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The water footprint of India : a study on water use in relation to the consumption of agricultural goods in the Indian states

Kampman, D.A. (2007) The water footprint of India : a study on water use in relation to the consumption of agricultural goods in the Indian states.

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Abstract:The concept of the water footprint has been developed to create an indicator of water use in relation to the consumption by people. The water footprint of a country is defined as the volume of water needed for the production of the goods and services consumed by the inhabitants of the country. The water footprint is divided into a blue, a green and a gray component. The blue component refers to the evaporation of groundwater and surface water during the production of a commodity, the green component to the evaporation of rain water for crop growth, and the gray component to the water required to dilute the water pollution that is caused by the production of the commodity to acceptable levels. In the next fifty years, India is projected to face the challenge of feeding a population of 1.6 billion people with a higher level of welfare than at present. The current view of the Indian government on food security is to hold on to the goal of food self sufficiency. Knowing that agriculture is the main consumer of water, the implied increase in food demand will increase the pressure on the renewable water resources. In order to reduce the pressure on renewable water resources, the Indian government is considering the concept of river interlinking as the solution for water scarcity in the drier regions. This concept means that water abundant regions will provide water to water scarce regions through the connection of rivers. Whether the interlinking of rivers will provide enough water to solve the observed and future water deficit and what the side effects of the project will be is still unclear. This study indicates why the water scarce regions have a water deficit.
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Faculty:ET: Engineering Technology
Subject:56 civil engineering
Programme:Civil Engineering and Management MSc (60026)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/537
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