In a recent global study, Mekonnen and Hoekstra (2012) show that animal products have a large water footprint (WF) relative to crop products. , Falkenmark M., Gordon L., Rockström J., Folke C. Hoekstra , Chenoweth J., Chapagain A., Orr S., Antón A., Clift R. Morand-Fehr However, we recommend a holistic approach, in which the role of livestock in human societies is evaluated as a whole instead of considering the effect on water alone. Agriculture is an industry that uses a large amount of water. Find Out The supply side of freshwater is a function not only of regional rainfall, which can vary greatly within and between years, but also water management and distribution systems and water pollution, which renders freshwater nonpotable. water withdrawal) by industry to water use by other sectors, namely agriculture and domestic use, it is clear that globally, industry uses only a fraction of the amount of water used by agriculture. Fossil fuel depletion and greenhouse gas emissions are other urgent priorities that have to be taken into account in a global approach for assessing environmental impacts of farming systems. Blue water represents surface and groundwater, whereas green water represents water lost from soils by evaporation and transpiration from plants derived directly from rainfall (Falkenmark, 2003). It indicated that 1 334 562 ha or 1.1% of South Africa’s land surface was actively irrigated during 2014/15. A more efficient use of water in agriculture would certainly help. Agricultural water is used for irrigation, pesticide External and fertilizer applications External , crop cooling (for example, light irrigation), and frost control. By one definition, human populations face water scarcity when annual renewable water supplies in a region fall below 1,000 m3/person, which currently occurs throughout most countries in Northern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula (United Nations Environment Programme, 2008). It is likely that the growing idea in developed countries that animal-product consumption should decrease will not influence this trend. Some of the crops that require the most water … Blue, Green, or Gray Water: Which One Is Critical to Calculate Water Use? D. Nature of blue water used for livestock farming. Third United Nations World Water Development Report. Considerations in choosing category indicators, Accounting for water use in Australian red meat production, Water resources: Agriculture, the environment, and society. Ultimately, water scarcity depends on blue water use. The effect of on-farm water management is sometimes calculated by comparing it with the effect of natural vegetation, for which evapotranspiration is estimated as a simple function of rainfall (Ridoutt et al., 2011). Vol. Water and agriculture involve two key interrelated issues: Water quality is a measure of the suitability of water for a particular use based on selected physical, chemical, or biological characteristics. Seasonal changes in rainfall are predicted to be even greater, with the greatest increases in December to February in the Tibetan Plateau (+19%) and northern Europe (+15%) and in June to August in southern Asia (+11%), and the greatest decreases in December to February in the Sahara (–18%) and central America (–14%) and in June to August in the Mediterranean (–29%) and southern Africa (–23%; IPCC, 2007). M. Vol. Water use in industries Apart from human consumption, the importance of water in the global economy is evident - from agriculture, to manufacturing and industry, to the energy industry. The same pattern holds for total use of other resources, such as fossil energy, phosphorus, or land. Consumptive use is estimated at 56% for irrigation and 67% for livestock uses. A few approaches use water-engineering models to provide farm-level estimates of water use. If green water is included in estimates (as in water footprints), the total water used by low-producing animals in pastoral rangelands, such as those in arid plains or high mountains, would be extremely high. Most LCA approaches consider that green water is partially or entirely addressed by the impact indicator for land occupation (considering that soil water, like sunlight or oxygen, is an inherent property of land). Agriculture accounts for 40% of California’s water use, through irrigation of approximately nine million acres of farmland. When the fact that roughly 55 billion animals are slaughtered each year is considered, this is truly astounding. Some breeds adapted to drought, such as goats and camels, consume less water because of better water recycling. Vision for Food, Agriculture and the Environment Initiative, International Food Policy Research Institute, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Irrigation of a sunflower crop in France (source: © 2007 iStockphoto.com/Donald Gruener). Global water treatment and supply companies based on revenue 2018, Market value of leading water utilities companies worldwide 2020, Leading water utilities companies worldwide based on market cap 2020, Annual water withdrawals worldwide by region 2010, Global water withdrawal per capita by select country 2018, Global share of population with wastewater collection systems by region 2018, Water infrastructure repair market size worldwide 2020-2026, Global hydropower installed capacity 2014-2019, Global water withdrawal and consumption 2014-2040, Global water consumption by sector 2014-2040, Facebook: number of monthly active users worldwide 2008-2020, Smartphone market share worldwide by vendor 2009-2020, Number of apps available in leading app stores 2020, Country with the largest renewable water resources, Wastewater treatment's share of the global water industry market, Share of the global population with access to safely managed water, Global market share of water subsectors 2019, Global per capita renewable water resources by select country 2017, Global population with access to improved drinking water sources by region 2017, Share of global freshwater withdrawals by major water use sector 2010, Global key figures on wastewater generation 2020, Global wastewater treatment companies based on revenue 2018, Global water withdrawals by select country 2017, Global satisfaction with water and sewerage infrastructure by country 2019, Global per capita spending on water, sanitation, and hygiene by country 2019, Global operational desalination plants by sector use 2018, Worldwide added new hydropower capacity by region 2019, Largest hydropower producing countries 2019, Global energy consumption share in the water sector by use 2016, Global industrial wastewater treatment market value by region 2019-2024, Global industrial water demand by region 2010 & 2050. There are several means to decrease water intake. The amount of water that flows through an aquaculture farm represents the majority of water dependency and can be a management indicator for river-based farms, although it has little practical use for sea-based farms (Aubin and van der Werf, 2009). S. G. Despite a huge variability in estimates according to the method used, it is clear that blue water use is the best criterion for estimating the contribution of livestock to the risk of water scarcity. In this guide we look at how much water the different sectors and industries use worldwide, and also in specific countries. Blue and green water are thus closely interwoven. Although this permits multiple interpretations about impacts to be made by those who understand water resource management well, it leaves determination of the potential impacts associated with water footprints open to uncertainty and misinterpretation by those who do not. This text provides general information. Water scarcity is a function of freshwater supply and demand, both of which vary greatly in time and space around the world. But agriculture, like other land uses, can sometimes negatively affect water quality. facts. Livestock's Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options. Green water use by crops is calculated from crop yield and evapotranspiration, which is a function of crop characteristics and climatic parameters in the FAO Penman-Monteith method (Chapagain and Hoekstra, 2004). Thus, water intake per kilogram of meat decreases when age at slaughter, and thus total feed intake, decreases, such as for chicken or for beef produced from culled dairy cows rather than from young beef cattle. What country uses the most water per capita? M. M. For example, Peters et al. These indicators, oriented toward estimating total water use by-products, are useful for tallying international trade in virtual water and discussing the use of volumes of blue, green, and gray water in water resource management. For example, the mean blue water use for chicken meat equals 30 L/kg in Brazil and 873 L/kg in India. Another possibility is to replace corn with other cereals, although their nutritional characteristics (e.g., amino acid composition) may differ. Agriculture is the number-one user of water, accounting for 65% of total water consumed in Australia and 70% worldwide. October 7, 2015 Economic Development Over one billion people worldwide work in agriculture generating $2.4 trillion for the global economy. By 2050, consumption of meat and dairy prod… The most efficient practice may be to decrease irrigation of feeds grown in areas where rainfall is too low to avoid freshwater depletion, at least during certain periods of the year (Figure 5). 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