Water Footprint of European and German imports of agricultural products: trends and development in the context of water scarcity

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1 Water Footprint of European and German imports of agricultural products: trends and development in the context of water scarcity Iulia Dolganova, Natalia Finogenova, Dr. Markus Berger 7 March 2018 Technische Universität Berlin Department of Environmental Technology Chair of Sustainable Engineering

2 Background According to the UN 1.2 billion people live in water stressed regions The production of agricultural goods can be very water intense and partly occurs in water scarce countries Agriculture accounts for roughly 70% of total freshwater withdrawals globally (FAO, 2011) The imports of agricultural products from European Union and Germany are increasing Berger 2

3 Objectives of the study Analyze the trends of the imports of agricultural products into the EU and Germany and the associated water footprint for the year 2015 Evaluate the contribution of the EU agricultural imports to the water scarcity in the exporting countries between 2000 and 2015 Provide a detailed analysis of the water consumption related impacts in Brazil at level of federal states 3

4 Definitions: virtual water Total amount of water consumed in the production of goods: Blue water: ground- and surface water Blue water consumption: Evaporation of ground- and surface water Green water: soil moisture available for plants Green water consumption: Evapotranspiration of rain water by plants Gray water: freshwater polluted by waste water Gray water consumption: water polluted by waste water, measured by the volume of water required to dilute waste water until quality standards are reached 4

5 Definitions: virtual water and virtual water trade How much water is needed to produce: = 130 L/cup = 1,200 L/kg = 10,000 L/kg = 15,400 L/kg Water Footprint Network Due to global trade of products, water is virtually in- and exported 5

6 Definitions: Water footprint (WF) according to ISO Water footprint = water shoesize x weight Impacts of water use along a product life cycle Volume of consumed water Local water scarcity factor for blue water: AWARE 6

7 Methodology: data selection Sources: Resourcetrade.earth, AliceWeb, FAO, Hoekstra (2012) Base year: 2015 Germany: 70 products 36 million tons of products European Union: 105 products (from outside EU) 98 million tons of products 7

8 Results overview In the year 2015, Germany imported: In the year 2015, European Union imported: 78 km 3 green water 262 km 3 green water 6 km 3 grey water 13 km 3 grey water 3 km 3 blue water 11 km 3 blue water (corresponds to 195x (corresponds to 714x Wannsee) Wannsee) Water footprint of 112 km 3 H 2 O-eq. Water footprint of 425 km 3 H 2 O-eq. Where does this virtual water come from? 8

9 Results: largest export flow by weight to EU 9

10 Results: largest blue water flow related to EU imports 10

11 Results: largest weighted WF related to EU imports 11

12 Results: share of the EU imports of virtual water from water scarce countries (base year 2015) Guyana Russia Mozambique Brazil Other low water scarcity; 23% high water scarcity; 33% Pakistan Turkey Egypt Other USA moderate water scarcity; 44% India Ukraine Other 12

13 Results: overview of the imported products by the EU The most imported products by the EU are soybeans and maize The products cotton, nuts and rice have the highest impact on virtual water imports in the EU Soybeans; 23,1 Wheat; 6,6 Fruits and berries; 8,5 Palm; 10,0 Maize; 12,9 Soybeans; 35,1 Rice; 74,7 Maize; 29,5 Nuts; 87,3 Cotton and yarn; 127,2 a) Imports in million tons by EU b)weighted WF in km 3 H 2 O-eq 13

14 Results: overview of the imported products by Germany The most imported products in 2015 by Germany are soybeans and wheat The products nuts and cotton have the highest impact on virtual water imports in Germany Wheat; 4,63 Soybeans; 6,20 Rice; 12,1 Soybeans; 9,5 Nuts; 30,9 Other oilseeds; 4,46 Milk; 1,99 Maize; 2,58 Glucose syrop; 12,1 Cotton; 17,6 a) Imports in million tons by Germany b)weighted WF in km 3 H 2 O-eq 14

15 Methodology for assessment of specific countries Consumption-to-availability (CTA) indicator for blue water assessment (water scarcity) CTA = total consumption total renewable water ressources Green: CTA < 2,5%, red: CTA > 25%, yellow/orange: 2,5% < CTA < 25% 15

16 Wasserfußabdruck, Mio m3 Wasserknappheit (CTA) Results: EU times series for Pakistan WF related to EU exports increased almost 3x between EU contribution to water scarcity doubled between % 30,5% % ,1% % 28,6% % 28,4% Bioethanol Cotton and yarn Rice a) Changes in the WF between % Wasserknappheit Wasserknappheit ohne EU-Importe b) Changes in water scarcity with and without EU exports 16

17 Wasserfußabdruck, Mio m3 Wasserknappheit (CTA) Results: EU times series for Turkey WF related to EU exports increased 1,4 times between EU contribution to water scarcity remained constant between ,4% 7,2% ,2% 7,0% 6,9% 800 6,8% 6,6% 6,5% 6,9% 600 6,4% 6,2% 6,6% ,0% 5,8% 5,6% 6,1% Cotton and yarn Nuts Tobacco a) Changes in the WF between ,4% Wasserknappheit Wasserknappheit ohne EU-Importe b) Changes in water scarcity with and without EU exports 17

18 Wasserfußabdruck, Mio m3 Wasserknappheit (CTA) Results: EU times series for Mozambique WF related to EU exports increased 33 times between EU contribution to water scarcity increased 24 times between ,40% 300 0,30% 250 0,30% ,20% 0,19% ,19% 0,16% Sugar a) Changes in the WF between ,10% Wasserknappheit Wasserknappheit ohne EU-Importe b) Changes in water scarcity with and without EU exports 18

19 Case study Brazil: largest export flow by weight to EU 19

20 Case study Brazil: largest blue water flow to EU 20

21 Case study Brazil: largest weighted water footprint 21

22 Case study Brazil: water footprint of EU exports EU exports of virtual water do not affect the majority of Brazilian federation states, % correspond to EU share in comparison to overall exports 5,0% 4,5% 4,0% 3,5% 3,0% 2,5% 4% CTA Brazil with and without EU exports (2015) 3% 2,0% 1,5% 1,0% 0,5% 0,0% 41% 7% CTA total CTA without EU imports 22

23 Case study Brazil: water footprint of EU exports Rio Grande do Norte Refined sugar, solid, nes 4% Chemical wood pulp 6% Minas Gerais Beef 1% Nuts 96% Coffee 93% Espirito Santo Ceara Spices 3% Chemical wood pulp 25% Coffee 72% Nuts 100% 23

24 Limitations of the study Country averages were approached (except from Brazil) Regional analysis for all countries delivers more precise information Intermediate products were not analysed The major water consumption comes from cotton clothes imports rather than from cotton as raw material Analysis of blue water only Grey water (dilution water) has been determined based on default leaching rates of fertilizers and pesticides Green water consumption should be seen in comparison to evapotranspiration of natural vegetation and does not allow for interpreting blue water availability 24

25 Summary Germany imported ca. 3 km 3 blue water in 2015 The EU imported ca. 11 km 3 blue water in 2015 Over 30% of the virtual water imports to the EU come from very water scarce countries The largest WF in the EU occurs due to the product categories cotton (37%) and nuts (25%) The highest impacts from EU imports on a country level arise in the USA, Pakistan and Turkey (18%, 18% and 16% of the total WF respectively) The contribution of the EU imports to local water scarcity in exporting countries varies between about 1% and 48% (in Mozambique) The most affected state in Brazil by EU imports is Espirito Santo due to large coffee exports 25

26 Thank you very much for your attention! Technische Universität Berlin Department of Environmental Technology Chair of Sustainable Engineering