Water footprint
Topic: Environment and Sustainable Development · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The water footprint is the total freshwater used to produce the goods and services a person, business or country consumes. The idea comes from Arjen Hoekstra. It has three parts:
- Green water is rainwater used by crops.
- Blue water is surface water and groundwater, such as canals and tube wells.
- Grey water is the water needed to dilute pollution to a safe level.
Example
Rice and sugarcane need a lot of water, much of it pumped groundwater in states like Punjab. So these crops have a large blue-water footprint. When India exports them, it effectively exports scarce water, even as water tables fall.
Don't confuse with
- Virtual water: this is the water used to make one product and traded with it. The water footprint is the total across everything a consumer or nation uses.
- Ecological footprint: this measures land and water area, not the volume of water used.
Related concepts
- Natural capital
- Ecosystem services
- Total economic value
- Contingent valuation
- Hedonic pricing
- Payment for ecosystem services
- Green accounting
- Adjusted net savings
- Ecological footprint
- Earth Overshoot Day