Water Trade Network

Excerpts have been taken from a report I read this weekend -

1. Food production is most freshwater consuming activity (80% of total world water resources)
2. Eg: 5 major crops and 3 livestock products - incase their trade is mapped, it can in a manner reflect the water trade between nations. Data refered to FAO2000
3. Findings are stark in the sense - how many nations are at the mercy of water surplus nations
1. Only 4% of nations by number control 80% of the total flow of water by volume
4. Water crisis in China and India is already well into mass media by now
5. Future scenarios - provide few pointers
1. The rich gets richer - Water rich nations will increasingly control more water and thus economic activites due to positive feedback loop
2. Incase of exogenous or other shocks water deprived nations would be increasingly at the mercy of water rich nations
3. Hence countries like India and China - increasingly buying farm land in Africa, since they buying farm land to grow crops means essentially they are buying water