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A recent groundbreaking report by Conservancy partner organization, the Water Footprint Network, reveals water use in 250 of the world’s most important rivers. We talked to Executive Director Ruth Mathews and Scientific Director Arjen Hoekstra to find out why the “Water Footprint of Nations” report matters and how it can make a difference in our lives.

Note: This research served as the foundation for a report on global water scarcity co-authored by Conservancy scientist Brian Richter. The study found that water scarcity affects about 2.7 billion people for at least one month each year.

nature.org:

Water Footprint Network:

Arjen: For the first time, we have been able to quantify and map the water footprint of humanity, showing per 10x10 square kilometer area how much groundwater, surface water and rain is being allocated to different purposes. We show water allocation in agriculture per crop and map industrial and domestic water consumption and pollution. In addition, we link water consumption and pollution to people in different parts of the world. For example, by mapping the water footprint of American citizens, we find that as much as 20 percent of their water footprint comes from outside the United States.

Ruth: We normally think about our water footprint in terms of our impact to our local watershed – how much water we use taking a shower or watering our lawn. In fact, our direct water use, or what we use at home, is only a small fraction of our total water footprint. More than 90 percent of our water footprint actually comes from outside the home – in the form of food we eat and products we use. To find out the water footprint of a product that we use, we have to take into account all the water used to grow, process and deliver it.

nature.org:

Water Footprint Network:

Arjen: All around the world, there are cases of serious water depletion or pollution – rivers that are running dry, lake and groundwater levels that are dropping and more endangered species as a result of contaminated water. The water footprint helps to show the link that exists between our daily consumer goods and the problems of water depletion and pollution that exist elsewhere – in the regions where our goods are produced. Through cooperation between governments, investors, companies, farmers and environmental organizations, we can reduce the water footprint of our daily commodities by taking deliberate steps to make water use sustainable along the whole supply chain of consumer goods.

Ruth: That’s true. For example, one of our first partners was Coca-Cola. They wanted to include sustainability and stewardship in their business model. When they came to us, their concern was with operations at their local bottling plants, but when we calculated their water footprint, we found that only about 1-2 percent of the water footprint was at the bottling plants. The rest was in the supply chain. That was a real eye opener. Here’s a company that wants to have the reputation of being a good water steward, proactively moving toward improving water use and thinking that if they do improve water use at bottling plants, then they’ve done a good job.

When they saw that more than 70 percent of their water footprint was in the agricultural ingredients like sweeteners used to make their beverages, they realized that it wasn’t enough to look only at their own operations. They also needed to look at their inputs – and the water footprint of those inputs.

By seeing a snapshot of their true water use all along the supply chain, they saw how they were linked to watersheds around the world through their product. It really opens up the perspectives of companies to understand their relationship to river basins, water use and sustainability around the world.

nature.org:

Water Footprint Network:

Ruth: We’ve touched on ways that the Water Footprint of Nations report can be used by both individuals and companies. The report is particularly valuable to a conservation organization like The Nature Conservancy and its members, because it offers a more informed understanding of the link between individuals and the health of river basins around the world.

It also can be used to help governments make decisions about which crops to produce domestically and which to import by answering questions about which crops a country can produce most efficiently – the most yield for the least water. So, a country can identify its comparative advantage to make choices about trade policy. For instance, if a country wants to preserve its water resources, it can import water-intensive crops instead of growing them in-country, in effect putting the water burden outside. Or, if a country wants to be water independent, this report can help highlight how limited water resources can best be allocated.

One example is an area where I used to work – the Flint River Basin in the U.S. Southeast. Water for local crops is pulled from the region’s aquifer, which has contributed to decreasing water levels in the rivers and streams. The Flint happens to be one of the most biodiverse areas for mussels in the world. If we did a water footprint of the Flint, we could show the proportion of groundwater and surface water being used, as well as water pollution. Then we could draw a link between various crops, impacts of the water table to the base flows of the tributaries and impacts to biodiversity. That information allows growers and regulators to analyze what’s happening in the watershed and make decisions about water use.

nature.org:

Water Footprint Network:

Ruth: One of the main things we’re working on is the Water Footprint Assessment Tool, a free online tool that we’ll introduce next year. The tool will link users to this vast reservoir of data that we’ve developed and give them an ability to answer questions about the water footprint of an individual, a product or a geographic area, for example.

Arjen: Now the challenge is for governments and companies to turn this research into dedicated action to reduce water footprints. It’s a learning process for companies to get acquainted with the water footprint and translate that into concrete measures toward good water stewardship. It will be of great help to have the online tool and datasets to simplify the process.