Foot Print Wales

A report published in February this year by Dr Chris Fawcett and Mary Whiting examines the local and global water footprint of food items in Wales to provide information to support policy development and long term water resources management. The UK is only 38% self sufficient in our water consumption and with the majority of virtual water originating overseas.

The aim of the study was to get an understanding of the potential impact on water resources if lamb, potatoes and tomatoes were produced in Wales rather than being imported. The water footprint for crop potatoes, tomatoes and lamb were calculated at case study farms in Wales and at farms in countries which are key exporters to the UK: Israel (potatoes), Spain (tomatoes) and New Zealand. The water footprint of Spanish tomato production was 137- 440 times greater than tomato production in Wales, depending on the Spanish location chosen, and total water used for tomato production was one fifth to one third lower in Wales than in the Spain. The water footprint of Israeli potato production was 77 times greater than potato production in Wales indicating that sourcing Israeli potatoes places an increased overall stress on water resources. The water footprint of Welsh lamb production is 15% lower than lamb produced in New Zealand.