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Mitigating the Water Footprint of Export Cut Flowers from the Lake Naivasha Basin, Kenya

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  • M. Mekonnen
  • A. Hoekstra
  • R. Becht

Abstract

Kenya’s cut-flower industry has been praised as an economic success as it contributed an annual average of US$ 141 million foreign exchange (7 % of Kenyan export value) over the period 1996–2005 and about US$ 352 million in 2005 alone. The industry also provides employment, income and infrastructure such as schools and hospitals for a large population around Lake Naivasha. On the other hand, the commercial farms have been blamed for causing a drop in the lake level, polluting the lake and for possibly affecting the lake’s biodiversity. The objective of this study is to quantify the water footprint within the Lake Naivasha Basin related to cut flowers and analyse the possibility to mitigate this footprint by involving cut-flower traders, retailers and consumers overseas. The water footprint of one rose flower is estimated to be 7–13 litres. The total virtual water export related to export of cut flowers from the Lake Naivasha Basin was 16 Mm 3 /yr during the period 1996–2005 (22 % green water; 45 % blue water; 33 % grey water). Our findings show that, although the decline in the lake level can be attributed mainly to the commercial farms around the lake, both the commercial farms and the smallholder farms in the upper catchment are responsible for the lake pollution due to nutrient load. The observed decline in the lake level and deterioration of the lake’s biodiversity calls for sustainable management of the basin through pricing water at its full cost and other regulatory measures. Pricing water at full marginal cost is important, but the conditions in Kenya are unlikely to result in serious steps to full-cost pricing, since many farmers resist even modest water price increases and government is lacking means of enforcement. We propose an alternative in this study that can be implemented with a focus on sustainable water use in flower farming around Lake Naivasha alone. The proposal involves a water-sustainability agreement between major agents along the cut-flower supply chain and includes a premium to the final product at the retailer end of the supply chain. Such a ‘water sustainability premium’ will raise awareness among flower consumers and—when channelled back to the farmers—facilitate the flower farms to install the necessary equipment and implement the right measures to use water in a sustainable manner. The collected premiums will generate a fund that can be used for financing measures to reduce the water footprint and to improve watershed management. Copyright The Author(s) 2012

Suggested Citation

  • M. Mekonnen & A. Hoekstra & R. Becht, 2012. "Mitigating the Water Footprint of Export Cut Flowers from the Lake Naivasha Basin, Kenya," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 26(13), pages 3725-3742, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:waterr:v:26:y:2012:i:13:p:3725-3742
    DOI: 10.1007/s11269-012-0099-9
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Aerni, Philipp, 2013. "Do Private Standards encourage or hinder trade and innovation?," Papers 599, World Trade Institute.
    2. Oulu, Martin, 2015. "The unequal exchange of Dutch cheese and Kenyan roses: Introducing and testing an LCA-based methodology for estimating ecologically unequal exchange," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 372-383.
    3. 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.
    4. Zecca, Francesco & D’Errico, Marco, 2021. "Food security and land use: The Ethiopian case," Economia agro-alimentare / Food Economy, Italian Society of Agri-food Economics/Società Italiana di Economia Agro-Alimentare (SIEA), vol. 23(2), July.
    5. Joshua Odero Aseto & Kartika Anggraeni & Marianne Isabel Magnus Melgar & Adriana Ballón-Ossio & Luca Emanuel Sander & Francesca Grossi & William Ojwang & Elizabeth Gathogo & Caroline Njiru & Nickson O, 2022. "Promotion and Uptake of Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) Practices among Kenyan MSMEs: Key Learnings," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-20, March.
    6. Marta Antonelli & Luca Fernando Ruini, 2015. "Business Engagement with Sustainable Water Resource Management through Water Footprint Accounting: The Case of the Barilla Company," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(6), pages 1-17, May.
    7. Nirit Havardi-Burger & Heike Mempel & Vera Bitsch, 2020. "Sustainability Challenges and Innovations in the Value Chain of Flowering Potted Plants for the German Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-26, March.
    8. Jeroen Vos & Rutgerd Boelens, 2014. "Sustainability Standards and the Water Question," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 45(2), pages 205-230, March.
    9. Xinchun Cao & Pute Wu & Yubao Wang & Xining Zhao, 2014. "Water Footprint of Grain Product in Irrigated Farmland of China," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 28(8), pages 2213-2227, June.
    10. Jing Liu & Yu Zhang & Zhongbo Yu, 2018. "Evaluation of Physical and Economic Water-Saving Efficiency for Virtual Water Flows Related to Inter-Regional Crop Trade in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-10, November.
    11. Arjen Y. Hoekstra, 2017. "Water Footprint Assessment: Evolvement of a New Research Field," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 31(10), pages 3061-3081, August.
    12. Santangelo, Grazia D., 2018. "The impact of FDI in land in agriculture in developing countries on host country food security," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 75-84.
    13. Pieter Oel & Dawit Mulatu & Vincent Odongo & Frank Meins & Rick Hogeboom & Robert Becht & Alfred Stein & Japheth Onyando & Anne Veen, 2013. "The Effects of Groundwater and Surface Water Use on Total Water Availability and Implications for Water Management: The Case of Lake Naivasha, Kenya," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 27(9), pages 3477-3492, July.
    14. Meike Rombach & David L. Dean & Nicole J. Olynk Widmar & Vera Bitsch, 2021. "The Ethically Conscious Flower Consumer: Understanding Fair Trade Cut Flower Purchase Behavior in Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-16, November.
    15. Mwangi Joseph Kanyua, 2020. "Effect of Imposed Self-Governance on Irrigation Rules Design among Horticultural Producers in Peri-Urban Kenya," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-16, August.

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