The water footprint assessment manual

Human activities consume and pollute a lot of water. At a global scale, most of the water use occurs in agricultural production, but there are also substantial water volumes consumed and polluted in the industrial and domestic sectors (WWAP, 2009). Water consumption and pollution can be associated with
specific activities, such as irrigation, bathing, washing, cleaning, cooling and processing. Total water consumption and pollution are generally regarded as the sum of a multitude of independent water demanding and polluting activities. There has been little attention paid to the fact that, in the end, total
water consumption and pollution relate to what and how much communities consume and to the structure of the global economy that supplies the various consumer goods and services. Until the recent past, there have been few thoughts in the science and practice of water management about water consumption and pollution along whole production and supply chains. As a result, there is
little awareness regarding the fact that the organization and characteristics of a production and supply chain strongly influence the volumes (and temporal and spatial distribution) of water consumption and pollution that can be associated with a final consumer product. Hoekstra and Chapagain (2008) have shown that visualizing the hidden water use behind products can help in understanding the global character of fresh water and in quantifying the effects of consumption and trade on water resources use. The improved understanding can form a basis for a better management of the globe’s freshwater resources. Freshwater is increasingly becoming a global resource, driven by growing international trade in water-intensive commodities. Apart from regional markets, there are also global markets for water-intensive goods such as crop and livestock products, natural fibres and bio-energy. As a result, use of water resources has become spatially disconnected from the consumers. This can be illustrated for
the case of cotton. From field to end product, cotton passes through a number of distinct production stages with different impacts on water resources.

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