TRANSFORMATIVE JOURNEYS
26 November 2024
HOW LARGE IS YOUR WATER FOOTPRINT?
What is a water footprint?
Carbon footprint is a fairly well known concept and increasingly more and more people are aware about the importance of bringing down their carbon footprint to zero to be truly sustainable. However, little has been spoken or written about the water footprint. A water footprint is the amount of fresh water used directly or indirectly by an individual or an organisation. This would also include water consumed in the production of goods and services used by an individual or an organisation. Everything we do, from the showers we take, the food we eat, the smartphones we use to the clothes we wear consumes water.
Soon, fresh water will be one of the scarcest resources on our planet. The water crisis has been identified as one of the highest impact global risks by the World Economic Forum’s Global Risk Report. Already, 4 billion people in the world live in water scarcity. Hence, it is absolutely critical that we start assessing our individual impact on the water crisis and take definite steps to reduce it. Is carbon footprint similar to water footprint? Both the concepts touch different aspects of the same larger issue of sustainability. Carbon footprint relates to climate change, while water print relates to water scarcity. The concept of water footprint was conceived by Water Management Professor Arjen Hoekstra from Twente University, Netherlands in 2002.
The average water footprint of an individual across the world is 3,800 litres/ day. The average for countries like USA are as high as 7800 litres/day, Germany is 3900 litres/day and China is 2900 litres/day. India averages at 3000 litres/day. How should I begin to offset my water footprint? Unlike in the case of carbon footprint, where offset can be done by proper carbon sequestration somewhere else, such a case is not possible for water footprint. Hence the emphasis has to be on reduction of the water footprint to become as low as possible. Individuals can reduce their direct water footprint by small daily actions like closing the tap while brushing, installing water-saving toilets and showers. However, an individual’s indirect water footprint is much larger than the direct one. This can be reduced by choosing lower water footprint lifestyle choices, like choosing vegetarianism over meat, or choosing tea over coffee.
For those who feel these are difficult choices, they could choose brands which promote sustainability and have a lower water footprint. The catch-22 here is that in order to take action and practise the choices given above, the products must contain information about water footprint for the consumer to compare and make a conscious choice. Water shortage is arguably the number one threat to human survival. Already there are wars and conflicts between states and countries over the issue of water. The only solution is we consciously and proactively reduce our water usage. And every single individual and every single litre saved makes an positive impact in the big picture.
