Virtuelles Wasser: Teil der Lösung oder Teil des Problems?

Abstract

Abstract

Virtual Water: part of the solution or part of the problem?

‚Virtual water‘, or water needed for crop production, is now being mainstreamed within the world of water policy. Relying on virtual water in the form of food imports is increasingly being recommended as good policy for water-scarce areas, therefore the topic of virtual water is tightly entwined in global discussions regarding water scarcity, ecological sustainability, food security and consumption. Accordingly, the concept of ‚virtual water‘ is presently creating much noise in the water and food policy world. We argue that as the virtual water debate is also a ‚real water‘, food and agricultural policy debate, with the potential to have substantial political effects. For instance, decisions regarding food strategies and resource allocation, which are played out in national political economies, benefit some while harm others. Therefore, policy choices surrounding virtual water are not politically neutral. ‚Real water‘ interventions are, likewise, inspired by economic as well as political considerations, such as control of the countryside, geopolitical strategies and food sovereignty (independence from international political conditionalities and market uncertainties). To illustrate these ideas, we explore the case studies of Egypt, which switched to food imports in the early 1970s and where a long-standing taboo on debating virtual water is now being relaxed, as well as the State of Punjab in India, where a debate on the merits and demerits of a virtual water strategy is now emerging.