Shared responsibility for global water stress from agri-food production and consumption and opportunities for mitigation

Understanding how agri-food consumption by individual countries contributes to their own water stress and that of other agri-food producer countries, and identifying opportunities to help reduce global water stress is important for ensuring responsible agri-food consumption and production. Assessing 26 agri-food commodities traded between 189 countries using a multi-regional input-output model (MRIO), the contribution of agri-food production to the water stress of producer countries was quantified. Then, the responsibility of consumer countries in aggravating the water stress of producer countries was assessed. Finally, an indicator of opportunity for consumer countries to target co-investment in improving the water-use efficiency of producer countries where they can achieve the highest marginal reduction in water stress was developed. The USA was the most significant contributor to global water stress, adding 42 percentage points to its own domestic water stress and 179 percentage points to the water stress of other producer countries via trade. The opportunity for reducing water stress was highest for the Dominican Republic, Qatar, and Ukraine. Production of irrigated Vegetables, fruits & nuts for export was the major contributor to the national water stress of these countries. This work can help nations reduce their contribution to global water stress through targeted investments in water-use efficiency measures across their global supply chain and help to progress towards Sustainable Development Goals 6 (Clean Water), 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and 17 (Global Partnerships for Sustainable Development).