A person’s Water Footprint (WA) is the total volume of water needed for cleanliness, nutrition, transportation and purchasing habits (Hoekstra & Chapagain, 2006).
The Water Footprint (WA) is an empirical indicator, which expresses the volume of water consumed and polluted throughout the production process of a product (Hoekstra & Chapagain, 2006).
What is virtual water?
Virtual or invisible or hidden water refers to the amount of water used in the complete production of a product or service (London Group, 1990).
Ποιες είναι οι συνιστώσες του υδατικού αποτυπώματος;
What are the components of a watermark?
BLUE
Water Footprint
The blue component is an indicator of the impoundment of blue water, i.e. fresh water originating from the surface and groundwater resources of a watershed.
GREEN
Water Footprint
The green component is of prominent importance for the agricultural sector and refers to the part of the rain that has been stored in the soil as moisture and which is either evaporated from the soil or used by plants to meet their needs.
GREY
Water Footprint
The gray component reflects the pollution level of a water body and is defined as the volume of water required to assimilate the pollutant load so that the water quality remains within specified levels.
In the early 1980s, Israel’s agricultural economic advisers expressed concern about exports of irrigated crop products.
The research group London Group (SOAS-Water Research Unit) introduced the term “virtual water” and their advice to Israel was that the country should import products rich in virtual water, not produce it.
- Antony J. Allan publishes an article where he states that water-poor countries need to import food from water-bearing crops, instead of producing them.
- UNESCO-IHE (Institute for Water Education) initiated the design of a model to determine “virtual water”.
A.Y. Hoekstra for the first time introduces the term Water Footprint. The first report included the use of only blue water.
A.Y. Hoekstra with A. K. Chapagain include for the first time the use of “green water”. (Hoekstra & Chapagain, 2006)
A. K. Chapagain adds the factor of pollution i.e. gray water.
What does the app calculate?
The application calculates the daily Water Footprint (WF) of a person.