Water Footprint and Virtual Water Trade of Brazil
Freshwater scarcity has increased at an alarming rate worldwide; improved water management plays a vital role in increasing food production and security. This study aims to determine the water footprint of Brazil’s national food consumption, the virtual water flows associated with international trad...
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doaj-27675454351b41f29d4ef0efacd3eb1f2020-11-24T21:36:56ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412016-11-0181151710.3390/w8110517w8110517Water Footprint and Virtual Water Trade of BrazilVicente de Paulo R. da Silva0Sonaly D. de Oliveira1Arjen Y. Hoekstra2José Dantas Neto3João Hugo B. C. Campos4Célia C. Braga5Lincoln Eloi de Araújo6Danilo de Oliveira Aleixo7José Ivaldo B. de Brito8Márcio Dionísio de Souza9Romildo M. de Holanda10Federal University of Campina Grande, Av. Aprígio Veloso, 882, Bodocongó, Campina Grande PB 58429-900, BrazilUNESC Faculdades, R. Vidal de Negreiros, 111—Centro, Campina Grande PB 58400-263, BrazilTwente Water Centre, University of Twente, 7522 NB Enschede, The NetherlandsFederal University of Campina Grande, Av. Aprígio Veloso, 882, Bodocongó, Campina Grande PB 58429-900, BrazilEstadual University of Paraíba, R. Baraúnas, 351—Universitário, Campina Grande PB 58429-500, BrazilFederal University of Campina Grande, Av. Aprígio Veloso, 882, Bodocongó, Campina Grande PB 58429-900, BrazilFederal University of Paraíba, Castelo Branco, João Pessoa PB 58051-900, BrazilUNESC Faculdades, R. Vidal de Negreiros, 111—Centro, Campina Grande PB 58400-263, BrazilFederal University of Campina Grande, Av. Aprígio Veloso, 882, Bodocongó, Campina Grande PB 58429-900, BrazilMDL Brasil Consultoria & Marketing, Consultoria para o Desenvolvimento, João Pessoa PB 58051-900, BrazilFederal Rural University of Pernambuco, Recife PE 52171-900, BrazilFreshwater scarcity has increased at an alarming rate worldwide; improved water management plays a vital role in increasing food production and security. This study aims to determine the water footprint of Brazil’s national food consumption, the virtual water flows associated with international trade in the main agricultural commodities, as well as water scarcity, water self-sufficiency and water dependency per Brazilian region. While previous country studies on water footprints and virtual water trade focused on virtual water importers or water-scarce countries, this is the first study to concentrate on a water-abundant virtual water-exporting country. Besides, it is the first study establishing international virtual water trade balances per state, which is relevant given the fact that water scarcity varies across states within the country, so the origin of virtual water exports matters. The results show that the average water footprint of Brazilian food consumption is 1619 m3/person/year. Beef contributes most (21%) to this total. We find a net virtual water export of 54.8 billion m3/year, mainly to Europe, which imports 41% of the gross amount of the virtual water exported from Brazil. The northeast, the region with the highest water scarcity, has a net import of virtual water. The southeast, next in terms of water scarcity, shows large virtual water exports, mainly related to the export of sugar. The north, which has the most water, does not show a high virtual water export rate.http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/8/11/517water footprintwater scarcitynational consumptiontrade |
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DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Vicente de Paulo R. da Silva Sonaly D. de Oliveira Arjen Y. Hoekstra José Dantas Neto João Hugo B. C. Campos Célia C. Braga Lincoln Eloi de Araújo Danilo de Oliveira Aleixo José Ivaldo B. de Brito Márcio Dionísio de Souza Romildo M. de Holanda |
spellingShingle |
Vicente de Paulo R. da Silva Sonaly D. de Oliveira Arjen Y. Hoekstra José Dantas Neto João Hugo B. C. Campos Célia C. Braga Lincoln Eloi de Araújo Danilo de Oliveira Aleixo José Ivaldo B. de Brito Márcio Dionísio de Souza Romildo M. de Holanda Water Footprint and Virtual Water Trade of Brazil Water water footprint water scarcity national consumption trade |
author_facet |
Vicente de Paulo R. da Silva Sonaly D. de Oliveira Arjen Y. Hoekstra José Dantas Neto João Hugo B. C. Campos Célia C. Braga Lincoln Eloi de Araújo Danilo de Oliveira Aleixo José Ivaldo B. de Brito Márcio Dionísio de Souza Romildo M. de Holanda |
author_sort |
Vicente de Paulo R. da Silva |
title |
Water Footprint and Virtual Water Trade of Brazil |
title_short |
Water Footprint and Virtual Water Trade of Brazil |
title_full |
Water Footprint and Virtual Water Trade of Brazil |
title_fullStr |
Water Footprint and Virtual Water Trade of Brazil |
title_full_unstemmed |
Water Footprint and Virtual Water Trade of Brazil |
title_sort |
water footprint and virtual water trade of brazil |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Water |
issn |
2073-4441 |
publishDate |
2016-11-01 |
description |
Freshwater scarcity has increased at an alarming rate worldwide; improved water management plays a vital role in increasing food production and security. This study aims to determine the water footprint of Brazil’s national food consumption, the virtual water flows associated with international trade in the main agricultural commodities, as well as water scarcity, water self-sufficiency and water dependency per Brazilian region. While previous country studies on water footprints and virtual water trade focused on virtual water importers or water-scarce countries, this is the first study to concentrate on a water-abundant virtual water-exporting country. Besides, it is the first study establishing international virtual water trade balances per state, which is relevant given the fact that water scarcity varies across states within the country, so the origin of virtual water exports matters. The results show that the average water footprint of Brazilian food consumption is 1619 m3/person/year. Beef contributes most (21%) to this total. We find a net virtual water export of 54.8 billion m3/year, mainly to Europe, which imports 41% of the gross amount of the virtual water exported from Brazil. The northeast, the region with the highest water scarcity, has a net import of virtual water. The southeast, next in terms of water scarcity, shows large virtual water exports, mainly related to the export of sugar. The north, which has the most water, does not show a high virtual water export rate. |
topic |
water footprint water scarcity national consumption trade |
url |
http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/8/11/517 |
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