ViWaN – The global virtual-water network: social, economic, and environmental implications

There is a limited understanding of how virtual water trade affects food security. The benefits of such indirect trade of water, for instance, could be negatively affected by the lack of a single system of shared rules defining the economic value of water resources and preventing the consequent over-exploitation of these resources in fragile socio-economical and environmental contexts.
The ViWaN project addresses these issues with an innovative and interdisciplinary approach aimed at studying the main drivers and consequences of international virtual water flows. The main objectives are two: a better understanding of the global dynamics in virtual water flows and the evaluation of the impact of such flows on food safety. We will investigate the complex relationships between climatic, agronomic and socio-economic factors that shape the evolution of the worldwide trade of virtual water. The project will deliver quantitative modeling tools that enable an explicit representation of the relationships between virtual water flows and a set of explanatory variables; these models will be applied to a comprehensive database specifically built for the purpose. In addition, to improve the future management of the virtual water trade, the project will provide with a series of operational guidelines and proposals which are based on quantitative data.