Summary

Water is not only used in the domestic context, but also in agriculture and industry in the production of commercial goods, from food to paper. The water footprint is an indicator of freshwater use that looks at both direct and indirect use of water by a consumer or producer. The water footprint of an individual, community or business is defined as the total volume of freshwater that is used to produce the goods and services consumed by the individual or community or produced by the business.

This book shows how the water footprint concept can be used to quantify and map the water use behind consumption and how it can guide reduction of water use to a sustainable level. With a number of case studies, it illustrates water use along supply chains and that water consumption at one place is often linked to water use at another. For example, it is calculated that it takes 15,000 litres of water to produce 1 kg of beef, or 8,000 litres of water to produce a pair of jeans. The book shows that imports of water-intensive products can highly benefit water-scarce countries, but also that this creates a dependency on foreign water resources.

The book demonstrates how water-scarce regions sometimes, nevertheless, use lots of water for making export products. It raises the issue of sustainable consumption: how can consumers, businesses and governments get involved in reducing the water footprints of final consumer goods?

Choice Review

Since astronauts left footprints on the surface of the moon, the footprint metaphor has been used to characterize the effect of humans on natural systems or species. Hoekstra (Univ. of Twente, Netherlands) develops the water footprint as a quantitative measure of society's use of freshwater resources. He divides use into three categories: rainfall, surface and groundwater, and pollution/consumption. He shows the applicability of this measure through case studies of agricultural commodities and products: meat, beverages, cotton, wheat, cut flowers, and biofuels. These studies provide a launching point for Hoekstra's discussion on how to make better use of freshwater resources in capitalist societies. He focuses on international trade and urges companies to define and diminish the water footprint not only of their own operations but also the operations of their supply chain partners. A discussion of the potential for international water sustainability agreements reveals that enforcement would actually be precluded by existing World Trade Organization provisions. He sees governments' roles as internal regulators and external negotiators. The consumer is charged with prioritizing sustainable purchases that are identifiable by some degree of product transparency. This is a thoughtful book taking a new technique into the realm of policy making. Summing Up: Recommended. All levels/libraries. L. S. Zipp formerly, State University of New York College at Geneseo