valuation of water footprint of cities. example of wielkopolska

Department of Integrated Geography

Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan www.geokompleks.amu.edu.pl

Valuation of water footprint of cities.

Example of Wielkopolska Region,

Poland

Małgorzata Stępniewska Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan

Łódź, 15-16.07.2011



Aims

• to estimate the water footprint of cities of

Wielkopolska Region – the total volume of water

used to produce goods consumed by the population

of the region

• to assess the impact of cities of Wielkopolska on the

water resources – taking into account both direct and

indirect water use

• to estimate the water flows related to the import and

export of commodities



Conception of the water footprint

The water footprint is based on the following components:

– Water footprint of domestic water consumption

– Water footprint of consumption of agricultural products

– Water footprint of consumption of industrial products

The total water footprint is divided into three categories:

– Blue water footprint – use of surface or ground water

– Green water footprint – use of water stored in soil as soil

moisture

– Grey water footprint – the volume of freshwater that is

required to assimilate the load of pollutants



lubelskie

mazowieckie

łódzkie

wielkopolskie

śląskie

lubuskie

dolnośląskie

podkarpackiemałopolskie

opolskieświętokrzyskie

podlaskie

pomorskie

warmińsko-mazurskie

zachodniopomorskie

kujawsko-pomorskie

Wielkopolska

Region

Study area

Data from: Central Statistical Office 2009



Avarage

36 m3/yr/cap

The blue water footprint

of domestic water consumption

in the cities of Wielkopolska

in 2009

Data from: Central Statistical Office 2009



The blue water footprint of consumption of agricultural products, shown by major

consumption category (m3/yr/cap)

Average:

blue WF – 96 m3/yr/cap, green WF – 848 m3/yr/cap, grey WF – 97 m3/yr/cap

Water footprint of consumption of agricultural products

in the cities of Wielkopolska in 2007-2008

41

38

43 2 2 2 2 1 00

Cereals Livestock products Fruits Sweeteners

Oil from oil crops Roots and tubers Vegetables Beverages

Coffee, tea, cocoa beans Pulses Oil crops

41

38

43 2 2 2 2 1 00

Cereals Livestock products Fruits Sweeteners

Oil from oil crops Roots and tubers Vegetables Beverages

Coffee, tea, cocoa beans Pulses Oil crops

Source: Author’s own calculations



Avarage

194 m3/yr/cap

The blue water footprint

of consumption of industrial

products in the cities

of Wielkopolska in 2009

The blue water footprint of consumption of industrial products is obtained by multiplying

the value of retail sales of goods (PLN) by the water withdrawal per unit added value (m3/PLN).




The total water footprint per capita

in the cities of Wielkopolska in 2007-2009

036

86

848

96 97

0

194

130

848

326 313

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

m3/cap/yr

domestic water

consumption

consumption of

agricultural products

consumption of

industrial products

total water footprint

Green Blue Grey




The degree of pressure on water resources is considered as the ratio of water demand

to the water availability

The degree of pressure

on water resources

caused by meeting

water needs

of the cities of Wielkopolska

in 2009 (%).


CURRENT: the water demand equals water abstraction

POTENTIAL: the water demand equals

blue water footprint



The water flows

related to the trade of commodities


The volume of water embedded in industrial goods exported to 10 countries – the most

important trading partner of Wielkopolska in 2007



Conclusions

• The total water footprint of the average inhabitant of Wielkopolska Region is about 1487 m3 per capita per year for the period 2007-2009 (57% green, 22% blue, 21% grey).

• About 70% of the water footprint is related to the consumption of agricultural products, 22% to the consumption of industrial goods, and 8% to domestic water use.

• Consumption of meat has the largest contribution to the total water footprint of the average consumer (36%), followed by cereal products (18%) and coffee, tea (6%).

• International trade of commodities implies flows of virtual water over large distances – the amount of water hidden in imported and exported industrial goods is 777 mln m3 and 767 mln m3 respectively.

• The main recipients of water embedded in industrial goods exported from Wielkopolska are Germany (41%), the Netherlands (11%) and France (10%).



Thank you for attention

Małgorzata Stępniewska

[email protected]

valuation of water footprint of cities. example of wielkopolska

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