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108-461: Traditionally, water use has been approached from the production side, by quantifying the following three columns of water use: water withdrawals in the agricultural , industrial , and domestic sector. While this does provide valuable data, it is a limited way of looking at water use in a globalised world, in which products are not always consumed in their country of origin. International trade of agricultural and industrial products in effect creates

216-787: A lord of the manor with a Roman Catholic church and priest. Thanks to the exchange with the Al-Andalus where the Arab Agricultural Revolution was underway, European agriculture transformed, with improved techniques and the diffusion of crop plants, including the introduction of sugar, rice, cotton and fruit trees (such as the orange). After 1492, the Columbian exchange brought New World crops such as maize, potatoes, tomatoes, sweet potatoes , and manioc to Europe, and Old World crops such as wheat, barley, rice, and turnips , and livestock (including horses, cattle, sheep and goats) to

324-624: A balanced and sustainable water-use approach, aiming to tackle global challenges. This approach is essential for responsible and equitable water resource utilization globally. Thus, it gives a grasp on how economic choices and processes influence the availability of adequate water resources and other ecological realities across the globe (and vice versa). There are many different aspects to water footprint and therefore different definitions and measures to describe them. Blue water footprint refers to groundwater or surface water usage, green water footprint refers to rainwater, and grey water footprint refers to

432-634: A blue water footprint. A green water footprint refers to the amount of water from precipitation that, after having been stored in the root zone of the soil (green water), is either lost by evapotranspiration or incorporated by plants. It is particularly relevant for agricultural, horticultural and forestry products. A grey water footprint refers to the volume of water that is required to dilute pollutants (industrial discharges, seepage from tailing ponds at mining operations, untreated municipal wastewater, or nonpoint source pollution such as agricultural runoff or urban runoff ) to such an extent that

540-468: A city, province, river basin or the entire world. The absolute water footprint is the total sum of water footprints of all people. A country's per capita water footprint (that nation's water footprint divided by its number of inhabitants) can be used to compare its water footprint with those of other nations. The global water footprint in the period 1996–2005 was 9.087 Gm/yr (Billion Cubic Metres per year, or 9.087.000.000.000.000 liters/year), of which 74%

648-466: A combination of labor supply and labor demand trends have driven down the share of population employed in agriculture. During the 16th century in Europe, between 55 and 75% of the population was engaged in agriculture; by the 19th century, this had dropped to between 35 and 65%. In the same countries today, the figure is less than 10%. At the start of the 21st century, some one billion people, or over 1/3 of

756-578: A cost of €743 million. In south India the state Tamil Nadu is one of the main agricultural producers in India and it relies largely in groundwater for irrigation. In ten years, from 2002 to 2012, the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment calculated that the groundwater reduced in 1.4 m yr−1, which "is nearly 8% more than the annual recharge rate." Although agriculture's water use includes provision of important terrestrial environmental values (as discussed in

864-497: A fertilizer for crops. UNESCO-IHE IHE Delft Institute for Water Education is the largest international graduate water education facility in the world and is based in Delft , Netherlands . IHE Delft cooperates with Delft, the water knowledge city, and water related institutes based in Delft. The Institute confers fully accredited MSc degrees, and PhD degrees together with partners in

972-400: A global flow of virtual water , or embodied water (akin to the concept of embodied energy ). In 2002, the water footprint concept was introduced in order to have a consumption-based indicator of water use, that could provide useful information in addition to the traditional production-sector-based indicators of water use. It is analogous to the ecological footprint concept introduced in

1080-664: A hazardous industry, and farmers worldwide remain at high risk of work-related injuries, lung disease, noise-induced hearing loss , skin diseases, as well as certain cancers related to chemical use and prolonged sun exposure. On industrialized farms , injuries frequently involve the use of agricultural machinery , and a common cause of fatal agricultural injuries in developed countries is tractor rollovers . Pesticides and other chemicals used in farming can be hazardous to worker health , and workers exposed to pesticides may experience illness or have children with birth defects. As an industry in which families commonly share in work and live on

1188-444: A high use of inputs (water, fertilizer, pesticide and automation). It is practiced mainly in developed countries. From the twentieth century onwards, intensive agriculture increased crop productivity. It substituted synthetic fertilizers and pesticides for labor, but caused increased water pollution, and often involved farm subsidies. Soil degradation and diseases such as stem rust are major concerns globally; approximately 40% of

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1296-550: A national and global scale, water sustainability requires strategic and long term planning to ensure appropriate sources of clean water are identified and the environmental and economic impact of such choices are understood and accepted. The re-use and reclamation of water is also part of sustainability including downstream impacts on both surface waters and ground waters . Water footprint accounting has advanced substantially in recent years, however, water footprint analysis also needs sustainability assessment as its last phase. One of

1404-447: A positive note, the gender gap in access to mobile internet in low- and middle-income countries fell from 25 percent to 16 percent between 2017 and 2021, and the gender gap in access to bank accounts narrowed from 9 to 6 percentage points. Women are as likely as men to adopt new technologies when the necessary enabling factors are put in place and they have equal access to complementary resources. Agriculture, specifically farming, remains

1512-404: A significant decrease in genetic diversity and resources among livestock breeds, leading to a corresponding decrease in disease resistance and local adaptations previously found among traditional breeds. Grassland based livestock production relies upon plant material such as shrubland , rangeland , and pastures for feeding ruminant animals. Outside nutrient inputs may be used, however manure

1620-485: A small area of forest is cleared by cutting and burning the trees. The cleared land is used for growing crops for a few years until the soil becomes too infertile, and the area is abandoned. Another patch of land is selected and the process is repeated. This type of farming is practiced mainly in areas with abundant rainfall where the forest regenerates quickly. This practice is used in Northeast India, Southeast Asia, and

1728-520: A thousand manufacturing plants in about 200 countries. Making its drink uses a lot of water. Critics say its water footprint has been large. Coca-Cola has started to look at its water sustainability . It has now set out goals to reduce its water footprint such as treating the water it uses so it goes back into the environment in a clean state. Another goal is to find sustainable sources for the raw materials it uses in its drinks, such as sugarcane , oranges , and maize . By making its water footprint better,

1836-421: A water footprint assessment. The ISO standard is based on life-cycle assessment (LCA) principles and can be applied for different sorts of assessment of products and companies. Life-cycle assessment (LCA) is a systematic, phased approach to assessing the environmental aspects and potential impacts that are associated with a product, process or service. "Life cycle" refers to the major activities connected with

1944-552: A year, or requiring irrigation. In all of these environments perennial crops are grown (coffee, chocolate) and systems are practiced such as agroforestry . In temperate environments, where ecosystems were predominantly grassland or prairie , highly productive annual farming is the dominant agricultural system. Important categories of food crops include cereals, legumes, forage, fruits and vegetables. Natural fibers include cotton, wool , hemp , silk and flax . Specific crops are cultivated in distinct growing regions throughout

2052-470: A yearly summit to discuss safety. Overall production varies by country as listed. The twenty largest countries by agricultural output (in nominal terms) at peak level as of 2018, according to the IMF and CIA World Factbook . Cropping systems vary among farms depending on the available resources and constraints; geography and climate of the farm; government policy; economic, social and political pressures; and

2160-541: Is 1,385 m per year. Residents of some example nations have water footprints as shown in the table: The water footprint of a nation is the amount of water used to produce the goods and services consumed by the inhabitants of that nation. Analysis of the water footprint of nations illustrates the global dimension of water consumption and pollution, by showing that several countries rely heavily on foreign water resources and that (consumption patterns in) many countries significantly and in various ways impact how, and how much, water

2268-571: Is a hybrid of a Chilean and a North American species, developed by breeding in Europe and North America. The indigenous people of the Southwest and the Pacific Northwest practiced forest gardening and fire-stick farming . The natives controlled fire on a regional scale to create a low-intensity fire ecology that sustained a low-density agriculture in loose rotation; a sort of "wild" permaculture . A system of companion planting called

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2376-512: Is a major user of withdrawn water, changes in the magnitude and efficiency of its water use are important. In the US, from 1980 (when agriculture's withdrawn water use peaked) to 2010, there was a 23 percent reduction in agriculture's use of withdrawn water, while US agricultural output increased by 49 percent over that period. In the US, irrigation water application data are collected in the quinquennial Farm and Ranch Irrigation Survey, conducted as part of

2484-458: Is being consumed and polluted elsewhere on Earth. International water dependencies are substantial and are likely to increase with continued global trade liberalisation . The largest share (76%) of the virtual water flows between countries is related to international trade in crops and derived crop products. Trade in animal products and industrial products contributed 12% each to the global virtual water flows. The four major direct factors determining

2592-626: Is both a cause of and sensitive to environmental degradation , such as biodiversity loss , desertification , soil degradation , and climate change , all of which can cause decreases in crop yield. Genetically modified organisms are widely used, although some countries ban them . The word agriculture is a late Middle English adaptation of Latin agricultūra , from ager 'field' and cultūra ' cultivation ' or 'growing'. While agriculture usually refers to human activities, certain species of ant , termite and beetle have been cultivating crops for up to 60 million years. Agriculture

2700-404: Is crucial where water-intensive products (for example agricultural goods) are concerned that need to therefore undergo a life-cycle assessment. In addition, regional assessments are equally as necessary as the impact of water use depends on its location. In short, LCA is important as it identifies the impact of water use in certain products, consumers, companies, nations, etc. which can help reduce

2808-444: Is defined with varying scopes, in its broadest sense using natural resources to "produce commodities which maintain life, including food, fiber, forest products, horticultural crops, and their related services". Thus defined, it includes arable farming , horticulture, animal husbandry and forestry , but horticulture and forestry are in practice often excluded. It may also be broadly decomposed into plant agriculture , which concerns

2916-790: Is essential to consider more carefully the inherent flaws in the virtual water and water footprint perspectives, particularly when seeking guidance regarding policy decisions." The application and interpretation of water footprints may sometimes be used to promote industrial activities that lead to facile criticism of certain products. For example, the 140 litres required for coffee production for one cup might be of no harm to water resources if its cultivation occurs mainly in humid areas, but could be damaging in more arid regions. Other factors such as hydrology, climate, geology, topography, population and demographics should also be taken into account. Nevertheless, high water footprint calculations do suggest that environmental concern may be appropriate. Many of

3024-438: Is for irrigation , which uses about 5.1 percent of total actual renewable freshwater resources. World water use has been growing rapidly in the last hundred years. The water footprint of a product is the total volume of freshwater used to produce the product, summed over the various steps of the production chain. The water footprint of a product refers not only to the total volume of water used; it also refers to where and when

3132-536: Is for keeping streams flowing, maintaining aquatic and riparian habitats, keeping wetlands wet, etc. According to Dennis Wichelns of the International Water Management Institute : "Although one goal of virtual water analysis is to describe opportunities for improving water security , there is almost no mention of the potential impacts of the prescriptions arising from that analysis on farm households in industrialized or developing countries. It

3240-504: Is in contrast to the carbon footprint, where carbon emissions are not simply summarized but normalized by CO 2 emissions, which are globally identical, to account for the environmental harm. The difference is due to the somewhat more complex nature of water; while involved in the global hydrological cycle, it is expressed in conditions both local and regional through various forms like river basins, watersheds, on down to groundwater (as part of larger aquifer systems). Furthermore, looking at

3348-438: Is returned directly to the grassland as a major nutrient source. This system is particularly important in areas where crop production is not feasible because of climate or soil, representing 30–40 million pastoralists. Mixed production systems use grassland, fodder crops and grain feed crops as feed for ruminant and monogastric (one stomach; mainly chickens and pigs) livestock. Manure is typically recycled in mixed systems as

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3456-553: Is sometimes called "total actual renewable freshwater resources". Its magnitude was in 2012 estimated at 52,579 km (12,614 cu mi)/year. It represents water that can be used either in-stream or after withdrawal from surface and groundwater sources. Of this remainder, about 3,918 km (940 cu mi) were withdrawn in 2007, of which 2,722 km (653 cu mi), or 69 percent, were used by agriculture, and 734 km (176 cu mi), or 19 percent, by other industry. Most agricultural use of withdrawn water

3564-480: Is the whole footprint (sum) of processes in its complete supply chain divided by the number of product units. For consumers, businesses and geographic area, water footprint is indicated as volume of water per time, in particular: The concept of a water footprint was coined in 2002, by Arjen Hoekstra , Professor in water management at the University of Twente , Netherlands , and co-founder and scientific director of

3672-483: Is to leave a positive impact on water ecosystem and ensure that more water is conserved and restored than is used or depleted. Globally, about 4 percent of precipitation falling on land each year (about 117,000 km (28,000 cu mi)), is used by rain-fed agriculture and about half is subject to evaporation and transpiration in forests and other natural or quasi-natural landscapes. The remainder, which goes to groundwater replenishment and surface runoff ,

3780-465: Is used or polluted in order to provide the goods and services produced in that country. The water footprint of consumption of a country looks at the amount of water used or polluted (locally, or in the case of imported goods, in other countries) in connection with all the goods and services that are consumed by the inhabitants of that country. The water footprint of production and that of consumption, can also be estimated for any administrative unit such as

3888-494: The Indus Valley civilization . In China, from the 5th century BC, there was a nationwide granary system and widespread silk farming . Water-powered grain mills were in use by the 1st century BC, followed by irrigation. By the late 2nd century, heavy ploughs had been developed with iron ploughshares and mouldboards . These spread westwards across Eurasia. Asian rice was domesticated 8,200–13,500 years ago – depending on

3996-572: The Paleolithic , after 10,000 BC. Staple food crops were grains such as wheat and barley, alongside industrial crops such as flax and papyrus . In India , wheat, barley and jujube were domesticated by 9,000 BC, soon followed by sheep and goats. Cattle, sheep and goats were domesticated in Mehrgarh culture by 8,000–6,000 BC. Cotton was cultivated by the 5th–4th millennium BC. Archeological evidence indicates an animal-drawn plough from 2,500 BC in

4104-680: The Product Gallery of the Water Footprint Network Archived 2020-07-30 at the Wayback Machine ) The water footprint of a business, the 'corporate water footprint', is defined as the total volume of freshwater that is used directly or indirectly to run and support a business. It is the total volume of water use to be associated with the use of the business outputs. The water footprint of a business consists of water used for producing/manufacturing or for supporting activities and

4212-504: The Tigris and Euphrates rivers and a canal system for irrigation. Ploughs appear in pictographs around 3,000 BC; seed-ploughs around 2,300 BC. Farmers grew wheat, barley, vegetables such as lentils and onions, and fruits including dates, grapes, and figs. Ancient Egyptian agriculture relied on the Nile River and its seasonal flooding. Farming started in the predynastic period at the end of

4320-613: The molecular clock estimate that is used – on the Pearl River in southern China with a single genetic origin from the wild rice Oryza rufipogon . In Greece and Rome , the major cereals were wheat, emmer, and barley, alongside vegetables including peas, beans, and olives. Sheep and goats were kept mainly for dairy products. In the Americas, crops domesticated in Mesoamerica (apart from teosinte) include squash, beans, and cacao . Cocoa

4428-536: The organic movement . Unsustainable farming practices in North America led to the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Pastoralism involves managing domesticated animals. In nomadic pastoralism , herds of livestock are moved from place to place in search of pasture, fodder, and water. This type of farming is practiced in arid and semi-arid regions of Sahara , Central Asia and some parts of India. In shifting cultivation ,

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4536-525: The " Water footprint of products " section above), and much "green water" is used in maintaining forests and wild lands, there is also direct environmental use (e.g. of surface water) that may be allocated by governments. For example, in California , where water use issues are sometimes severe because of drought, about 48 percent of "dedicated water use" in an average water year is for the environment (somewhat more than for agriculture). Such environmental water use

4644-523: The 1990s. The water footprint is a geographically explicit indicator, not only showing volumes of water use and pollution, but also the locations. The global issue of water footprinting underscores the importance of fair and sustainable resource management. Due to increasing water shortages, climate change, and environmental concerns, transitioning towards a fair impact of water use is critical. The water footprint concept offers detailed insights for adequate and equitable water resource management. It advocates for

4752-528: The Amazon Basin. Subsistence farming is practiced to satisfy family or local needs alone, with little left over for transport elsewhere. It is intensively practiced in Monsoon Asia and South-East Asia. An estimated 2.5 billion subsistence farmers worked in 2018, cultivating about 60% of the earth's arable land . Intensive farming is cultivation to maximize productivity, with a low fallow ratio and

4860-547: The Americas. Irrigation , crop rotation , and fertilizers advanced from the 17th century with the British Agricultural Revolution , allowing global population to rise significantly. Since 1900, agriculture in developed nations, and to a lesser extent in the developing world, has seen large rises in productivity as mechanization replaces human labor, and assisted by synthetic fertilizers , pesticides, and selective breeding . The Haber-Bosch method allowed

4968-545: The Census of Agriculture. Such data indicate great differences in irrigation water use within various agricultural sectors. For example, about 14 percent of corn-for-grain land and 11 percent of soybean land in the US are irrigated, compared with 66 percent of vegetable land, 79 percent of orchard land and 97 percent of rice land. Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture , and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture

5076-700: The Netherlands. Since 1957 the Institute has provided graduate education to more than 23,000 water professionals from over 190 countries, and is a flagship institute in the UN-Water family. IHE Delft is a partner institute of the National SENSE Research School. As an accredited institution, staff and students are expected to follow the Netherlands Code of Conduct for Scientific Practice The institute

5184-568: The Paleolithic Levant, 23,000 years ago, cereals cultivation of emmer , barley , and oats has been observed near the sea of Galilee. Rice was domesticated in China between 11,500 and 6,200 BC with the earliest known cultivation from 5,700 BC, followed by mung , soy and azuki beans. Sheep were domesticated in Mesopotamia between 13,000 and 11,000 years ago. Cattle were domesticated from

5292-479: The Three Sisters was developed in North America. The three crops were winter squash , maize, and climbing beans. Indigenous Australians , long supposed to have been nomadic hunter-gatherers , practiced systematic burning, possibly to enhance natural productivity in fire-stick farming. Scholars have pointed out that hunter-gatherers need a productive environment to support gathering without cultivation. Because

5400-416: The US (including loss in conveyance of irrigation water) is estimated to account for about 38 percent of US withdrawn freshwater use, the irrigation water used for production of livestock feed and forage has been estimated to account for about 9 percent, and other withdrawn freshwater use for the livestock sector (for drinking, washdown of facilities, etc.) is estimated at about 0.7 percent. Because agriculture

5508-548: The United Kingdom (77 Gm/year), and The Netherlands (71 Gm/year). Each EU citizen consumes 4,815 litres of water per day on average; 44% is used in power production primarily to cool thermal plants or nuclear power plants. Energy production annual water consumption in the EU 27 in 2011 was, in billion m: for gas 0.53, coal 1.54 and nuclear 2.44. Wind energy avoided the use of 387 million cubic metres (mn m) of water in 2012, avoiding

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5616-786: The United Nations (FAO) posits that the roles and responsibilities of women in agriculture may be changing – for example, from subsistence farming to wage employment, and from contributing household members to primary producers in the context of male-out-migration. In general, women account for a greater share of agricultural employment at lower levels of economic development, as inadequate education, limited access to basic infrastructure and markets, high unpaid work burden and poor rural employment opportunities outside agriculture severely limit women's opportunities for off-farm work. Women who work in agricultural production tend to do so under highly unfavorable conditions. They tend to be concentrated in

5724-517: The United States is roughly 1.7 times more productive than it was in 1948. Agriculture employed 873 million people in 2021, or 27% of the global workforce, compared with 1 027 million (or 40%) in 2000. The share of agriculture in global GDP was stable at around 4% since 2000–2023. Despite increases in agricultural production and productivity, between 702 and 828 million people were affected by hunger in 2021. Food insecurity and malnutrition can be

5832-535: The Water Footprint Network, whilst working at the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, as a metric to measure the amount of water consumed and polluted to produce goods and services along their full supply chain. Water footprint is one of a family of ecological footprint indicators, which also includes carbon footprint and land footprint . The water footprint concept is further related to

5940-471: The amount of water needed to dilute pollutants. A blue water footprint refers to the volume of water that has been sourced from surface or groundwater resources (lakes, rivers, wetlands and aquifers ) and has either evaporated (for example while irrigating crops), or been incorporated into a product or taken from one body of water and returned to another, or returned at a different time. Irrigated agriculture, industry and domestic water use can each have

6048-567: The amount of water used. The Water Positive initiative can be defined as the concept where an entity, such as a company, community, or individual, goes beyond simply conserving water and actively contributes to the sustainable management and restoration of water resources. A commercial or residential development is considered water positive when it generates more water than it consumes. This involves implementing practices and technologies that reduce water consumption, improve water quality, and enhance water availability. The goal of being water positive

6156-530: The annual work-related death toll among agricultural employees is at least 170,000, twice the average rate of other jobs. In addition, incidences of death, injury and illness related to agricultural activities often go unreported. The organization has developed the Safety and Health in Agriculture Convention, 2001 , which covers the range of risks in the agriculture occupation, the prevention of these risks and

6264-553: The available work force, were employed in agriculture. This constitutes approximately 70% of the global employment of children, and in many countries constitutes the largest percentage of women of any industry. The service sector overtook the agricultural sector as the largest global employer in 2007. In many developed countries, immigrants help fill labor shortages in high-value agriculture activities that are difficult to mechanize. Foreign farm workers from mostly Eastern Europe, North Africa and South Asia constituted around one-third of

6372-580: The central west coast and eastern central, early farmers cultivated yams, native millet, and bush onions, possibly in permanent settlements. In the Middle Ages , compared to the Roman period , agriculture in Western Europe became more focused on self-sufficiency . The agricultural population under feudalism was typically organized into manors consisting of several hundred or more acres of land presided over by

6480-436: The company can reduce costs, improve the environment, and benefit the communities in which it operates. The water footprint of an individual refers to the sum of their direct and indirect freshwater use. The direct water use is the water used at home, while the indirect water use relates to the total volume of freshwater that is used to produce the goods and services consumed. The average global water footprint of an individual

6588-491: The criticisms, including the above ones, compare the description of the water footprint of a water system to generated impacts, which is about its performance. Such a comparison between descriptive and performance factors and indicators is basically flawed. The use of the term footprint can also confuse people familiar with the notion of a carbon footprint , because the water footprint concept includes sums of water quantities without necessarily evaluating related impacts. This

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6696-468: The cultivation of useful plants, and animal agriculture , the production of agricultural animals. The development of agriculture enabled the human population to grow many times larger than could be sustained by hunting and gathering . Agriculture began independently in different parts of the globe, and included a diverse range of taxa , in at least 11 separate centers of origin . Wild grains were collected and eaten from at least 105,000 years ago. In

6804-404: The definition of the footprint itself, and comparing ecological footprint , carbon footprint and water footprint, we realize that the three terms are indeed legitimate. Sustainable water use involves the rigorous assessment of all source of clean water to establish the current and future rates of use, the impacts of that use both downstream and in the wider area where the water may be used and

6912-852: The developments is to employ sustainable efficiency and equity ("Sefficiency in Sequity"), which present a comprehensive approach to assessing the sustainable use of water. Several nations estimate sectoral distribution of use of water withdrawn from surface and groundwater sources. For example, in Canada, in 2005, 42 billion m of withdrawn water were used, of which about 38 billion m were freshwater. Distribution of this use among sectors was: thermoelectric power generation 66.2%, manufacturing 13.6%, residential 9.0%, agriculture 4.7%, commercial and institutional 2.7%, water treatment and distribution systems 2.3%, mining 1.1%, and oil and gas extraction 0.5%. The 38 billion m of freshwater withdrawn in that year can be compared with

7020-656: The domestication of squash (Cucurbita) and other plants. Coca was domesticated in the Andes, as were the peanut, tomato, tobacco, and pineapple . Cotton was domesticated in Peru by 3,600 BC. Animals including llamas , alpacas , and guinea pigs were domesticated there. In North America , the indigenous people of the East domesticated crops such as sunflower , tobacco, squash and Chenopodium . Wild foods including wild rice and maple sugar were harvested. The domesticated strawberry

7128-432: The farm itself, entire families can be at risk for injuries, illness, and death. Ages 0–6 may be an especially vulnerable population in agriculture; common causes of fatal injuries among young farm workers include drowning, machinery and motor accidents, including with all-terrain vehicles. The International Labor Organization considers agriculture "one of the most hazardous of all economic sectors". It estimates that

7236-806: The field has led to the establishment of the Water Footprint Network in 2008. The Water Footprint Network is an international learning community (a non-profit foundation under Dutch law ) which serves as a platform for sharing knowledge, tools and innovations among governments, businesses and communities concerned about growing water scarcity and increasing water pollution levels, and their impacts on people and nature. The network consists of around 100 partners from all sectors – producers, investors, suppliers and regulators – as well as non-governmental organisations and academics . It describes its mission as follows: To provide science-based , practical solutions and strategic insights that empower companies, governments, individuals and small-scale producers to transform

7344-430: The forests of New Guinea have few food plants, early humans may have used "selective burning" to increase the productivity of the wild karuka fruit trees to support the hunter-gatherer way of life. The Gunditjmara and other groups developed eel farming and fish trapping systems from some 5,000 years ago. There is evidence of 'intensification' across the whole continent over that period. In two regions of Australia,

7452-489: The global virtual water export, are the United States (314 Gm/year), China (143 Gm/year), India (125 Gm/year), Brazil (112 Gm/year), Argentina (98 Gm/year), Canada (91 Gm/year), Australia (89 Gm/year), Indonesia (72 Gm/year), France (65 Gm/year), and Germany (64 Gm/year). The top 10 gross virtual water importing nations are the United States (234 Gm/year), Japan (127 Gm/year), Germany (125 Gm/year), China (121 Gm/year), Italy (101 Gm/year), Mexico (92 Gm/year), France (78 Gm/year),

7560-422: The greater use of pesticides and fertilizers. Multiple cropping , in which several crops are grown sequentially in one year, and intercropping , when several crops are grown at the same time, are other kinds of annual cropping systems known as polycultures . In subtropical and arid environments, the timing and extent of agriculture may be limited by rainfall, either not allowing multiple annual crops in

7668-498: The idea of virtual water trade introduced in the early 1990s by Professor John Allan (2008 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate ). The most elaborate publications on how to estimate water footprints are a 2004 report on the Water footprint of nations from UNESCO-IHE, the 2008 book Globalization of Water , and the 2011 manual The water footprint assessment manual: Setting the global standard . Cooperation between global leading institutions in

7776-558: The impact of contaminated water streams on the environment and economic well being of the area. It also involves the implementation of social policies such as water pricing in order to manage water demand. In some localities, water may also have spiritual relevance and the use of such water may need to take account of such interests. For example, the Maori believe that water is the source and foundation of all life and have many spiritual associations with water and places associated with water. On

7884-596: The indirect water use in the producer's supply chain. The Carbon Trust argue that a more robust approach is for businesses to go beyond simple volumetric measurement to assess the full range of water impact from all sites. Its work with leading global pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) analysed four key categories: water availability, water quality, health impacts, and licence to operate (including reputational and regulatory risks) in order to enable GSK to quantitatively measure, and credibly reduce, its year-on-year water impact. The Coca-Cola Company operates over

7992-441: The input of nutrients (fertilizer or manure ) and some manual pest control . Annual cultivation is the next phase of intensity in which there is no fallow period. This requires even greater nutrient and pest control inputs. Further industrialization led to the use of monocultures , when one cultivar is planted on a large acreage. Because of the low biodiversity , nutrient use is uniform and pests tend to build up, necessitating

8100-469: The lower yield associated with organic farming and its impact on global food security . Recent mainstream technological developments include genetically modified food . By 2015, the agricultural output of China was the largest in the world, followed by the European Union, India and the United States. Economists measure the total factor productivity of agriculture, according to which agriculture in

8208-440: The nation's annual freshwater yield (estimated as streamflow) of 3,472 billion m. Sectoral distribution is different in many respects in the US, where agriculture accounts for about 39% of fresh water withdrawals, thermoelectric power generation 38%, industrial 4%, residential 1%, and mining (including oil and gas) 1%. Within the agricultural sector, withdrawn water use is for irrigation and for livestock. Whereas all irrigation in

8316-516: The other hand—e.g. Italy, Germany, the UK and the Netherlands—have external water footprints that constitute 50–80% of their total water footprint. The agricultural products that on average contribute most to the external water footprints of nations are: bovine meat, soybean, wheat, cocoa, rice, cotton and maize. The top 10 gross virtual water exporting nations, which together account for more than half of

8424-441: The period 1996-2005.) The internal water footprint is the amount of water used from domestic water resources; the external water footprint is the amount of water used in other countries to produce goods and services imported and consumed by the inhabitants of the country. When assessing the water footprint of a nation, it is crucial to take into account the international flows of virtual water (also called embodied water , i.e.

8532-437: The philosophy and culture of the farmer. Shifting cultivation (or slash and burn ) is a system in which forests are burnt, releasing nutrients to support cultivation of annual and then perennial crops for a period of several years. Then the plot is left fallow to regrow forest, and the farmer moves to a new plot, returning after many more years (10–20). This fallow period is shortened if population density grows, requiring

8640-414: The poorest countries, where alternative livelihoods are not available, and they maintain the intensity of their work in conditions of climate-induced weather shocks and in situations of conflict. Women are less likely to participate as entrepreneurs and independent farmers and are engaged in the production of less lucrative crops. The gender gap in land productivity between female- and male managed farms of

8748-432: The product's life-span, from its manufacture, use, and maintenance, to its final disposal, and also including the acquisition of raw material required to manufacture the product. Thus a method for assessing the environmental impacts of freshwater consumption was developed. It specifically looks at the damage to three areas of protection: human health, ecosystem quality, and resources. The consideration of water consumption

8856-440: The production of fish for human consumption in confined operations, is one of the fastest growing sectors of food production, growing at an average of 9% a year between 1975 and 2007. During the second half of the 20th century, producers using selective breeding focused on creating livestock breeds and crossbreeds that increased production, while mostly disregarding the need to preserve genetic diversity . This trend has led to

8964-405: The quality of the water meets agreed water quality standards. It is calculated as: where L is the pollutant load (as mass flux ), c max the maximum allowable concentration and c nat the natural concentration of the pollutant in the receiving water body (both expressed in mass/volume). The water footprint of a process is expressed as volumetric flow rate of water. That of a product

9072-477: The result of conflict, climate extremes and variability and economic swings. It can also be caused by a country's structural characteristics such as income status and natural resource endowments as well as its political economy. Pesticide use in agriculture went up 62% between 2000 and 2021, with the Americas accounting for half the use in 2021. The International Fund for Agricultural Development posits that an increase in smallholder agriculture may be part of

9180-844: The role that individuals and organizations engaged in agriculture should play. In the United States, agriculture has been identified by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health as a priority industry sector in the National Occupational Research Agenda to identify and provide intervention strategies for occupational health and safety issues. In the European Union, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work has issued guidelines on implementing health and safety directives in agriculture, livestock farming, horticulture, and forestry. The Agricultural Safety and Health Council of America (ASHCA) also holds

9288-474: The salaried agricultural workforce in Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal in 2013. In the United States of America, more than half of all hired farmworkers (roughly 450,000 workers) were immigrants in 2019, although the number of new immigrants arriving in the country to work in agriculture has fallen by 75 percent in recent years and rising wages indicate this has led to a major labor shortage on U.S. farms. Around

9396-439: The same size is 24 percent. On average, women earn 18.4 percent less than men in wage employment in agriculture; this means that women receive 82 cents for every dollar earned by men. Progress has been slow in closing gaps in women's access to irrigation and in ownership of livestock, too. Women in agriculture still have significantly less access than men to inputs, including improved seeds, fertilizers and mechanized equipment. On

9504-488: The solution to concerns about food prices and overall food security , given the favorable experience of Vietnam. Agriculture provides about one-quarter of all global employment, more than half in sub-Saharan Africa and almost 60 percent in low-income countries. As countries develop, other jobs have historically pulled workers away from agriculture, and labor-saving innovations increase agricultural productivity by reducing labor requirements per unit of output. Over time,

9612-400: The synthesis of ammonium nitrate fertilizer on an industrial scale, greatly increasing crop yields and sustaining a further increase in global population. Modern agriculture has raised or encountered ecological, political, and economic issues including water pollution , biofuels , genetically modified organisms , tariffs and farm subsidies , leading to alternative approaches such as

9720-655: The transition from hunter-gatherer to agricultural societies indicate an initial period of intensification and increasing sedentism ; examples are the Natufian culture in the Levant , and the Early Chinese Neolithic in China. Then, wild stands that had previously been harvested started to be planted, and gradually came to be domesticated. In Eurasia, the Sumerians started to live in villages from about 8,000 BC, relying on

9828-444: The water footprint of a country are: volume of consumption (related to the gross national income ); consumption pattern (e.g. high versus low meat consumption ); climate (growth conditions); and agricultural practice (water use efficiency). The assessment of total water use in connection to consumption can be approached from both ends of the supply chain . The water footprint of production estimates how much water from local sources

9936-504: The water is used. The Water Footprint Network maintains a global database on the water footprint of products: WaterStat. Nearly over 70% of the water supply worldwide is used in the agricultural sector. The water footprints involved in various diets vary greatly, and much of the variation tends to be associated with levels of meat consumption. The following table gives examples of estimated global average water footprints of popular agricultural products. (For more product water footprints: see

10044-635: The water used or polluted in connection to all agricultural and industrial commodities) leaving and entering the country. When taking the use of domestic water resources as a starting point for calculating a nation's water footprint, one should subtract the virtual water flows that leave the country and add the virtual water flows that enter the country. The external part of a nation's water footprint varies strongly from country to country. Some African nations, such as Sudan, Mali, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Malawi and Chad have hardly any external water footprint, simply because they have little import. Some European countries on

10152-862: The way we use and share fresh water within earth's limits. In February 2011, the Water Footprint Network, in a global collaborative effort of environmental organizations, companies, research institutions and the UN, launched the Global Water Footprint Standard . In July 2014, the International Organization for Standardization issued ISO 14046:2014, Environmental management—Water footprint—Principles, requirements and guidelines , to provide practical guidance to practitioners from various backgrounds, such as large companies, public authorities, non-governmental organizations, academic and research groups as well as small and medium enterprises, for carrying out

10260-656: The wild aurochs in the areas of modern Turkey and Pakistan some 10,500 years ago. Pig production emerged in Eurasia, including Europe, East Asia and Southwest Asia, where wild boar were first domesticated about 10,500 years ago. In the Andes of South America, the potato was domesticated between 10,000 and 7,000 years ago, along with beans, coca , llamas , alpacas , and guinea pigs . Sugarcane and some root vegetables were domesticated in New Guinea around 9,000 years ago. Sorghum

10368-744: The world consist of fewer than 2 hectares (4.9 acres), and take up only around 12% of all agricultural land. Farms and farming greatly influence rural economics and greatly shape rural society , affecting both the direct agricultural workforce and broader businesses that support the farms and farming populations. The major agricultural products can be broadly grouped into foods , fibers , fuels , and raw materials (such as rubber ). Food classes include cereals ( grains ), vegetables , fruits , cooking oils , meat , milk , eggs , and fungi . Global agricultural production amounts to approximately 11 billion tonnes of food, 32 million tonnes of natural fibers and 4 billion m of wood. However, around 14% of

10476-774: The world's agricultural land is seriously degraded. In recent years there has been a backlash against the environmental effects of conventional agriculture, resulting in the organic , regenerative , and sustainable agriculture movements. One of the major forces behind this movement has been the European Union , which first certified organic food in 1991 and began reform of its Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in 2005 to phase out commodity-linked farm subsidies, also known as decoupling . The growth of organic farming has renewed research in alternative technologies such as integrated pest management , selective breeding, and controlled-environment agriculture . There are concerns about

10584-664: The world's food is lost from production before reaching the retail level. Modern agronomy , plant breeding , agrochemicals such as pesticides and fertilizers , and technological developments have sharply increased crop yields , but also contributed to ecological and environmental damage . Selective breeding and modern practices in animal husbandry have similarly increased the output of meat, but have raised concerns about animal welfare and environmental damage. Environmental issues include contributions to climate change , depletion of aquifers , deforestation , antibiotic resistance , and other agricultural pollution . Agriculture

10692-641: The world, a total of 987 Gm/yr. In relative terms (i.e. taking population size into account), the people of the USA have the largest water footprint, with 2480 m/yr per capita, followed by the people in south European countries such as Greece, Italy and Spain (2300–2400 m/yr per capita). High water footprints can also be found in Malaysia and Thailand. In contrast, the Chinese people have a relatively low per capita water footprint with an average of 700 m/yr. (These numbers are also from

10800-481: The world, women make up a large share of the population employed in agriculture. This share is growing in all developing regions except East and Southeast Asia where women already make up about 50 percent of the agricultural workforce. Women make up 47 percent of the agricultural workforce in sub-Saharan Africa, a rate that has not changed significantly in the past few decades. However, the Food and Agriculture Organization of

10908-495: The world. In the 20th century, industrial agriculture based on large-scale monocultures came to dominate agricultural output. As of 2021 , small farms produce about one-third of the world's food, but large farms are prevalent. The largest 1% of farms in the world are greater than 50 hectares (120 acres) and operate more than 70% of the world's farmland. Nearly 40% of agricultural land is found on farms larger than 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres). However, five of every six farms in

11016-621: The world. Production is listed in millions of metric tons, based on FAO estimates. Animal husbandry is the breeding and raising of animals for meat, milk, eggs , or wool , and for work and transport. Working animals , including horses, mules , oxen , water buffalo , camels, llamas, alpacas, donkeys, and dogs, have for centuries been used to help cultivate fields, harvest crops, wrangle other animals, and transport farm products to buyers. Livestock production systems can be defined based on feed source, as grassland-based, mixed, and landless. As of 2010 , 30% of Earth's ice- and water-free area

11124-444: Was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization , whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to live in the cities. While humans started gathering grains at least 105,000 years ago, nascent farmers only began planting them around 11,500 years ago. Sheep, goats, pigs, and cattle were domesticated around 10,000 years ago. Plants were independently cultivated in at least 11 regions of

11232-422: Was and green, 11% blue, 15% grey. This is an average amount per capita of 1.385 Gm/yr., or 3.800 liters per person per day. On average 92% of this is embedded in agricultural products consumed, 4.4% in industrial products consumed, and 3.6% is domestic water use. The global water footprint related to producing goods for export is 1.762 Gm/y. In absolute terms, India is the country with the largest water footprint in

11340-621: Was domesticated by the Mayo Chinchipe of the upper Amazon around 3,000 BC. The turkey was probably domesticated in Mexico or the American Southwest. The Aztecs developed irrigation systems, formed terraced hillsides, fertilized their soil, and developed chinampas or artificial islands. The Mayas used extensive canal and raised field systems to farm swampland from 400 BC. In South America agriculture may have begun about 9000 BC with

11448-548: Was domesticated in the Sahel region of Africa by 7,000 years ago. Cotton was domesticated in Peru by 5,600 years ago, and was independently domesticated in Eurasia. In Mesoamerica , wild teosinte was bred into maize (corn) from 10,000 to 6,000 years ago. The horse was domesticated in the Eurasian Steppes around 3500 BC. Scholars have offered multiple hypotheses to explain the historical origins of agriculture. Studies of

11556-573: Was established from the International Course in Hydraulic Engineering (set up in 1957). This name changed to International Institute for Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering (IHE) in 1976. In 2003, the Institute changed its name to UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education (UNESCO-IHE). The name was changed again in 2017, this time to IHE Delft Institute for Water Education (IHE Delft) when its status in relation to UNESCO changed. It

11664-584: Was used for producing livestock, with the sector employing approximately 1.3 billion people. Between the 1960s and the 2000s, there was a significant increase in livestock production, both by numbers and by carcass weight, especially among beef, pigs and chickens, the latter of which had production increased by almost a factor of 10. Non-meat animals, such as milk cows and egg-producing chickens, also showed significant production increases. Global cattle, sheep and goat populations are expected to continue to increase sharply through 2050. Aquaculture or fish farming,

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