Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Considering water management from a local, national or river-basin perspective is,
however, not always su
cient. Many water problems bear an international trade compo-
nent (Hoekstra and Chapagain, 2008). Subsidized water in Uzbekistan is overused to
produce cotton for export; Thailand experiences water problems due to irrigation of rice
for export; Kenya depletes its water resources around Lake Naivasha to produce
fl
owers
for export to the Netherlands; Chinese rivers get heavily polluted through waste
ows
from factories that produce cheap commodities for the European market. Not only water
problems, but also water solutions have an international trade component. Jordan and
various other countries in the Middle East meet their demand for food and save their
scarcely available water resources through food imports from overseas. Mediterranean
countries will expectedly experience increased water scarcity due to climate change,
forcing them into the direction of increased import of water-intensive products.
Apparently there are more connections between seemingly local or national water issues
and international trade than recognized at
fl
rst sight.
This chapter reviews current knowledge with respect to three questions:
fi
1.
What is the e
ff
ect of international trade on domestic water resources?
2.
What is the e
ff
ect of water availability on international trade?
3.
Can international trade increase global water-use e
ciency?
The chapter concludes with a discussion of risks and opportunities associated with the
intensi
fi
cation of international trade in water-intensive commodities.
The effect of international trade on domestic water resources
An obvious e
ect of international trade on water-intensive commodities is that it gener-
ates water savings in the countries that import those commodities. This e
ff
ect has been dis-
cussed since the mid-1990s (Allan, 2001b; Hoekstra, 2003). The national water saving
associated with import can be estimated by multiplying the imported product volume by
the volume of water that would have been required to produce the product domestically.
The other side of international trade in water-intensive commodities is that it takes water
in the exporting countries that can no longer be used for other (domestic) purposes.
Besides, the social and environmental costs that are often associated with water use
remain in the exporting countries; they are not included in the price paid for the products
by the consumers in the importing countries.
ff
Import of water-intensive commodities reduces national water demand
In many countries international trade in agricultural products e
ectively reduces domes-
tic water demand. These countries import commodities that are relatively water intensive
while they export commodities that are less water intensive. In the period 1997-2001,
Japan, the largest (net) importer of water-intensive goods in the world, annually saved 94
billion m
3
from its domestic water resources. This volume of water would have been
required, in addition to its current water use, if Japan had produced all imported prod-
ucts domestically. In a similar way, Mexico annually saved 65 billion m
3
, Italy 59 billion
m
3
, China 56 billion m
3
and Algeria 45 billion m
3
(Chapagain et al., 2006).
One of the water-scarce countries that most heavily depends on imports of water-
intensive commodities is Jordan. It imports 5 to 7 billion m
3
of water in virtual form per
ff
