The sustainable management of each of the planet’s natural resources has led to the creation of different and numerous indicators that allow obtaining information related to the use and consumption of such natural resources. In this context, virtual water develops a fundamental role as a strategy for the application of environmental and economic policies and measures linked to the concrete management of the planet’s water resources. Linked to consumption, commerce, and the ecological economy of water, this important indicator provides sufficient information so that we can address the problem of water management at a global scale with different perspectives.
If you want to deepen this interesting theme and know the amount of liters of water needed for the manufacture of many of the products we consume in our day to day, continue reading this ecology article in which you will find detailed information about the virtual water, what is and examples.
What is virtual water – definition
He Virtual Water Term (AV) was coined in 1993 by Professor Allan, which defined it as the water that “contains” each product and service, that is, the physical amount of water that is used to manufacture a certain product or generate a service concrete.
Thus, virtual water is conceived as a physical indicator capable of providing information related to the different water requirements of agricultural and livestock products, as well as the rest of the goods, such as industrial goods (the amount of water needed to make a car, among other examples) and services (for example, the amount of water linked to tourism activity).
On the other hand, the Virtual Water Indicator It facilitates information about the water flows established in commercial routes between countries and regions. In this way, it is possible to analyze Virtual water flows exported and imported, through the knowledge of “contained” water in those products marketed.
For these calculations, the virtual water indicator follows a methodology based on the specific water demand of each product, well and service, highlighting the importance of climatic parameters, as well as the different types of soil and of the culture species and other raw materials used when proposing these calculations.
In the next section we will see some concrete examples of virtual water that characterizes different products, to have a more detailed idea of the role that water plays within the production and marketing systems of products, goods and services.
Virtual water: examples
How many liters of water would you say that they are necessary to produce an egg or 1 kilogram of rice? In this section we will discover the exact figures of the amount of water (virtual water) necessary to obtain different products that we frequently consume in our day to day.
Examples of virtual water (product and liters of water)
- Oranges (1 unit): 50 L
- Apples (1 unit): 70 L
- Bananas (1 kg): 500 l
- Eggs (1 unit): 200 L
- Bread (500 g): 650 L
- Milk (1 l): 712 L
- Cheese (1 kg): 5,280 L
- Corn (500 g): 450 L
- Wheat (500 g) 500 L
- Potatoes (1 kg): 133 L
- Rice (1 kg): 2,500 L
- Chicken meat (1 kg): 3,700 L
- Pork fillet (300 g): 1,440 l
- Lamb fillet (300 g) 1,830 L
- Veal meat (1 kg): 17,100 l
- Beer (1 L): 5.5 L
- Butter (1 kg): 18,000 l
As you can see, a great amount of water is used to obtain many of the food products that we usually have at home. Therefore, we want to share with you this other article about what is responsible consumption, because it is very necessary today.
Difference between virtual water and water footprint
Now that you know the definition and the main Virtual Water Characteristics (AV)it is convenient to clarify some concepts related to said indicator, such as the Water footprint (HH)not to confuse the application and usefulness of both physical indicators.
Thus, the Water footprint concept Of a country or individual, it was defined by Professor Hoekstra in 2003, such as the volume of water used in the production of those goods and services that are consumed by the inhabitants a certain country.
In this way, the water footprint has a marked utility as an indicator that relates the use of water with respect to the consumption of populations, while virtual water does not calculate this relationship, but simply provides information on the total amount of water used during production (and commercialization if applicable), from products, goods and services.
This Difference between virtual water and water footprint It makes it possible to address from two different perspectives the responsible management of water consumption, as well as the possibility of establishing environmental and economic policies linked to water producers and consumers, so that, among all populations, we can bet on sustainable use and conservation of water resources on the planet.
You can learn more about the water footprint in this other post of ecology see about what water water is. We also recommend reading this other article about the importance of water conservation and its techniques.
If you want to read more articles similar to Virtual water: what is and exampleswe recommend that you enter our environmental education category.
- Beltrán, MJ (2016) What Do Virtual Water and Water Footprint Conceal? Water alternatives. Volume 9 (1), pp: 162-164.
- Hoekstra, Ay, Chapagain, Ak & Zhang, G. (2015) Water Footrprint and Sustainable Water Allocation. MDPI Sustainability Journal. Volume 8, Page: 20.
- Beltrán, MJ (2013) The political ecology of virtual water and the water footprint. Reflections on the need for a critical analysis of virtual water flow indicators in the economy. Critical Economy Magazine. Volume 20.
