IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/waterr/v31y2017i10d10.1007_s11269-017-1618-5.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Water Footprint Assessment: Evolvement of a New Research Field

Author

Listed:
  • Arjen Y. Hoekstra

    (University of Twente
    National University of Singapore)

Abstract

This paper reviews the evolvement of water footprint assessment (WFA) as a new research field over the past fifteen years. The research is rooted in four basic thoughts: (1) there is a global dimension to water management because water-intensive commodities are internationally traded, so we must study virtual water trade and the effects of countries externalizing their water footprint; (2) freshwater renewal rates are limited, so we must study the development of consumption, production and trade patterns in relation to these limitations; (3) supply-chain thinking, previously uncommon in water management, can help to address sustainable water use from the perspective of companies and final consumers; and (4) a comprehensive approach requires the consideration of green in addition to blue water consumption, the traditional focus in water management, and the analysis of water pollution in the same analytical framework as well. The quick emergence of the new field and wide uptake of the water footprint concept in society has generated substantial discussion about what the concept in narrow sense and the research field in broader sense can offer and what not. The paper reflects on the main issues of debate.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:waterr:v:31:y:2017:i:10:d:10.1007_s11269-017-1618-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s11269-017-1618-5
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11269-017-1618-5
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11269-017-1618-5?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Scherer, Laura & Pfister, Stephan, 2016. "Global water footprint assessment of hydropower," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 711-720.
    2. Liu, Junguo & Williams, Jimmy R. & Zehnder, Alexander J.B. & Yang, Hong, 2007. "GEPIC - modelling wheat yield and crop water productivity with high resolution on a global scale," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 94(2), pages 478-493, May.
    3. Horlemann, Lena & Neubert, Susanne, 2007. "Virtual water trade: a realistic concept for resolving the water crisis?," IDOS Studies, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), volume 25, number 25.
    4. P. Oel & A. Hoekstra, 2012. "Towards Quantification of the Water Footprint of Paper: A First Estimate of its Consumptive Component," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 26(3), pages 733-749, February.
    5. Perry, Chris, 2014. "Water footprints: Path to enlightenment, or false trail?," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 119-125.
    6. Antonelli, Marta & Sartori, Martina, 2014. "Unfolding the potential of the Virtual Water concept. What is still under debate?," MPRA Paper 60501, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. A. Ercin & Maite Aldaya & Arjen Hoekstra, 2011. "Corporate Water Footprint Accounting and Impact Assessment: The Case of the Water Footprint of a Sugar-Containing Carbonated Beverage," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 25(2), pages 721-741, January.
    8. van Oel, P.R. & Mekonnen, M.M. & Hoekstra, A.Y., 2009. "The external water footprint of the Netherlands: Geographically-explicit quantification and impact assessment," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(1), pages 82-92, November.
    9. 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.
    10. T. Bakken & F. Kjosavik & Å. Killingtveit & K. Alfredsen, 2015. "Are Reservoirs Water Consumers or Water Collectors? Reflections on the Water Footprint Concept Applied on Reservoirs," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 29(14), pages 4919-4926, November.
    11. Alberto Garrido & M. Ramón Llamas & Consuelo Varela-Ortega & Paula Novo & Roberto Rodríguez-Casado & Maite M. Aldaya, 2010. "Water Footprint and Virtual Water Trade in Spain," Natural Resource Management and Policy, Springer, number 978-1-4419-5741-2, December.
    12. Ercin, A. Ertug & Mekonnen, Mesfin M. & Hoekstra, Arjen Y., 2013. "Sustainability of national consumption from a water resources perspective: The case study for France," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 133-147.
    13. 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.
    14. 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.
    15. Erik Gawel & Kristina Bernsen, 2013. "What is Wrong with Virtual Water Trading? On the Limitations of the Virtual Water Concept," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 31(1), pages 168-181, February.
    16. 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.
    17. Kai Fang & Reinout Heijungs & Zheng Duan & Geert R. De Snoo, 2015. "The Environmental Sustainability of Nations: Benchmarking the Carbon, Water and Land Footprints against Allocated Planetary Boundaries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(8), pages 1-21, August.
    18. Lenzen, Manfred & Moran, Daniel & Bhaduri, Anik & Kanemoto, Keiichiro & Bekchanov, Maksud & Geschke, Arne & Foran, Barney, 2013. "International trade of scarce water," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 78-85.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Ehsan Qasemipour & Ali Abbasi & Farhad Tarahomi, 2020. "Water-Saving Scenarios Based on Input–Output Analysis and Virtual Water Concept: A Case in Iran," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-16, January.
    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. Okadera, Tomohiro & Geng, Yong & Fujita, Tsuyoshi & Dong, Huijuan & Liu, Zhu & Yoshida, Noboru & Kanazawa, Takaaki, 2015. "Evaluating the water footprint of the energy supply of Liaoning Province, China: A regional input–output analysis approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 148-157.
    4. Zhang, Chao & Anadon, Laura Diaz, 2014. "A multi-regional input–output analysis of domestic virtual water trade and provincial water footprint in China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 159-172.
    5. P. Oel & A. Hoekstra, 2012. "Towards Quantification of the Water Footprint of Paper: A First Estimate of its Consumptive Component," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 26(3), pages 733-749, February.
    6. 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.
    7. 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.
    8. Iulia Dolganova & Natalia Mikosch & Markus Berger & Montserrat Núñez & Andrea Müller-Frank & Matthias Finkbeiner, 2019. "The Water Footprint of European Agricultural Imports: Hotspots in the Context of Water Scarcity," Resources, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-11, August.
    9. 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.
    10. Gino Sturla & Lorenzo Ciulla & Benedetto Rocchi, 2022. "Italy's Volumetric, Scarce and Social-scarce water footprint: a Hydro Economic Input-Output Analysis," Working Papers - Economics wp2022_17.rdf, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Scienze per l'Economia e l'Impresa.
    11. Sangam Shrestha & Vishnu Pandey & Chawalit Chanamai & Debapi Ghosh, 2013. "Green, Blue and Grey Water Footprints of Primary Crops Production in Nepal," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 27(15), pages 5223-5243, December.
    12. Ángel De Miguel & Malaak Kallache & Eloy García-Calvo, 2015. "The Water Footprint of Agriculture in Duero River Basin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(6), pages 1-22, May.
    13. Liqiang Ge & Gaodi Xie & Caixia Zhang & Shimei Li & Yue Qi & Shuyan Cao & Tingting He, 2011. "An Evaluation of China’s Water Footprint," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 25(10), pages 2633-2647, August.
    14. Vasanthakumar Bhat, 2015. "Water and Its Effect on Business Productivity: A Cross-Country Analysis," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 29(11), pages 4007-4020, September.
    15. 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.
    16. Willa Paterson & Richard Rushforth & Benjamin L. Ruddell & Megan Konar & Ikechukwu C. Ahams & Jorge Gironás & Ana Mijic & Alfonso Mejia, 2015. "Water Footprint of Cities: A Review and Suggestions for Future Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(7), pages 1-30, June.
    17. Vanham, D., 2016. "Does the water footprint concept provide relevant information to address the water–food–energy–ecosystem nexus?," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 17(C), pages 298-307.
    18. 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.
    19. Cornelis Leeuwen & Jos Frijns & Annemarie Wezel & Frans Ven, 2012. "City Blueprints: 24 Indicators to Assess the Sustainability of the Urban Water Cycle," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 26(8), pages 2177-2197, June.
    20. Ignacio Cazcarro & Rosa Duarte & Miguel Martín-Retortillo & Vicente Pinilla & Ana Serrano, 2015. "How Sustainable is the Increase in the Water Footprint of the Spanish Agricultural Sector? A Provincial Analysis between 1955 and 2005–2010," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(5), pages 1-26, April.

    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:spr:waterr:v:31:y:2017:i:10:d:10.1007_s11269-017-1618-5. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.