Water is an essential ingredient in the everyday life of growers up and down the UK and all over the world. The area in which certain fruit and vegetables are produced throughout the globe has been decided on the land’s soil type and water content. But as the planet is subjected to changeable and sometimes drastic weather occurrences, it has become clear that, as with concerns over carbon footprints, conservation is key and eventually, dramatic changes to the way the industry is run must be made.
According to the Water Footprint Network, a non-profit foundation founded by several partners including World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the Water Neutral Foundation and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, “the water footprint of an individual, community or business is defined as the total volume of fresh water that is used to produce the goods and services consumed by the individual or community or produced by the business”.
The UK Institute of Food Research has calculated that an apple has a water footprint of 70 litres for a 100g portion and one glass of apple juice at 200ml uses about 190l of water. An orange has a water footprint of 50l, while 900l are used for a kilo of potato flakes. Coconut production in the world consumes about 130 billion cubic metres of water annually, which is two per cent of the global water use for crop production. The production of just 1kg of coconut uses 2,500l of water.
And it is more than just our own horticultural supply and environment that we have to worry about. The UK is using the world’s water, including that of economically challenged countries. UK consumption of products from other countries equates to each English citizen effectively using up 4,645l of the world’s water every day. In the case of the UK, about 62 per cent of the total national water footprint is accounted for by water from other nations, whereas only 38 per cent is used from domestic water resources. If the UK horticultural industry does not act sustainably with its own land, as well as the food it sources from abroad, the world could eventually look like a very different place and could suffer serious food shortages.
According to a case study on the UK by the WWF, the consumption of food and clothing has an impact on rivers and aquifers both globally and in the UK and is inextricably linked to the continuing security and good management of water resources in other parts of the world. It also has an impact on local communities who rely on the water and other services that are provided by such ecosystems. “In order to address this, it is important to realise that while reducing UK total water footprint might help, the best solutions will involve promoting good management of water in river basins,” it states. “This includes more efficient farming practices and improved allocation of water between different water users.”
The average summer temperatures for all regions of the UK have risen by between 0.4°C and 0.9°C since 1914 and the UK Climate Impacts Programme predicts that summers will continue to get hotter and drier. The total summer precipitation has decreased in most parts of the country, typically by 10-40 per cent since 1961 and by 2100, the temperature will have risen by up to 4°C in the winter. The UK Climate Impacts Programme believes this will change seasonality and that we can expect “longer dry periods in the summer with more rain falling as intense rain events”. There will also be periods of low, effective rainfall, which will lead to groundwater recharge in chalk aquifers further reducing, which will delay autumn.
“The British Carrot Growers’ Association (BCGA) has a very good idea of where we get our water from and we have done work on the water footprint in the past,” says Martin Evans, chairman of the BCGA, which has been following its water footprint carefully over the last couple of years. “The first point is that very few plants are grown in the UK without irrigation. The advantage is that we already monitor water usage and use probes and scheduling systems. It is critical to measure this environmentally and we have a very good idea of the water used. The important question is whether we are using this water for either yield or quality. The water footprint for an average carrot crop in the UK is 400ml; we source half of that naturally and half has to be managed. However, it can depend on the season -in 2006, we needed 300ml to be managed and the last two years have seen floods, so you can see the way climate change is changing the way we grow.
“I think we have a bit of a shock coming because the last two summers have seen too much rainfall. If we get a dry summer, the push will be on to irrigate more.”
It is increasingly acknowledged that local water depletion and pollution are often closely tied to the structure of the global economy. Many countries have significantly externalised their water footprint, importing water-intensive goods from elsewhere. This puts pressure on water resources in exporting regions, where too often mechanisms for wise water governance and conservation are lacking. For example, over the last five years, Cyprus has had to import water from Greece, bringing about a huge cost to its economy and in energy.
“Eventually, we will have to concentrate on the areas where we can grow effectively and adapt the way we use water,” says Evans. “The BCGA has been considering this for a number of years. We grow carrots on very light soils, which makes it even harder to retain water. If we had to, we would move production to heavier soils.
“The water issue is going to change the way we produce in the UK, as soils will get hotter and drier. We will have to mix and match for the winter and summer; interfacing with the weather has always involved a lot of guesswork. A new pattern will undoubtedly emerge, but an awareness of the changes happening will help the strategy.”
The Water Footprint Network intends to advance the concept of the water footprint as an indicator of direct and indirect water use of consumers and producers; increase the water footprint awareness of communities, government bodies and businesses and their understanding of how the consumption of goods, services and production chains relate to water use and impact on fresh-water systems; and encourage forms of water governance that reduce the negative ecological and social impacts of the water footprints of communities, countries and businesses. The organisation aims to do this by developing standards and practical tools for water footprint accounting, impact assessment and the reduction and offsetting of the negative impacts of water footprints; providing for or arranging for third parties to provide for meetings, publications, education and research and development with regard to the water footprint concept; and supporting government bodies, international institutions, non-governmental organisations, businesses and other organisations in implementing water footprint accounting and developing a sustainable and fair water policy.
According to the Water Footprint Network, thousands of businesses and individuals have expressed interest in further developing and/or applying the water footprint methodology.
“If you look at the maps of the world and think about the situation with the climate, it is clear that local production and sourcing won’t be just an ideology in the future,” says Evans. “It will be a reality. Northern Europe will become very important and Spain could become harried. We could stop importing and water will become an invaluable resource. Inevitably, prices going forward won’t be as cheap for food. Four per cent of the world’s agriculture comes out of Africa and farmers there have always been envious of our partial irrigation system, as full irrigation is essential there. We have to make sure that we are managing water and plan the water we use in a better way. The industry is going to have to look again at how it produces fruit and vegetables and we may have to move crops to different parts of the country.
“The industry can deal with this as it has been evolving to survive in this country for thousands of years, but we need to invest; the government and supermarkets need to take these issues on. This is a fragile food production site; the water issue needs recognition and a yardstick to measure it.”
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