is still under debate?," IEFE Working Papers 74, IEFE, Center for Research on Energy and Environmental Economics and Policy, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy.
    6. Rodolfo Metulini & Stefania Tamea & Francesco Laio & Massimo Riccaboni, 2016. "The Water Suitcase of Migrants: Assessing Virtual Water Fluxes Associated to Human Migration," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(4), pages 1-13, April.
    7. Reimer, Jeffrey J., 2012. "On the economics of virtual water trade," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 135-139.
    8. Ankai Xu, 2018. "Trade in Virtual Water: Do Property Rights Matter?," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 32(8), pages 2585-2609, June.
    9. Temmerman, Fitzgerald, 2011. "Virtual Water Trade and International Trade Law," Papers 212, World Trade Institute.
    10. repec:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/5l6uh8ogmqildh09h2qa1ccc1 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Alexandre Le Vernoy & Patrick Messerlin, 2010. "Water and the WTO: Don’t kill the messenger," Post-Print hal-03461720, HAL.
    12. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/5l6uh8ogmqildh09h2qa1ccc1 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Patrick MESSERLIN, 2011. "Climate, trade and water: A “grand coalition”?," Working Papers P23, FERDI.
    14. Duarte, Rosa & Pinilla, Vicente & Serrano, Ana, 2014. "The effect of globalisation on water consumption: A case study of the Spanish virtual water trade, 1849–1935," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 96-105.
    15. Duarte, Rosa & Pinilla, Vicente & Serrano, Ana, 2019. "Long Term Drivers of Global Virtual Water Trade: A Trade Gravity Approach for 1965–2010," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 318-326.
    16. Lucas Souza Beppler & Gustavo Inácio de Moraes, 2023. "Water Consumption in Brazilian Economic Sectors – An Application from a General Equilibrium Model," Athens Journal of Business & Economics, Athens Institute for Education and Research (ATINER), vol. 9(4), pages 455-474, October.
    17. Patrick MESSERLIN, 2011. "Climate, trade and water: A “grand coalition”?," Working Papers P23, FERDI.
    18. repec:hal:wpspec:info:hdl:2441/5l6uh8ogmqildh09h2qa1ccc1 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Gawel, Erik & Bernsen, Kristina, 2011. "What is wrong with virtual water trading?," UFZ Discussion Papers 1/2011, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Division of Social Sciences (ÖKUS).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dennis Wichelns, 2010. "Virtual Water: A Helpful Perspective, but not a Sufficient Policy Criterion," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 24(10), pages 2203-2219, August.
    2. María Jesús Beltrán & Esther Velázquez, 2011. "Del metabolismo social al metabolismo hídrico," Documentos de Trabajo de la Asociación de Economía Ecológica en España 01_2011, Asociación de Economía Ecológica en España.
    3. Hoekstra, A.Y., 2009. "Human appropriation of natural capital: A comparison of ecological footprint and water footprint analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(7), pages 1963-1974, May.
    4. Esther Velázquez & Cristina Madrid & María Beltrán, 2011. "Rethinking the Concepts of Virtual Water and Water Footprint in Relation to the Production–Consumption Binomial and the Water–Energy Nexus," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 25(2), pages 743-761, January.
    5. Hoekstra, Arjen Y. & Chapagain, Ashok K., 2007. "The water footprints of Morocco and the Netherlands: Global water use as a result of domestic consumption of agricultural commodities," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(1), pages 143-151, October.
    6. Verma, Shilp & Kampman, D. A. & van der Zaag, P. & Hoekstra, A. K., 2009. "Addressing India’s water challenge 2050: the virtual water trade option," IWMI Conference Proceedings 260571, International Water Management Institute.
    7. Elena, Galan-del-Castillo & Esther, Velazquez, 2010. "From water to energy: The virtual water content and water footprint of biofuel consumption in Spain," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 1345-1352, March.
    8. Gawel, Erik & Bernsen, Kristina, 2011. "What is wrong with virtual water trading?," UFZ Discussion Papers 1/2011, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Division of Social Sciences (ÖKUS).
    9. Marta Antonelli & Martina Sartori, 2014. "Unfolding the Potential of the Virtual Water Concept. What is still under debate?," IEFE Working Papers 74, IEFE, Center for Research on Energy and Environmental Economics and Policy, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy.
    10. Yang, Hong & Wang, Lei & Zehnder, Alexander J.B., 2007. "Water scarcity and food trade in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(5-6), pages 585-605.
    11. Maria Berrittella & Katrin Rehdanz & Arjen Y. Hoekstra & Roberto Roson & Richard S.J. Tol, 2006. "The Economic Impact Of Restricted Water Supply: A Computable General Equilibrium Analysis," Working Papers FNU-93, Research unit Sustainability and Global Change, Hamburg University, revised Jul 2006.
    12. Alina Petronela Alexoaei & Valentin Cojanu & Cristiana-Ioana Coman, 2021. "On Sustainable Consumption: The Implications of Trade in Virtual Water for the EU’s Food Security," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-19, October.
    13. Novo, P. & Garrido, A. & Varela-Ortega, C., 2009. "Are virtual water "flows" in Spanish grain trade consistent with relative water scarcity?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(5), pages 1454-1464, March.
    14. Dik Roth & Jeroen Warner, 2008. "Virtual water: Virtuous impact? The unsteady state of virtual water," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 25(2), pages 257-270, June.
    15. Anastasia B. Likhacheva & Igor A. Makarov, 2014. "The Virtual Water Of Siberia And The Russian Far East For The Asia-Pacific Region: Global Gains Vs Regional Sustainability," HSE Working papers WP BRP 10/IR/2014, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    16. Hanjra, Munir A. & Qureshi, M. Ejaz, 2010. "Global water crisis and future food security in an era of climate change," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 365-377, October.
    17. Fracasso, Andrea & Sartori, Martina & Schiavo, Stefano, 2014. "Determinants of virtual water flows in the Mediterranean," MPRA Paper 60500, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Dimaranan, Betina & Duc, Le Thuc & Martin, Will, 2005. "Potential Economic Impacts of Merchandise Trade Liberalization under Viet Nam’s Accession to the WTO," Conference papers 331403, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    19. Fracasso, Andrea, 2014. "A gravity model of virtual water trade," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 215-228.
    20. Ohrel, Sara Bushey & Choi, Suk-Won & Sohngen, Brent, 2011. "Extending the GTAP Family of Models: A Partial Equilibrium Approach to Measuring the Costs of Carbon Sequestration and Avoided Deforestation," Conference papers 332046, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:zbw:wtowps:ersd201005. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/wtoerch.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.