Water and Food Security through Trade analyzed water footprints and virtual water trade in the Nile Basin region to improve agricultural trade and water use efficiency. It found that (1) most Nile Basin countries import more wheat than they produce, importing large volumes of virtual water, (2) upstream countries have a comparative advantage in rain-fed wheat production due to lower evapotranspiration, while downstream countries require irrigation but face higher opportunity costs, (3) increasing yields could help downstream countries achieve more efficient water footprints for wheat.
Crop Et And Implications For Irrigationcarterjfranz
Crop coefficient studies were conducted at the Tal Amara Research Station in Lebanon's Bekka Valley to determine optimal irrigation volumes for sunflowers, soybeans, wheat, and corn. Deficit irrigation experiments on sunflowers found that yield was reduced by 25% during early flowering but only 14% during mid-flowering. Seed yield actually increased with deficit irrigation during seed formation. The studies provide crop water use data and coefficients to inform sustainable irrigation planning for farmers in the water-stressed Bekka Valley region.
This document discusses livestock water productivity and strategies to improve it. It defines livestock water productivity as the total net beneficial outputs divided by the total depleted water. Major increases in livestock water productivity are possible through four strategies: 1) selecting low water cost feed, 2) enhancing animal production, 3) conserving water, and 4) strategic livestock watering. An example estimates the mean livestock water productivity of mixed crop-livestock farms in the Blue Nile highlands is $0.19/m3 for rainfed livestock and $0.33/m3 for irrigated livestock. Further research challenges include moving from livestock water productivity to multiple use water productivity and standardizing definitions and methods across scales.
Gary Hartwell, Director of Public Works, City of Frisco - Presentation at Texas Water Foundation, Central Texas Water Conservation Symposium February 26, 2013
This document discusses water footprints, which measure the total volume of freshwater used to produce goods and services. A cup of tea has an embedded water footprint of over 30 liters when accounting for all stages of production. Meat production is very water intensive, requiring over 15,000 liters per kilogram for beef. The UK's agricultural water footprint is over 74 billion cubic meters annually. Much of the UK's footprint comes from crop and livestock production overseas. Reducing water footprints requires improving efficiency in farming, processing, and reducing food waste.
Efficient water management strategies for higher water productivity in arid r...Anurag Saxena
Anurag Saxena of the Central Arid Zone Research Institute in Jodhpur, Rajasthan discusses efficient water management strategies for higher water productivity in arid regions. The key environmental constraints in arid zones include low and erratic rainfall, high temperatures and evapotranspiration, deep saline groundwater, poor soil quality, and overgrazing. Water scarcity is a major problem as groundwater is overexploited and declining. Improving crop water use efficiency through techniques like rainwater harvesting, micro-irrigation, deficit irrigation, extensive irrigation, and improved agronomic practices can help maximize agricultural production with limited water resources.
Sri Lanka; Rain Water Harvesting for Urban Buildings in Sri LankaV9X
1) Increasing urbanization in Sri Lanka has strained conventional water supplies, making alternatives like rainwater harvesting important.
2) Case studies show rainwater harvesting can provide 30-60% of non-drinking water needs for urban households and industries, significantly reducing water bills.
3) Sri Lanka's 2005 National Rainwater Harvesting Policy aims to incorporate harvesting in new construction and make it mandatory in urban areas over time to boost supplies and conserve treated water.
The Middle Years Programme (MYP) is a curriculum framework from the International Baccalaureate aimed at students aged 11 to 16. The MYP focuses on developing internationally-minded and responsible learners through acquiring broad and balanced knowledge. It emphasizes approaches to learning, community and service, health and social education, environments, and human ingenuity. Assessment is criterion-related and includes self, peer, and teacher evaluation. The goal is to help students understand local and global issues and encourage responsible citizenship.
Crop Et And Implications For Irrigationcarterjfranz
Crop coefficient studies were conducted at the Tal Amara Research Station in Lebanon's Bekka Valley to determine optimal irrigation volumes for sunflowers, soybeans, wheat, and corn. Deficit irrigation experiments on sunflowers found that yield was reduced by 25% during early flowering but only 14% during mid-flowering. Seed yield actually increased with deficit irrigation during seed formation. The studies provide crop water use data and coefficients to inform sustainable irrigation planning for farmers in the water-stressed Bekka Valley region.
This document discusses livestock water productivity and strategies to improve it. It defines livestock water productivity as the total net beneficial outputs divided by the total depleted water. Major increases in livestock water productivity are possible through four strategies: 1) selecting low water cost feed, 2) enhancing animal production, 3) conserving water, and 4) strategic livestock watering. An example estimates the mean livestock water productivity of mixed crop-livestock farms in the Blue Nile highlands is $0.19/m3 for rainfed livestock and $0.33/m3 for irrigated livestock. Further research challenges include moving from livestock water productivity to multiple use water productivity and standardizing definitions and methods across scales.
Gary Hartwell, Director of Public Works, City of Frisco - Presentation at Texas Water Foundation, Central Texas Water Conservation Symposium February 26, 2013
This document discusses water footprints, which measure the total volume of freshwater used to produce goods and services. A cup of tea has an embedded water footprint of over 30 liters when accounting for all stages of production. Meat production is very water intensive, requiring over 15,000 liters per kilogram for beef. The UK's agricultural water footprint is over 74 billion cubic meters annually. Much of the UK's footprint comes from crop and livestock production overseas. Reducing water footprints requires improving efficiency in farming, processing, and reducing food waste.
Efficient water management strategies for higher water productivity in arid r...Anurag Saxena
Anurag Saxena of the Central Arid Zone Research Institute in Jodhpur, Rajasthan discusses efficient water management strategies for higher water productivity in arid regions. The key environmental constraints in arid zones include low and erratic rainfall, high temperatures and evapotranspiration, deep saline groundwater, poor soil quality, and overgrazing. Water scarcity is a major problem as groundwater is overexploited and declining. Improving crop water use efficiency through techniques like rainwater harvesting, micro-irrigation, deficit irrigation, extensive irrigation, and improved agronomic practices can help maximize agricultural production with limited water resources.
Sri Lanka; Rain Water Harvesting for Urban Buildings in Sri LankaV9X
1) Increasing urbanization in Sri Lanka has strained conventional water supplies, making alternatives like rainwater harvesting important.
2) Case studies show rainwater harvesting can provide 30-60% of non-drinking water needs for urban households and industries, significantly reducing water bills.
3) Sri Lanka's 2005 National Rainwater Harvesting Policy aims to incorporate harvesting in new construction and make it mandatory in urban areas over time to boost supplies and conserve treated water.
The Middle Years Programme (MYP) is a curriculum framework from the International Baccalaureate aimed at students aged 11 to 16. The MYP focuses on developing internationally-minded and responsible learners through acquiring broad and balanced knowledge. It emphasizes approaches to learning, community and service, health and social education, environments, and human ingenuity. Assessment is criterion-related and includes self, peer, and teacher evaluation. The goal is to help students understand local and global issues and encourage responsible citizenship.
The document discusses approaches to learning (ATL) in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. It outlines five categories of ATL skills - communication, social skills, self-management skills, research skills, and thinking skills. Each category contains multiple skill clusters and indicators that describe aspects of developing those skills over time, from novice to expert levels. The goal is for students to become stronger, more self-regulated learners by developing these skills purposefully across all years of the IB program.
The document discusses the International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Programme (MYP). It provides an overview of the MYP framework which focuses on global contexts for learning, approaches to teaching, areas of interaction and learner profile attributes. It emphasizes developing students as inquirers, knowledgeable, thinkers, communicators, principled, open-minded, caring, risk-takers, balanced, and reflective. Assessment in the MYP aims to support and encourage student learning through various strategies and tasks.
Force water footprint & film screening g.k 1JALRAKSHAK
This document outlines activities for an event held by FORCE-HSBC on June 12, 2012 in Greater Kelash Part-1. It includes a water footprint pair up activity and a film screening activity to raise awareness about water conservation issues. The document ends by thanking participants.
Water Resource Reporting and Water Footprint from Marcellus Shale Development...Brian Rosa
This report analyzes water usage and waste disposal data from Marcellus Shale gas development in West Virginia and Pennsylvania between 2009-2012. It finds that over this period, nearly 9,000 horizontal gas wells were permitted using hydraulic fracturing, which led to increased gas production but also significant water usage and waste generation. The report calculates water footprints for gas production and identifies areas where state reporting requirements could be improved to better inform management of environmental impacts. It concludes that while regulation of the industry has strengthened water protections, continued improvements to data transparency are still needed.
This document provides an introduction to queueing theory. It discusses key concepts such as random variables, probability distributions, performance measures, Little's law and the PASTA property. It then examines several common queueing models including the M/M/1, M/M/c, M/Er/1, M/G/1 and G/M/1 queues. For each model it derives the equilibrium distribution and discusses measures like mean queue length and waiting time. The goal is to give an overview of basic queueing theory concepts and common single-server and multi-server queues.
Virtual Water Interactions in Transboundary Water Francesca Greco
This document discusses the importance of virtual water in transboundary cooperation and water politics. It analyzes two case studies: (1) export-led agricultural schemes in the Nile Basin that have shifted power balances, and (2) Jordan's Disi pipeline that was originally used for virtual water exports but now supplies domestic water. The author argues that virtual water flows, managed by private actors, can alter water allocation and international relations, making food-water interactions an important but often overlooked part of water policy analysis in transboundary basins. Accounting for virtual water trades and investments is key to understanding dynamics in major river systems worldwide.
This document discusses changes in the balance of power in the Nile Basin, including the addition of South Sudan as a new riparian state, new infrastructure projects like the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, and Ethiopia taking a more assertive stance. It argues that upstream states are gaining bargaining power and challenging the historical status quo dominated by Egypt through counter-hegemonic actions. There is a debate around whether the Cooperative Framework Agreement and shift towards more bilateral and trilateral cooperation represents a new paradigm that could tip the balance of power towards upstream states.
Water Depletion/Affordability of Food - Presentation by Ashok Kumar Chapagain, Science Director, Water Footprint Network. This presentation was given as part of the 'Metrics of Sustainable Diets and Food Systems Workshop co-organized by Bioversity International and CIHEAM-IAMM, November 4th -5th 2014, Agropolis International, Montpellier
Visit 'Metrics of Sustainable Diets and Food Systems' Workshop webpage.
http://www.bioversityinternational.org/metrics-sustainable-diets-workshop/
The document discusses different types of scientific knowledge and approaches to water management. It describes modeling science as aiming to predict through modeling and make causal explanations to influence society. Interpretive science seeks subjective meanings and understanding through interpretation. Activist science aims to create social transformation through participatory research to address injustices. It notes that constructed knowledge will always overwhelm observed science, and politics is needed to deal with the ambiguity and uncertainty in managing complex social issues like water.
This document provides the goal, scope, and water accounting for a life cycle assessment of the author's personal water footprint over the course of one year. The goal is to determine the direct and indirect blue, green, and gray water consumption attributable to the author to assess sustainability. The scope outlines the functions, system boundaries, and allocation procedures. Water accounting is provided for the author's food, clothing, and household water use. The total water footprint is calculated to be over 1.6 million liters for food and nearly 300,000 liters for clothing per year.
This document discusses the concept of virtual water trade. It introduces how virtual water refers to the water used in the production of agricultural and industrial products. Countries can export virtual water through exporting water intensive goods, and this allows water-scarce nations to import virtual water. While real water trade between countries is difficult, virtual water trade through goods is more practical and can improve global water efficiency. The document outlines how virtual water content is calculated for different crop types and production systems.
This document provides an overview of water footprints and virtual water. It discusses that a water footprint accounts for both direct and indirect water usage, with indirect usage through consumption of goods and services making up 96% of our total water footprint. It defines key terms like virtual water, which is the water used to produce a product, and explains the three components that make up a water footprint - blue water from surface and groundwater, green water from rainfall, and grey water needed to dilute pollutants. The document aims to help readers understand their total water usage and impacts through considering both direct and virtual water in their consumption.
Queueing theory and the M/M/1/∞/∞ model are discussed. An example queue has arrivals of 10, 25, 5, 15, 20 customers separated by service times of 35, 20, 60, 15, 134 units. The queue length over time is plotted, reaching a maximum of 5 customers. Waiting times between arrivals are given as random variables with values for 5 arrivals totaling 20 time units. The average queue length is calculated as the total time customers spend waiting divided by the time period.
This document provides an overview and introduction to a report on the water footprint of Italy. It discusses key concepts around virtual water and water footprinting. It notes that the water footprint of national production in Italy is around 70 billion m3 per year, with agriculture being the largest user at 85% of the total footprint. The focus of the report will be analyzing Italy's water use, promoting more sustainable management of water resources, and increasing awareness of virtual water flows and impacts on water systems.
Queueing theory deals with the analysis of waiting lines where customers wait to receive service. Common examples include lines at the supermarket, doctor's office, and traffic lights. The document discusses key concepts in queueing theory including arrival and service rates, throughput, utilization, stability conditions, and the M/M/1 queue model. It also provides examples of calculating performance measures like waiting times using the M/M/1 assumptions of exponentially distributed inter-arrival and service times.
The project is called "Virtual Water" and is designed by UrbanLab for PS1 in New York City. It collects and cleans 100,000 gallons of rainwater that falls in the courtyard each summer through conical canopies and directs it to six water-based atmospheres that put the water to creative use while raising awareness of water conservation issues and setting an example for future green structures.
The document summarizes a pilot project called the Climatology-Hydrology Information Sharing Pilot (CHISP) Phase 1. The CHISP pilot aims to build a virtual observatory of interoperating data archives and tools to support hydrological research across the international border between Canada and the US. This will involve integrating water resources data from both countries, including streamflow, groundwater, and water quality to support hydrologic modeling and assessment of nutrient loading in the Great Lakes region.
The document discusses linear programming, which is a technique for solving optimization problems with linear objective functions and constraints. It provides the standard form of a linear programming problem involving decision variables, an objective function to maximize, and constraints. Examples of both a graphical and algebraic (simplex method) solution are presented. The key concepts of feasible region, optimal solution, entering and leaving variables in the simplex method are explained. Duality, where every linear programming problem has an associated dual problem, is also introduced.
Queuing theory is the mathematical study of waiting lines and delays. It examines properties like average wait time, number of servers, arrival and service rates. Queues form when demand for a service exceeds capacity. The simplest queuing system has two components - a queue and server - with attributes of inter-arrival and service times. Queuing models use Kendall notation to describe systems, and the M/M/1 model is commonly used to analyze average queue length, wait times, and probability of overflow for single server queues. Queuing theory has applications in fields like telecommunications, healthcare, and computer networking.
Can we able to enhance water productivity under Water scarcity?, Dr. Alaa. Z....NENAwaterscarcity
Workshop on Operationalizing the Regional Collaborative Platform to Address ‘Water Consumption, Water Productivity and Drought Management’ in Agriculture, 27 - 29 October 2015, Cairo, Egypt
The document discusses approaches to learning (ATL) in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. It outlines five categories of ATL skills - communication, social skills, self-management skills, research skills, and thinking skills. Each category contains multiple skill clusters and indicators that describe aspects of developing those skills over time, from novice to expert levels. The goal is for students to become stronger, more self-regulated learners by developing these skills purposefully across all years of the IB program.
The document discusses the International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Programme (MYP). It provides an overview of the MYP framework which focuses on global contexts for learning, approaches to teaching, areas of interaction and learner profile attributes. It emphasizes developing students as inquirers, knowledgeable, thinkers, communicators, principled, open-minded, caring, risk-takers, balanced, and reflective. Assessment in the MYP aims to support and encourage student learning through various strategies and tasks.
Force water footprint & film screening g.k 1JALRAKSHAK
This document outlines activities for an event held by FORCE-HSBC on June 12, 2012 in Greater Kelash Part-1. It includes a water footprint pair up activity and a film screening activity to raise awareness about water conservation issues. The document ends by thanking participants.
Water Resource Reporting and Water Footprint from Marcellus Shale Development...Brian Rosa
This report analyzes water usage and waste disposal data from Marcellus Shale gas development in West Virginia and Pennsylvania between 2009-2012. It finds that over this period, nearly 9,000 horizontal gas wells were permitted using hydraulic fracturing, which led to increased gas production but also significant water usage and waste generation. The report calculates water footprints for gas production and identifies areas where state reporting requirements could be improved to better inform management of environmental impacts. It concludes that while regulation of the industry has strengthened water protections, continued improvements to data transparency are still needed.
This document provides an introduction to queueing theory. It discusses key concepts such as random variables, probability distributions, performance measures, Little's law and the PASTA property. It then examines several common queueing models including the M/M/1, M/M/c, M/Er/1, M/G/1 and G/M/1 queues. For each model it derives the equilibrium distribution and discusses measures like mean queue length and waiting time. The goal is to give an overview of basic queueing theory concepts and common single-server and multi-server queues.
Virtual Water Interactions in Transboundary Water Francesca Greco
This document discusses the importance of virtual water in transboundary cooperation and water politics. It analyzes two case studies: (1) export-led agricultural schemes in the Nile Basin that have shifted power balances, and (2) Jordan's Disi pipeline that was originally used for virtual water exports but now supplies domestic water. The author argues that virtual water flows, managed by private actors, can alter water allocation and international relations, making food-water interactions an important but often overlooked part of water policy analysis in transboundary basins. Accounting for virtual water trades and investments is key to understanding dynamics in major river systems worldwide.
This document discusses changes in the balance of power in the Nile Basin, including the addition of South Sudan as a new riparian state, new infrastructure projects like the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, and Ethiopia taking a more assertive stance. It argues that upstream states are gaining bargaining power and challenging the historical status quo dominated by Egypt through counter-hegemonic actions. There is a debate around whether the Cooperative Framework Agreement and shift towards more bilateral and trilateral cooperation represents a new paradigm that could tip the balance of power towards upstream states.
Water Depletion/Affordability of Food - Presentation by Ashok Kumar Chapagain, Science Director, Water Footprint Network. This presentation was given as part of the 'Metrics of Sustainable Diets and Food Systems Workshop co-organized by Bioversity International and CIHEAM-IAMM, November 4th -5th 2014, Agropolis International, Montpellier
Visit 'Metrics of Sustainable Diets and Food Systems' Workshop webpage.
http://www.bioversityinternational.org/metrics-sustainable-diets-workshop/
The document discusses different types of scientific knowledge and approaches to water management. It describes modeling science as aiming to predict through modeling and make causal explanations to influence society. Interpretive science seeks subjective meanings and understanding through interpretation. Activist science aims to create social transformation through participatory research to address injustices. It notes that constructed knowledge will always overwhelm observed science, and politics is needed to deal with the ambiguity and uncertainty in managing complex social issues like water.
This document provides the goal, scope, and water accounting for a life cycle assessment of the author's personal water footprint over the course of one year. The goal is to determine the direct and indirect blue, green, and gray water consumption attributable to the author to assess sustainability. The scope outlines the functions, system boundaries, and allocation procedures. Water accounting is provided for the author's food, clothing, and household water use. The total water footprint is calculated to be over 1.6 million liters for food and nearly 300,000 liters for clothing per year.
This document discusses the concept of virtual water trade. It introduces how virtual water refers to the water used in the production of agricultural and industrial products. Countries can export virtual water through exporting water intensive goods, and this allows water-scarce nations to import virtual water. While real water trade between countries is difficult, virtual water trade through goods is more practical and can improve global water efficiency. The document outlines how virtual water content is calculated for different crop types and production systems.
This document provides an overview of water footprints and virtual water. It discusses that a water footprint accounts for both direct and indirect water usage, with indirect usage through consumption of goods and services making up 96% of our total water footprint. It defines key terms like virtual water, which is the water used to produce a product, and explains the three components that make up a water footprint - blue water from surface and groundwater, green water from rainfall, and grey water needed to dilute pollutants. The document aims to help readers understand their total water usage and impacts through considering both direct and virtual water in their consumption.
Queueing theory and the M/M/1/∞/∞ model are discussed. An example queue has arrivals of 10, 25, 5, 15, 20 customers separated by service times of 35, 20, 60, 15, 134 units. The queue length over time is plotted, reaching a maximum of 5 customers. Waiting times between arrivals are given as random variables with values for 5 arrivals totaling 20 time units. The average queue length is calculated as the total time customers spend waiting divided by the time period.
This document provides an overview and introduction to a report on the water footprint of Italy. It discusses key concepts around virtual water and water footprinting. It notes that the water footprint of national production in Italy is around 70 billion m3 per year, with agriculture being the largest user at 85% of the total footprint. The focus of the report will be analyzing Italy's water use, promoting more sustainable management of water resources, and increasing awareness of virtual water flows and impacts on water systems.
Queueing theory deals with the analysis of waiting lines where customers wait to receive service. Common examples include lines at the supermarket, doctor's office, and traffic lights. The document discusses key concepts in queueing theory including arrival and service rates, throughput, utilization, stability conditions, and the M/M/1 queue model. It also provides examples of calculating performance measures like waiting times using the M/M/1 assumptions of exponentially distributed inter-arrival and service times.
The project is called "Virtual Water" and is designed by UrbanLab for PS1 in New York City. It collects and cleans 100,000 gallons of rainwater that falls in the courtyard each summer through conical canopies and directs it to six water-based atmospheres that put the water to creative use while raising awareness of water conservation issues and setting an example for future green structures.
The document summarizes a pilot project called the Climatology-Hydrology Information Sharing Pilot (CHISP) Phase 1. The CHISP pilot aims to build a virtual observatory of interoperating data archives and tools to support hydrological research across the international border between Canada and the US. This will involve integrating water resources data from both countries, including streamflow, groundwater, and water quality to support hydrologic modeling and assessment of nutrient loading in the Great Lakes region.
The document discusses linear programming, which is a technique for solving optimization problems with linear objective functions and constraints. It provides the standard form of a linear programming problem involving decision variables, an objective function to maximize, and constraints. Examples of both a graphical and algebraic (simplex method) solution are presented. The key concepts of feasible region, optimal solution, entering and leaving variables in the simplex method are explained. Duality, where every linear programming problem has an associated dual problem, is also introduced.
Queuing theory is the mathematical study of waiting lines and delays. It examines properties like average wait time, number of servers, arrival and service rates. Queues form when demand for a service exceeds capacity. The simplest queuing system has two components - a queue and server - with attributes of inter-arrival and service times. Queuing models use Kendall notation to describe systems, and the M/M/1 model is commonly used to analyze average queue length, wait times, and probability of overflow for single server queues. Queuing theory has applications in fields like telecommunications, healthcare, and computer networking.
Can we able to enhance water productivity under Water scarcity?, Dr. Alaa. Z....NENAwaterscarcity
Workshop on Operationalizing the Regional Collaborative Platform to Address ‘Water Consumption, Water Productivity and Drought Management’ in Agriculture, 27 - 29 October 2015, Cairo, Egypt
This document summarizes methods for mapping crop water productivity in the Nile River Basin using remote sensing and secondary data. Key findings from the analysis include:
1) Land and water productivity varied widely across the basin, with Egypt having the highest productivity and parts of Sudan having the lowest.
2) Within the Ethiopian highlands sub-basin, water productivity ranged from $0.16 to $0.30 per cubic meter of water, with the eastern areas having higher productivity.
3) Most rainfed agricultural areas in the basin experience high water stress, resulting in very low yields, indicating a need for improved water management techniques.
This document provides a country water footprint profile for Ethiopia that analyzes water use from the perspective of goods produced and consumed in the country. It finds that 98% of Ethiopia's water footprint of production comes from green water sources like rainfall, while the remaining 2% comes from blue water sources like surface and groundwater. Several crops, like maize, sorghum, and wheat, consume large portions of the green water footprint. Sugar cane and cotton consume the largest shares of the blue water footprint. The profile compares crop water footprints to global benchmarks, finding opportunities to improve water use efficiency, especially for maize, sorghum, and wheat. It also examines blue water scarcity and virtual water flows within
This document provides a summary of key information from a presentation titled "A Comprehensive Introduction to Water Footprints" by Arjen Y. Hoekstra, Professor in Water Management at the University of Twente in the Netherlands and Scientific Director of the Water Footprint Network. The presentation introduces the concept of water footprints, which measure direct and indirect water use by a consumer or producer. It discusses how to calculate the water footprint of crop and animal products, including the green, blue, and grey water footprint components. Examples are provided of water footprints for various agricultural and industrial products like cotton, coffee, chocolate, sugar, meat, paper, and biofuels. Maps show the spatial dimensions and impacts of water footprints
This document discusses mapping crop water productivity in the Nile Basin using remote sensing and secondary data. It presents a methodology that uses land cover maps, actual evapotranspiration maps, and agricultural statistics to estimate water consumption and economic productivity for different crops. The analysis is done at sub-basin and basin scales. It finds that eastern areas tend to have higher crop water productivity, possibly due to higher evaporation rates. Livestock production is also an important contributor to water productivity that needs further analysis. Accurate crop type maps and production data are needed to improve the spatial analysis of water productivity.
This document discusses water footprint accounting and assessment for geographic areas like catchments and river basins. It provides background on the water footprint network which aims to promote sustainable water use. Key points covered include:
- Defining the water footprint within a geographic area and its components of green, blue and grey water.
- Calculating the water footprint of national consumption which includes internal and external water footprints.
- Assessing water footprints from both top-down and bottom-up approaches.
- Evaluating the environmental sustainability of a water footprint based on its grey water component relative to the assimilative capacity of the local environment.
The document discusses the role of biosaline agriculture in coping with water scarcity in the WANA region. It notes that the WANA region has very low available renewable water resources per capita that are projected to decline further. Biosaline agriculture focuses on growing crops that are tolerant of saline or brackish water and soil conditions as a way to use marginal water resources and reduce pressure on freshwater supplies. The document provides estimates of available brackish water resources and potential land areas for biosaline agriculture in several WANA countries, finding that approximately 14% of total irrigated land in the region could utilize brackish water resources.
The document discusses the role of biosaline agriculture in coping with water scarcity in the WANA region. It notes that the WANA region has very low available renewable water resources per capita that are projected to decline further. Biosaline agriculture focuses on growing crops that are tolerant of saline or brackish water and soil conditions as a way to use marginal water resources and reduce pressure on freshwater supplies. The document provides estimates of available brackish water resources and potential land areas for biosaline agriculture in several WANA countries, finding that approximately 14% of total irrigated land in the region could utilize brackish water resources.
This document summarizes a research article that developed a statistical model to predict rice production based on rain precipitation intensity and water harvesting in northern Côte d'Ivoire. Descriptive statistics showed rice production, rainfall, and water harvesting data from 2007-2013. Normalizing the data through logarithmic transformation reduced standard deviations. Seasons were found to impact the parameters. A multiple linear regression model analyzed the mathematical relationship between rice production as the response variable, and rainfall intensity and water harvesting as explanatory variables, to predict how water management impacts rice yields with climate change.
Alfred Rol, International Sales Director, DACOMCatchTalk.TV
The document discusses water usage in agriculture and introduces several solutions from eLeaf and Dacom to help optimize water usage on farms. SenseFon is described as a smart soil moisture monitoring system, while Fieldlook provides satellite-based information on water, vegetation, climate and other metrics. The companies aim to help farmers substantially reduce irrigation needs through integrated data and applications. Case studies show Dacom systems helping save 39% of water used for sugar cane production in Sudan.
The document discusses water footprint accounting and its application to the mining industry. It provides an overview of how water footprints are calculated, focusing on the green, blue, and grey water components. For mining specifically, it notes that operations can significantly impact local water quantity and quality through activities like dewatering, polluted discharges, and acid rock drainage. Calculated water footprints would need to account for these impacts and consider factors like water sources, processing methods, waste management, and site-specific hydrology to assess the full water impacts of mineral production.
Water demand has greatly increased in the Middle East due to population growth, urbanization, and improved lifestyles. However, water resources are limited in many countries in the region. Agricultural use accounts for over 80% of water withdrawals in some countries. While governments have focused on developing new water supplies, policy reforms and wastewater recycling are also needed to manage rising demand. Wastewater reuse remains limited but has potential to help address the growing water crisis across the Middle East and North Africa.
As part of the seminar held by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in collaboration with IWMI, World fish and ICARDA “Options for improving irrigation water efficiency for sustainable agricultural development”.
Singapore obtains its water supply from four main sources, known as the "four national taps": local catchment water, imported water from Malaysia, reclaimed water (NEWater), and desalinated water. Half of Singapore's land is used for catchment areas to collect rainwater, while the rest is highly urbanized. To ensure water sustainability, Singapore employs strategies like pricing water to reduce demand, educating the public on conservation, and developing alternative sources like NEWater. Singapore also imports water from Malaysia under long-term agreements and implements a reservoir integration scheme to maximize catchment capacity.
Science Forum Day 2 - Diaa Al Kenawy - Integrated agric-aquaculture, science...WorldFish
The document discusses integrating agriculture and aquaculture to improve water productivity in Egypt. It presents research quantifying the water used and productivity achieved in integrated fish pond and crop production systems in the Nile Delta. The results show integrated systems can increase water use efficiency and farm incomes compared to traditional agriculture or aquaculture alone. Future work is proposed to further study nutrient dynamics and water quality impacts of these integrated systems.
The document defines water footprint as the total volume of freshwater used to produce goods and services consumed by individuals, communities, or businesses. It splits water footprints into three categories: blue for surface and groundwater consumed, green for rainwater consumed, and grey for water required to dilute pollutants. The water footprint of a product, consumer, community, business, or geographic area is the sum of the water footprints of its constituent parts. Water footprints help reveal water use patterns and shine a light on water used in manufacturing to help individuals, businesses, and countries be more efficient with their water usage.
ICBA-IAEA - Training on water management and use of crop simulation model- ri...ICBA - ag4tomorrow
This document discusses concepts of water productivity for irrigated saline lands, including crop water productivity, economic water productivity, and irrigation efficiency. It provides examples of calculating reference evapotranspiration using the FAO 56 Penman-Monteith method. Soil water balance concepts are explained, showing water fluxes in irrigated fields and implications for salt accumulation. Measurements from lysimeters and soil water sensors are presented. The document outlines calculating crop water requirements and implications for water demand.
Exceed swindon aswan 2018-atef-ghandour_bbAtef Ghandour
This document estimates the water footprint of sugarcane crops grown in five governorates in Upper Egypt. It finds that the average blue water footprint is 175 m3/ton, accounting for 81% of the total water footprint. The grey water footprint averages 42 m3/ton, or 19% of the total. The total estimated water footprint is 217 m3/ton. The water footprint analysis could be expanded to better account for local water resource impacts in terms of both quantity and quality.
Similar to Water footprint virtual water abstract booklet (a4) pegasys (final) (20)
Water footprint virtual water abstract booklet (a4) pegasys (final)
1. “Water
and Food
Security
through
Trade”
Water Footprint, Virtual
Water & The Nile Basin
2. Project Background
NELSAP
The Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action Program (NELSAP) is a subsidiary action program of The
Nile Basin Initiative (NBI). NBI, through NELSAP, seeks to promote regional agricultural trade as a
means to improve the efficiency of water use for productive agriculture. The NBI and NELSAP have
identified a key dimension in improving the efficiency of water use for production is through the use
of water footprint and virtual water trade to inform trade policy and strategy.
The water footprint of a product is the volume of water used to produce it. When talking about
water footprints, we often differentiate between blue water (surface water) and green water
(rain water) consumption. The virtual water content of a good and the water footprint are
often used inter-changeably. Virtual water import and export is the volume of water associated
with producing goods which are traded. We are able to imagine virtual flows of water from one
place to another through traded goods. Countries or regions that are water abundant are better
able to produce and export more water-intensive crops. A country that is water scarce may seek to
export goods with lower virtual water content and import goods with higher virtual water content.
Aims of the project
This project had two components that will support a current and continued understanding of the
virtual water/ footprint of goods in the Nile Basin countries:
1. A training program to build an understanding of how to estimate and how to use the
virtual water/water footprint concept.
2. A water footprint analysis of 11 commodities produced and traded in the Nile
Basin Riparian Countries (NBR)
The approach was not a comprehensive water footprint of the Basin, nor an attempt to investigate
the political economy of production and trade. The purpose of the analysis was to raise questions
rather than to dictate outcomes.
We applied the methodology developed by the Water Footprint Network. The 11 commodities
selected are set out below.
1
3. Commodities selected for water footprint analysis in the NBRs (2005-2009)
Cereals Cash Crops Fruit & Veg Beef
Bananas
Mangos
Flowers
Coffee
Wheat
Maize
Beans
Sugar
Beef
Rice
Tea
Burundi
DRC
Ethiopia
Kenya
Rwanda
Tanzania
Uganda
Sudan
Egypt
Note: Where a water footprint was not calculated, this was because that commodity is not
produced in that country in significant quantities.
For information on commodity water footprints in trading partners outside the Basin, or for global
average water footprints, we used Water Footprint Network data (available here:
http://www.waterfootprint.org/?page=files/WaterStat).
We have limited our analysis to the nine countries who are members of the Nile Basin
Initiative (Tanzania, DRC, Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Sudan and
Egypt. Eritrea, while a riparian, is an observer member to the NBI.) At the start of this
project (May 2011), the partition of Sudan and South Sudan had not been effected
and separate data for these two countries was unavailable. We therefore treated
Sudan and South Sudan as one country, namely Sudan.
2
4. Water & Comparative Advantage in the Nile Basin
The Nile Basin states have a comparative advantage in water resources compared to many other
countries in the world (see the figures below showing rainfall and ‘water towers’). The Nile Basin
states have not yet fully leveraged their comparative advantage in water, particularly in regard to
agricultural production. As water becomes more scarce globally, there will be an increased demand
for areas with water resources. This provides opportunities for the Nile Basin states.
Average Annual Rainfall (Source: African Water Atlas, UNEP) Africa’s Water Towers (Source: African Water Atlas, UNEP)
Water Footprint is one tool to help decision makers think about:
• Trade in agricultural products
• Comparative advantage and food production
Virtual water ‘trade’ has an implication for water security and, by extension, for production and
food security. When a water scarce state ‘imports’ virtual water in the form of crops and livestock, it
frees itself from its own climate. Water that would otherwise be used for agriculture is freed up for
other important uses, such as industrial and economic development.
A water abundant country has a valuable resource that enables cultivation of water intensive
agricultural products for export to water scarce countries. A country’s water abundance may be
associated with rainfall, runoff or groundwater. This comparative advantage may be leveraged to
contribute to economic development.
Trade and virtual water:
Water footprint allows us to map trade in virtual water around the world (map over leaf). Nile Basin
states, despite having large water resources, are not significant players in virtual water trade. The
DRC, for example, has high levels of rain fall and surface water and yet is depicted as a net water
importer.
3
5. Nett virtual
water footprint
2
[Gm /yr]
-95 – -75
-73 – -35
-35 – -15
-15 – -5
-5 – 0
0–5
5 – 10
10 – 15
15 – 50
50 – 115
No Data
Virtual water trade: green indicates a net virtual water exporter and yellow-red a net virtual water importer,
black arrows indicate intensity of trade (Water Footprint Network)
Water Footprint of Production:
Considering the water resources we know are available, irrigation water use (blue water) in
production in the Nile Basin is lower than it could be (see map below, where there is low intensity in
colour). Similarly, with their high rainfall patterns, rain fed (green water) production is also lower
than it could be in the southern riparian states.
Green Water footprint
[mm/yr]
0 - 10
10 - 50
50 - 100
100 - 200
200 - 500
500 - 1,000
> 1000
Blue Water footprint
[mm/yr]
0-1
1 - 10
10 - 50
50 - 100
100 - 200
200 - 500
> 500
4 Global distribution of green and blue water use (Water Footprint Network)
6. The Implication of Dry Climates
The Nile Basin countries as a whole are unique and interesting due to the wide range of
evapotranspiration rates between the riparians.
Average annual reference The downstream riparians experience very high evapotranspiration
evapotranspiration
rates (2600-3000mm). By contrast, parts of the supstream riparians
experience relatively low evapotranspiration (1200-1400mm).
Interestingly the average annual temperature is relatively similar
throughout the basin.
Rates of evapotranspiration have a strong influence upon water
footprints; in hotter, dryer places with higher evaporation, the water
Evapotranspiration in mm
1000 - 1200
footprint of the same crop is higher. Thus water footprint highlights
differences in climatological comparative advantage, beyond rainfall.
1201 - 1400
1401 - 1600
1601 - 1800
1801 - 2000
2001 - 2200
2201 - 2400
2401 - 2600
On the other hand, water footprints are reduced by higher crop yields.
2601 - 3000
Part of the analysis highlights the impact of evapotranspiration on
(Source: AQUASTAT)
water footprints by comparing the same crop produced upstream and
downstream. In the dryer downstream parts of the basin, yields need to be very high in order to
achieve comparable water footprints to the wetter upstream countries. The figure below presents
the average water footprint and average yield for maize in the Nile Basin countries (using data from
2005 to 2009).
It is necessary for Egypt to achieve yields above 8 ton/ha to realise a water footprint of maize roughly
equal to Uganda which realises yields of 1.49 ton/ha. If Uganda increased its yields even slightly, its
water footprint would reduce further. While there is a clear relationship between water footprint
and yield, it is obvious that other climate factors also influence the water footprint of production in
a country. This climate comparative advantage explains the difference in water footprint of
production between Kenya and Uganda, despite having similar average yields.
4 000 9.00
8.06
3 500 X 8.00
7.00
3 000
6.00
2 500
5.00
2 000
4.00
1 500
2.19 3.00
1.56
1 000 X 1.57 1.49 2.00
1.20 X
1.06
0.78
X 1.10
X
500 X X X 1.00
X
-1 0.00
Burundi DRC Ethiopia Kenya Rwanda Tanzania Uganda Sudan Egypt
Avg Green WF Avg Blue WF Avg Total WF X Yields (ton/ha)
Average water footprints and yields of maize for each country in the NBR (m3/ton) 2005-2009
5
7. Opportunities in Green Water
To date, most virtual water or water footprint analyses have focussed on the contribution of virtual
water trade to water savings, especially in water scarce regions. Very little has been highlighted
about the opportunity cost of the associated water use. Yet green water usually has a lower
opportunity cost and lower environmental externalities than blue water use.
An important contribution of water footprint analysis is to establish whether the water used in
production depends upon rainfall (green water) or water resources (blue water). Traditionally, there
has been a focus on the importance of irrigation systems (blue water use) when thinking about
agricultural development and food security. But it has become increasingly important to highlight
opportunities for rain fed agriculture (green water use), particularly when thinking about efficient
production and food security at a global level.
Green and blue water have different characteristics and this leads to different opportunity costs.
Green water generally has a lower opportunity cost than blue water. However, green water may
have lower reliability than blue water, particularly where blue water is enhanced by surface storage
or groundwater use. The table below summarizes some of the features of green and blue water.
From the viewpoint of opportunity cost related to the use of scarce water resources, using green
water in production can be more efficient than using blue water, holding other factors constant. It
is therefore important to head off a purely water-centric interpretation of water footprint analysis
which does not take into account the wider consideration of the context of production and trade. In
the absence of appropriate context, the inferences of water footprint analyses can be unhelpful or
misleading.
With regard to the Nile Basin, the results of water footprint analysis highlights comparative water
use in production upstream and downstream in several cases. This indicates the benefits not only of
climate (and evapotranspiration) but also on green versus blue water use in production and the
relative opportunity costs of water use. The results of the analysis can be used to inform discussions
about the impact of production on the Basin and the impact on other Riparians of the Basin.
At a global level, it has been observed that virtual-water trade can reduce irrigation water demand
globally and play a role in ensuring water and water dependent food security in water scarce parts
of the world. At present, however, this method of global water saving is not fully exploited due, in
part, to the absence of a more water friendly international trade regime with equal access to global
markets, which takes into account both water productivity and blue/green water ratio in products.
In the context of water scarcity and demand in the future, green water production will become
increasingly important. Rain-fed agriculture holds great underexploited potential for increasing
water productivity through better water management practices – gaining more yield and value
from water.
Blue Water Green Water
Sources Rivers, lakes, reservoirs, dams, Rain water (stored in the unsaturated
ponds, aquifers etc. soil and can be taken up by the plant roots.)
Mobility Highly mobile Highly immobile
Substitution of sources Possible Impossible
Competitive uses Many, leading to trade-offs in water use. Few, the main being natural vegetation.
Storage & conveyance Required Not required (except in rain water harvesting)
infrastructure
Cost of use High Low
Impact of use High (excessive irrigation can cause severe Low
6 salinization, water logging and soil degradation)
8. Wheat, Imports and Cereal Production
Wheat is imported in large quantities by several Nile Basin countries, where local
production is insufficient to feed demand. The table below shows production
relative to imports and the associated virtual water imports.
In most cases, imports are more than 100% of production. Correspondingly, the
Nile Basin Riparians (NBRs) are importing large volumes of virtual water in the
form of wheat imports. Wheat imports represent a foreign currency burden on
several countries.
Burundi DRC Ethiopia Kenya Rwanda Tanzania Uganda Sudan Egypt
Production 8 9 2 569 107 41 96 18 623 8 059
(‘000 tons)
Imports 7 334 965 631 9 641 357 1 479 5 960
(‘000 tons)
Volume of 9 447 1 161 1 101 16 621 1 493 3 445 13 882
Virtual Water
imports (mm3)
Average wheat production, wheat imports in the NBRs (2005-2009)
The graph below shows the average water footprint of wheat in each NBR as well as the standard
deviation (indicating the variation in water footprints within the country), against the global
average water footprint of wheat.
The average NBR country has a water footprint of wheat production that is lower than the global
average. The lowest water footprint of wheat is in Tanzania, driven by the high yields and lower
levels of evapotranspiration in the areas where wheat is grown. Furthermore, most countries
(except for Sudan and Egypt) grow rain fed wheat, which has a water footprint similar to the natural
vegetation that the cultivation replaced. The implication is the impact of rain-fed wheat production
on the water resources of the Nile Basin countries is negligible and thus the water-related
opportunity cost of wheat cultivation in these countries is small.
3 500
3 000
2 500
2 000
1 500
1 000
500
-1
di C pi
a ya da ni
a da an pt
ru
n DR hi
o
Ke
n an a
ga
n
Su
d
Eg
y
Rw nz
Bu Et Ta U
Average Green WF Average Blue WF
Average Total WF Global Average Total WF
7
Average water footprints of wheat in the NBR states, 2005-2009, including the std deviation and the global
average water footprint (m3/ton)
9. The comparative advantage in wheat production in the NBRs is driven by different factors within the
upstream and downstream riparians. In the upstream riparians, wheat is rain fed and
evapotranspiration rates are lower because, upstream, there are lower temperatures. This leads to
more efficient water use because there is less effective water loss to evapotranspiration and the
opportunity cost of green water is much lower than blue water.
In the downstream riparians, evapotranspiration rates are much higher and it is also necessary to
irrigate where there is insufficient rainfall. As a result, there is greater water loss to
evapotranspiration and there is a greater opportunity cost associated with blue water use.
Importantly, the use of multi-year yield information captures the variation in annual yields
associated with inter-year variation in rainfall patterns.
For wheat production to be relatively efficient in the downstream riparians, it is necessary for these
countries to realise higher yields in order achieve comparable water footprints. Furthermore, the
water footprint estimates do not include the evaporative losses in the river, storage and distribution
system required to provide reliable water for irrigation.
It is possible to examine the value per cubic meter of water of each commodity at the average global
price (2005-2009) for the maize, wheat and rice, noting that these prices are quite volatile but
typically move together. It is therefore possible to make comparisons of the value per cubic meter of
water use both between countries and between commodities.
Value of a cubic meter of water at the average international trade price, 2005-2009 (USD/m3)
Burundi DRC Ethiopia Kenya Rwanda Tanzania Uganda Sudan Egypt
Maize 0.05 0.04 0.13 0.08 0.06 0.07 0.17 0.05 0.17
Rice 0.12 0.06 0.10 0.18 0.21 0.17 0.07 0.13 0.42
Wheat 0.17 0.24 0.11 0.24 0.18 0.37 0.15 0.11 0.17
The values in this table are the average global price of this commodity (USD/ton) divided by the country water footprint (m3/ton)
At a commodity level, the value of a cubic meter of water in wheat production is higher than rice
and maize production in Burundi, DRC, Kenya and Tanzania; at least at the international price of
these commodities. This is significant when one considers wheat is a rain fed crop (ie it is green
water use) in these countries. The production of rice, by comparison, is water intensive and more
successful with irrigation (blue water) and has economies of scale and a need for management
capacity.
8
10. Cultivation and Consumption of Basic Food Crops
This water footprint analysis covered
certain subsistence crops which the
NBRs produce to consume rather than
trade. These crops are invariably rain
fed. Those included in this analysis are
beans and bananas. Although these
crops were produced in relatively
significant volumes, they have low
yields which lead to larger water
footprints. However, because these
crops are produced with rain water,
Women transporting bananas (Rwanda, 2011) the impact of the associated water
footprint is low.
The water footprint of beef from beef cattle has been reviewed elsewhere by Chapagain &
Hoekstra (2003) and once again by Mekonnen & Hoesktra (2012). In this analysis, we examined
beef cattle farmed primarily for their meat and slaughtered at 3 years (as opposed to animals kept
by rural, subsistence households for milk and ploughing purposes that may be slaughtered for their
meat at the end of their useful lifespan.) Beef cattle in the Nile Basin are generally farmed on
rangeland pastures with a small amount of supplementary food made up of crop by-products.
The focus of other studies has been fairly Eurocentric, concentrating on rising global meat
consumption, the intensification of animal production systems, and the pressure on freshwater
resources. The studies highlight that animal products have a large green and blue water footprint
and it is more water-efficient to produce crop rather than animal products for food.
In a developing country context such as the NBR, it is important to consider beef cattle are grazed on
rain fed pasture (ie have a green water footprint). Farm land, especially irrigated farm land, is
generally not dedicated to cattle food stuffs. Furthermore, within the Nile Basin, there is also an
important differentiation to be made between beef from cattle grazed on marginal, low value
arable land and beef from cattle grazed on pastures which could arguably be used for crop
production instead. In low-value arable land, there are lower yields and higher risks associated with
crop production (especially if rainfall is
very variable). The opportunity cost of
rain fed pasture for cattle is very low and
the value of water in production
becomes much higher if it is used to
produce feed for beef cattle. The impact
of the water footprint of beef cattle
farmed in developing countries is
therefore much lower than in developed
countries with industrialised animal
production systems. Cattle on the shore of Lake Tanganyika (Burundi, 2011)
9
11. The Producer Perspective for Cash Crops
Increasing global attention has been paid to the water footprint of cash crops in the NBRs, such as
tea, coffee and cut flowers. These crops are certainly water intensive and have water impacts, but it
is also true that they are produced in the NBRs because of climatic comparative advantage;
particularly, high levels of rain fall and lower temperatures/higher humidity leading to lower
evapotranspiration rates.
Cash crops are important income generators
for the agrarian upstream Nile Basin
countries. This production earns valuable
foreign exchange and is a contributor to
economic development and alleviation of
poverty in the area in which the crops are
produced.
A strong focus of water footprint research
has been to examine the impacts of
consumption, particularly from the
Coffee cherry sorting (Kenya, 2011)
perspective of consumers in Europe and
North America. Some of the products examined in these studies are produced extensively by the
Nile Basin Riparians.
An example recent water footprint analyses which feature NBRs is the Water Footprint of Tea and
Coffee Consumption in the Netherlands (Chapagain & Hoekstra 2007). The map below shows
virtual water imports to the Netherlands as they relate to coffee imports, the greener the area, the
more the import. It can be seen that coffee produced in Tanzania and Uganda and exported to the
Netherlands is associated with 4% of the total virtual water import to the Netherlands.
Virtual Water imports to the Netherlands related to coffee imports (Chapagain & Hoekstra 2007)
10
12. The very effective imagery used by the authors to demonstrate the virtual water flows is shown in
the Figure over leaf. This is an example of how virtual water flows out of the Nile Basin to other parts
of the world in the form of cash crop exports.
As awareness of water use and water impacts of trade gains traction globally, it is important that
the NBRs contribute to and participate in these discussions to ensure a balanced perspective is
presented, because virtual water trade is one driver of economic growth and development in the
NBRs. .
40000 For example, the water
35000 footprint of coffee in the
30000 NBRs is on average lower
25000 than the water footprint of
20000 coffee in the main coffee
producers in other parts of
15000
the world. Figure left details
10000
this graphically; (the NBRs
5000 are separated from their
0 competitors with the dotted
am
o
e
ire
mbia
a
emala
India
nesia
agua
zuela
pia
a
da
da
ania
Peru
uras
pines
DRC
ndi
r
Brazil
red line.) This is an
lvado
erag
a Ric
Keny
Mexic
d’Ivo
Rwan
Ugan
Ethio
Vietn
Buru
Tanz
Hond
important message for
Colo
Nicar
Indo
Vene
Philli
al av
Cost
Guat
El Sa
Cote
consumers around water
Glob
Green Blue Total use efficiency and coffee
production. The NBRs have
Virtual water content of green coffee in Nile Basin compared to Global
Competitors (m3/ton) The comparison above is made between Mekonnen a climatic comparative
& Hoekstra's (2010) estimate for 1996-2005 for the global competitors advantage which enables
and we are examining our updated data (2005-2009). them to use water more
efficiently when growing
coffee. This should also be linked to the message that the water-related opportunity cost of rainfed
coffee production is relatively small, while the foreign exchange value from this export is relatively
high.
The table below sets out the value per cubic meter of water for each cash crop. It is possible to make
comparisons between countries for one commodity and it is also possible to make comparisons
between commodities in each country.
Value of a cubic meter of water at the average international trade price, 2005-2009 (USD/m3)
Burundi DRC Ethiopia Kenya Rwanda Tanzania Uganda Sudan Egypt
Sugar 0.24 0.19 0.32 0.24 0.13 0.48 0.21 0.11 0.18
Tea 0.29 0.11 0.28 0.82 0.60 0.52 0.60
Coffee 0.20 0.07 0.14 0.06 0.12 0.11 0.10
Flowers 21.00 22.00 6.00 24.00 12.00
*The values in this table are the average global price of this commodity (USD/ton) divided by the country water footprint (m3/ton)
Kenya, for example, realises a very high value per cubic meter of water for tea production followed
closely by Rwanda and Uganda. Tea production on average realises a higher value per cubic meter
of water than either coffee or sugar for Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. Burundi
realises the highest value per cubic meter of water for coffee production, followed by Ethiopia.
The clear and quite significant outlier in regard to value per cubic meter, however, is cut flowers.
This indicates a commercial opportunity for the NBRs to capitalise on the climatic comparative
advantage and access to water resources for cut flower production. 11
13. Rice, Water Footprint and Trade in the Nile Basin
Analysis of the water footprint of rice
differentiates between rain fed and irrigated
rice production in the NBRs. This was in an
attempt to compare rice production which
relies entirely on rainfall, and where possible
rain water harvesting, for rice production, and
comparing this to rice produced under
irrigation.
Rain fed rice fields (Burundi, 2011) Rain fed rice accounts 67% of rice production in
the NBR countries. The table below shows the
average rice production in the NBRs as well as average yields for rain fed and irrigated rice.
Average Rice Production in the NBRs and average yields for rain fed and irrigated rice (2005- 2009)
Burundi DRC Ethiopia Kenya Rwanda Tanzania Uganda Sudan Egypt
Tonnes 72 316 53 48 71 1 285 171 24 6 506
(‘000)
Rain fed 2.0 0.8 1.9 2.3 2.1 1.7
ton/ha
Irrigated 3.4 2.9 4.7 4.9 5.8 2.0 3.7 9.8
ton/ha
The average water footprint of rice in the NBRs is indicated below, distinguishing between irrigated
cropping systems and rain fed systems. On average, rain fed rice has a larger water footprint than
irrigated rice. Although rain fed rice receives less water per hectare, the yields are lower, so the
efficiency of water use per unit of product per hectare is lower.
8 000
7 000
6 000
5 000
4 000
3 000
2 000
1 000
-..
i ia ya da ia da an t i C pia ya nia da
nd iop Ken wan nzan gan Sud yp nd DR thio Ken nza gan
ur
u Eg ur
u
B Eth R Ta U B E Ta U
Irrigated Rain fed
Average Green WF Average Blue WF Average Total WF
12 Average water footprint of rice in the NBR countries (m3/ton)
14. In the absence of yields for irrigated rice in DRC (and because production was so small) we have only
calculated the water footprint of rain fed rice. We also queried whether the low yield reported in
DRC (calculated as total tonnes produced given hectares cultivated in-country) is due to incomplete
or unrecorded data. This is because rice production volumes in the DRC suggest this is an important
crop. A higher yield would realise a lower water footprint in the DRC.
It is not useful to extrapolate from this analysis that rain fed rice production has a higher water
footprint per ton and is therefore bad. There are other considerations in agricultural production
apart from water. These include land use, the costs of irrigation infrastructure, and the importance
of rain fed production with limited capital, infrastructure and management requirement to
smallholder livelihoods.
From a water use perspective, where rainfall is relatively abundant and if sufficient rain water is
available to achieve a water footprint close to that of irrigated rice, it is unhelpful to make an
unfavourable comparison between the two. This small difference between production methods
can be observed in Tanzania.
However, where the gap is larger between rain fed and irrigated rice a more compelling argument is
available in order to motivate for investment in irrigated rice production over rain fed rice
production from a water efficiency perspective. Alternatively, questions may be raised about the
possible productivity gains that may be achieved through improved cultivation and management
practices for rain fed rice.
Where the water footprint of rain fed rice is the same or lower than the water footprint of irrigated
rice – as can be observed in Uganda, Ethiopia and Burundi – this highlights potentially inefficient
blue water management. Blue water use carries with it higher financial and opportunity costs than
green water use and this example motivates for better management of irrigated rice production to
achieve higher yields.
Trade in Rice
The NBR states, except for Egypt, are net rice importers ranging from Kenya which imports 80% of
rice supply, to Tanzania which imports less than 1%. Rice trade within the Basin is so small as to be
almost negligible; the majority of trade is outside the Basin. Large volumes of virtual water are
imported by upstream Nile Basin countries from countries outside the Basin.
Egypt exports some of its rice (10%). A portion of Egypt's virtual water trade in rice is being
transported upstream to Sudan and to Kenya, but the majority is to trading partners outside of the
Nile Basin.
Virtual Water Trade flows in Rice, Egypt (2005-2009)
Virtual Water exports from Egypt
Virtual Water imports to Egypt
Only significant VW flows are shown, relative size of arrow shows relative flow 13
15. Opportunities for Regionalisation through Water Footprint
Regionalisation is a common buzz word in international relations debates, including the Nile Basin.
Water resources are often regional by their very nature; the majority of the globe’s rivers are trans-
boundary, making upstream and downstream riparians states irrevocably interdependent. The way
in which water is managed is therefore very important to regional development. One of the aims of
this study is to contribute an analysis of agricultural commodities produced in the Nile Basin
countries and examine whether there are any insights for regionalisation.
The Nile Basin countries share a common water resource, each with a varying proportion of land
area located within Basin. Water footprint analysis highlights climatological comparative
advantage. Trade theory argues that facilitating trade based on comparative advantage is the most
efficient way of generating economic growth and therefore development.
The concept of virtual water combines these two attributes into one model. If countries in a Basin
concentrated resources on producing products for which they have a comparative advantage,
virtual water trade within the Basin might contribute to allocation efficiency. Since the Nile Basin
countries are largely agrarian economies, water is largely used for agricultural purposes. In practice,
therefore, cooperation in production and trade in food deserves special treatment given mounting
food needs. Virtual water trade in the Basin could be viewed as food trade.
Overall this analysis has shown that - except in specific cases where a downstream country is
achieving very high yields (eg Egypt’s maize and rice production) - the water footprints are lower
upstream in the Nile Basin. This is strong evidence that evaporative loss would be reduced, and
water within the Basin allocated and used more efficiently, if countries within the Basin reallocate
some of their water from the production of crops for which they have a comparative disadvantage
to that which they have a comparative advantage. Comparative advantages can be climatological
(and here upstream is favoured over downstream) but have also been shown to be in yields (some
countries have higher yields which positively impact water footprints).
However, virtual water trade would only contribute to regional development in the region if there
were a regional market. Without functioning local and regional markets, climatic opportunity costs
or comparative advantages cannot be properly established. Current trade climates and conditions
are not very supportive for enhancing virtual water trade within the Nile Basin. Although there are
some moves toward economic integration through the East African Community (EAC), trade
between upstream and downstream riparians is small as compared to trade with the riparians and
the rest of the world.
Finally, there is a collective action challenge in benefit sharing through virtual water trade which
needs to be overcome. Virtual water trade has geopolitical implications as upstream and
downstream interaction induces dependencies between countries. Inter-Basin trade would require
cooperative measures from the countries and mutual trust that agreements would be kept in the
future. There is a distance to go given historical relationships within the region.
Despite the above, the water footprint, agriculture and trade discussion from this analysis takes on
a particularly interesting regional perspective when distinguishing the broad types of agricultural
production in the Nile Basin countries and the following observations can be made:
• Cash crops (such as coffee, tea, flowers and sugar) are produced for both domestic
consumption and export, with a global competitive advantage in production and brand for
some of the Nile Basin countries. Advantage can be gained by taking a regional perspective in
using country brands to export regional production (such as tea from Kenya see map below)
and expanding the processing opportunities between countries along the supply chain,
while proactively and coherently managing customer perceptions about the water impacts
of these crops (such as around coffee and flowers).
14
16. • Cereals (such as maize, wheat and rice) are staples that vary in demand according to country
consumer and cultural preferences, with a competitive advantage in production by individual
Nile Basin countries. While many countries largely produce to consume rather than trade over
the long term, there are regional opportunities to explore regional self-sufficiency and reduce
import needs, by expanding production in those countries with comparative advantage (such as
wheat in Tanzania or maize in Uganda), sharing technology and management capacity
between countries (such as from Egypt) and promoting regional inter-country trade to
overcome climate variability and drought.
• Staple foods (such as beans, bananas and livestock) to supply domestic demands according to
cultural preferences are produced in-country through rainfed cultivation in the southern
countries. Regional opportunities to promote food security relate to sharing management
expertise to improve production yields and promoting inter-country trade where there is
comparative advantage to overcome climate variability and drought.
Virtual Water Flows in tea trade in the Nile Basin, 2005-2009
15