Water scarcity is an increasing problem in many parts of the world, yet conventional supply-side economics and management are insufficient to deal with it. One of the key water management options for water demand is water trading. This book explores the role of water trading, as an instrument of integrated water resources management.

Exploring water scarcity issues in light of the growing crisis in global water management, this book examines the applicability of water markets. It provides an overview and understanding of the presence of water markets across the globe, analysing the ways in which different countries and regions are grappling with water scarcity. This timely book offers an insight into the benefits of water markets, and their identified market failures. A water market framework is applied to key case studies, highlighting that the majority of regions have not had sufficient water reforms to allow for the introduction of water markets without negative social consequences. The book addresses existing hydrological and institutional capacity across countries and areas where water reform is needed, and lessons are provided for future water markets, taking into account these limitations. The case studies of different countries tackling water scarcity issues and reform will make this an essential read for scholars of environmental studies, water economics, sustainability management and environmental policies. It will also be an invigorating book for water policy makers interested in lessons for change, and in how to better implement reforms for water markets to help address both water scarcity and improve productivity.

Virtual water trade increased with globalisation. However, this trade does not always flow in such direction, that water abundant regions supply water scarce regions with water intense products. Often the opposite happens and depletive water trade intensifies causing water scarcity. This work focuses on the Water-Energy-Soil-Trade-Nexus with each element seen as a materialisation of discourses. Two cases illustrate specific parts of the Nexus, firstly, the close relationship of market liberalisation, foreign direct investment and virtual water trade is represented with Viet Nam’s Doi Moi policy and rapid economic growth. Secondly, the water-energy dimension linkages are drawn by following the case of hydraulic fracturing from the U.S. to Australia’s gas drills embedded in a global perspective. This work helps to understand especially cases, where virtual water trade dries out water resources in already vulnerable areas.

Globalization of Water is a first-of-its-kind review of the critical relationship between globalization and sustainable water management. It explores the impact of international trade on local water depletion and pollution and identifies “water dependent” nations. Examines the critical link between water management and international trade, considering how local water depletion and pollution are often closely tied to the structure of the global economy Offers a consumer-based indicator of each nation’s water use: the water footprint Questions whether trade can enhance global water use efficiency, or whether it simply shifts the environmental burden to a distant location Highlights the hidden link between national consumption and the use of water resources across the globe, identifying the threats facing ‘water dependent’ countries worldwide Provides a state-of-the-art review and in-depth data source for a new field of knowledge

A radical new approach to tackling the growing threat of water scarcity Water is essential to life, yet humankind's relationship with water is complex. For millennia, we have perceived it as abundant and easily accessible. But water shortages are fast becoming a persistent reality for all nations, rich and poor. With demand outstripping supply, a global water crisis is imminent. In this trenchant critique of current water policies and practices, Edward Barbier argues that our water crisis is as much a failure of water management as it is a result of scarcity. Outdated governance structures and institutions, combined with continual underpricing, have perpetuated the overuse and undervaluation of water and disincentivized much-needed technological innovation. As a result "water grabbing" is on the rise, and cooperation to resolve these disputes is increasingly fraught. Barbier draws on evidence from countries across the globe to show the scale of the problem, and outlines the policy and management solutions needed to avert this crisis.

This book brings together some of the world’s leading water researchers with an especially written collection of chapters on: water economics; transboundary water; water and development; water and energy; and water concepts.

Recent analyses of the evolution and structure of trade in virtual water revealed that the number of trade connections and volume of virtual water trade have more than doubled over the past two decades, and that developed countries increasingly draw on the rest of the world to alleviate the pressure on their domestic water resources. Our work builds on these studies, but fills three important gaps in the research on global virtual water trade. First, we note that in previous studies virtual water volumes are lumped together from countries experiencing vastly different degrees of water scarcity. We therefore incorporate water scarcity into assessments of virtual water flows. Second, we note that some previous studies assess virtual water networks only in terms of immediate water used for food production, but omit indirect virtual water used throughout the supply chains underlying all traded goods. In our analysis we therefore use input-output analysis to also include indirect virtual water. We note existing conflicting views about whether trade in virtual water can lead to overall savings in global water resources. We re-visit the Heckscher-Ohlin Theorem in the context of direct as well as indirect virtual water in order to determine whether international trade can be seen as a feasible demand management instrument in alleviating water scarcity. We find that the structure of global virtual water networks changes significantly after adjusting for water scarcity. In addition, when indirect virtual water is appraised the Heckscher-Ohlin Theorem can be validated.

Introduction : the debate on climate change and water security -- Theory of scarcity-variability, conflict, and cooperation -- Emergence of cooperation under scarcity and variability -- Institutions and the stability of cooperative arrangements under scarcity and variability -- Incentives to cooperate : political and economic instruments -- Evidence-how do basin riparian countries cope with water scarcity and variability -- Conclusion and policy implications

The groundbreaking new concept that reveals the true and hazardous extent of our everyday water consumption. How much water does it take to make a cup of coffee? The answer may shock you: 140 litres! That's the true amount of water used in growing, producing, packaging and shipping the beans you use to make your morning coffee. Your lunchtime hamburger takes 2,400 litres and that favourite pair of blue jeans a whopping 11,000 litres. In fact, all the goods we buy - from food to clothing to computers - have a water cost in the form of virtual water: the powerful new concept that reveals the hidden facts of our real water consumption. At a time when the world's resources are being used up at increasingly alarming rates what can we do to help tackle the threat to our planet's most precious resource? World water expert Tony Allan - creator of the virtual water concept - shows the way. In this stimulating and enjoyable book he exposes the real impact of our modern lifestyle and shows how we as individuals, and governments globally, can make a vital contribution to managing our water use in a more sustainable and planet-friendly way.

Cross-border Water Trade: Legal and Interdisciplinary Perspectives is a critical assessment of one of the growing problems faced by the international community — the global water deficit. Cross-border water trade is a solution that generates ethical and economic but also legal challenges. Economic, humanitarian and environmental approaches each highlight different and sometimes conflicting aspects of the international commercialization of water. Finding an equilibrium for all the dimensions required an interdisciplinary path incorporating certain perspectives of natural law. The significance of such theoretical underpinnings is not merely academic but also quite practical, with concrete consequences for the legal status of water and its fitness for international trade.