The Italian Virtual Water Trade and Water Footprint of Agricultural Production:Trends and Perspectives

The purpose of this chapter is to contribute to the knowledge about the water-food-trade nexus in Italy by introducing the concepts of water footprint and virtual water trade. Virtual water is the water “embedded” in the production of agricultural and industrial goods and services, whereas virtual water trade refers to the exchange of such embedded water that takes place as a result of the international commodity trade. The chapter aims at outlining the Country’s green and blue water footprint of agricultural production, as well as providing a comprehensive overview of virtual water trade embedded in the agricultural commodity trade, over the period 1985–2016. The quantitative analyses are complemented by a policy-relevant discussion detailing the practical causes and implications of the results.