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For any production much more water is required as the product contain at the
end. The total of water is called virtual water. The concept of virtual water
helps to realize how much water is needed to produce different goods and
services. Trade of commodities also means the exchange of (virtual) water
embedded in products. For water-poor countries it appears to be reasonable not
to produce water-intensive goods but to import these from water-abundant
regions . Only over the recent years the concept of virtual water trade has
gained more significance within the scientific as well as the political debate.
For a better understanding and evaluation of the concept's potentials the
ISOE held an international workshop in order to gain an insight into the theory
and the state of the art of the concept. Furthermore it should be analysed what
are the prerequisites for an implementation of virtual water trade and how it
could be applied in a sustainable manner.
The documentation of the workshop provides a detailed summary of the
contributions. The documentation is available for download as
pdf-file (608 kb)
, but can also be ordered as print version by the order form. The presentations shown by
the participants during the workshop can be downloaded as well as
zip-file (13 mb)
The UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education has mentioned the workshop as a
milestone in this debate: http://www.waterfootprint.org
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