A novel classification of virtual water trade for the sustainability of global freshwater resources

Mehran Hekmatnia (), Ahmad Fatahi Ardakani (), Amir Isanezhad () and Hamidreza Monibi ()
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Mehran Hekmatnia: University of Sistan and Baluchestan
Ahmad Fatahi Ardakani: Ardakan University
Amir Isanezhad: University of Tabriz
Hamidreza Monibi: Rauf Denktaş University

Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, 2024, vol. 26, issue 3, No 71, 7377-7408

Abstract: Abstract Due to international agriculture crops trade, significant virtual water flows are transferred between nations, known as virtual water trade. Virtual water trade affects the sustainability of freshwater resources worldwide. However, there is presently no sustainable virtual water usage classification that might serve as the basis for global virtual water management. This study's primary objective is to address this research gap. This work attempts to develop a novel virtual water trade classification to achieve freshwater resources' global sustainability. To classify VWT, the research presents a global analysis of the global trade of wheat virtual water. Our findings show that the global trade of wheat annually translocated an average of 268.5 billion m3 of virtual water among the nations, of which 89.33% was green water, 2.65% was blue water, and 8.02% was gray water. A classification of global virtual water trade based on this work is divided into three sustainability states: “strong sustainability,” “balanced sustainability,” and “fragile sustainability,” as well as four unsustainable states, including “critical unsustainability,” “high unsustainability,” “moderate unsustainability” and “low unsustainability.”

Keywords: Water savings; Sustainability of freshwater resources; Virtual water trade; Water footprint (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1007/s10668-023-03012-7

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