Globalisation of water: local freshwater scarcity from a planetary perspective

“When the well is dry, we realise the worth of water” – Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

Freshwater is one the five basic needs which is indispensable for human survival and cannot be substituted. The amount of freshwater that is available for human use is only 2.5% of the total water available on earth (Postel, Daily, & Ehrlich, 1996). According to Arnell et al., an estimate of 5 out of 8 people will be living under conditions of extreme water scarcity or water stress by 2025 (Arnell, 1999). With growing populations and climate change, the demand for existing freshwater supplies for agricultural, household and industrial demands are increasing and putting immense pressure on water sources. Ironically, at present almost 70% of the available water is used for agricultural purposes ( Jenerette & Larsen, 2006). But as more land is cultivated to meet the growing food demands, this leads to extreme conditions of drought, ground water depletion and so on.

It is interesting to note that problems of water scarcity are often viewed as a local water management issue. However, the concept of ‘globalisation of water’ ( Hoekstra & Hung, 2005) sheds light to the fact that water scarcity is very much related to the trade of several products across countries and crossing borders. The solution to local water problems cannot be solved by just intervening where they occur, but more often, the local water depletion, water pollution and stress are closely linked to the national or even the global economy (Hoekstra & Mekonnen, 2012). According to the study by Hoekstra et al., shows the way in which many countries like the Netherlands rely on foreign water resources to meet their domestic demands of food and clothing products. This illustrates the extent of global dimension of water consumption with significant impacts on pollution elsewhere (Hoekstra & Mekonnen, 2012).

In order to fully understand the impacts of ‘globalisation of water’, it is important to look at the concept of water footprint. The water footprint of an individual, community or business is defined as the total volume of fresh water used to produce the goods and services consumed by the individual or community or produced by the business. It has three main components: blue, green and grey ( Hoekstra & Mekonnen, 2012). The blue water footprint is from the evaporation of infiltrated water from rainfed growth, the green water is the groundwater withdrawal or additional irrigated water required and the pollution of water due to fertilizers and pesticides result in grey water footprint (Chapagain et al., 2006)

Global trade of scarce water

Several countries have externalised their water footprints significantly by importing water intensive products through global virtual water trade. This highlights water scarcity from a global context due to the external water dependencies of several countries, often from water scarce regions. In an assessment of water footprint of global consumption it was found that, most of the impacts occur cross border (Chapagain et al., 2006). According to this study, about 84% of EU’s water footprint related to cotton consumption is located outside of Europe with most significant impacts in India and Uzbekistan.

One such example of the extreme effects is the depletion of Aral Sea in Uzbekistan. The Aral Sea is a devastating example of a complete ecosystem collapse. As the sea dried up over the years due to continued drenching of water to irrigate the country's cotton production for export markets. This also led to socio-economic issues like the collapse of the fishing industry and pollution. The extreme pollution led to cancerous diseases among the population from the toxic dust in pesticides such as DDT used in cotton production.

Dried Aral Sea at Bay of Zhalanash (2006). Image source: Wikimedia commons

In India too, there are several examples of socio-economic impacts related to water depletion. In the region of Vidarbha in central India, the latest statistics show over 7,700 farmers committed suicides in the last years, with a staggering average of over 6 farmers committing suicides per day. These suicides are attributed to debts caused by poor yield as a result of unavailability of enough rain, extreme drought, ground water depletion and water stress. Vidarbha is one of the biggest producers of cotton in India mostly for exports, with almost 50% of the state of Maharashtra’s cotton being produced here (Cotton Association of India, 2017). For generations, due to fertile soils and seasonal precipitations, the agriculture sector is one of the biggest producers of GDP in the country. With a rapidly growing population of about 1.6 billion by 2050, the demand for food and agricultural products are under extreme pressure. Coupled with climate change, this has serious consequences in the availability of water for consumption as well as production. More than 50% of India faces extreme water stress and ground water depletion. As the largest exporter of virtual water of the planet, almost 95% of India’s water ends up everywhere but in India.

Cotton farm, Marathwada, India (2020). Image source: Author

Beyond local: towards planetary perspectives

So, to conclude, a large percentage of fresh water is currently used to produce products for global consumption. This means that local water resources are being extensively used to grow these products and by exporting the products, you are also exporting the water. However, the water footprint of these products are most often not accounted for - meaning that we neither consider the water costs nor do we actually pay for this. This ends up creating an imbalance where some countries ends up saving their resources as they import water from outside, whilst others lose. But this water is neither taxed nor added to the true cost of the actual product. Here is an example of the true price of cotton that comes from India, if we actually include the environmental and social costs of production.

With business as usual, India and several other countries facing water shortages will have significant impacts on global consumption and food security. With most of the world being fed by water scarce countries, depleting water resources in these countries, will have severe consequences within and globally.

The spatial, socio-economic and environmental issues related to 'globalisation of water' are inevitable. These are interlinked to the supply chain of products and commodities, such as cotton. Therefore, it is clear that local water scarcity issues are no longer just local, but goes beyond national borders and requires a planetary perspective. But most importantly, it is essential to have systemic change in order to create a just way of production and consumption, to minimize continued depletion and to create accountability, which is not only ideal but most essential.