Globalization of Water is a first-of-its-kind review of the critical relationship between globalization and sustainable water management. It explores the impact of international trade on local water depletion and pollution and identifies “water dependent” nations.

• Examines the critical link between water management and international trade, considering how local water depletion and pollution are often closely tied to the structure of the global economy
• Offers a consumer-based indicator of each nation’s water use: the water footprint
• Questions whether trade can enhance global water use efficiency, or whether it simply shifts the environmental burden to a distant location
• Highlights the hidden link between national consumption and the use of water resources across the globe, identifying the threats facing ‘water dependent’ countries worldwide
• Provides a state-of-the-art review and in-depth data source for a new field of knowledge

Book review by Professor Tony Allan - London

Arjen Hoekstra and Ashok Chapagain - and others in their team - have since 2001 made very important modelling contributions indeed in developing the science associated with the concepts of virtual water use, virtual water 'trade' and in the related concept of water footprints. The book draws together the essentials of their research published in reports of UNESCO-IHE in Delft and in other science journals. It provides an easy introduction to the two concepts, identifies the assumptions and explains methods. The science is sound. The projection of the ideas and the analysis in the text is accessible. The concepts of virtual water and water footprints have taken some time to gain acceptance. This book will accelerate their adoption in the worlds of water science, water resources planning and allocation and in places where the uses of water resources are highly politicised. It provides an inspired introduction for newcomers to the subject.