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An integrated method is required for comprehensive assessment of the environmental impacts and economic benefits of rice production systems. Therefore, the objective of this study was to apply different footprinting approaches (carbon footprint (CF), nitrogen footprint (NF), water footprint (WF)) and determine the economic return on organic rice farming (OF) and conventional rice farming (CVF) at the farm scale. Over the 4-year study period (2018–2021), the results showed lower net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in OF (3289.1 kg CO2eq ha−1 year−1) than in CVF (4921.7 kg CO2eq ha−1 year−1), indicating that the use of OF can mitigate the GHG emissions from soil carbon sequestration. However, there was a higher CF intensity in OF (1.17 kg CO2eq kg−1 rice yield) than in CVF (0.93 kg CO2eq kg−1 rice yield) due to the lower yield. The NF intensities of OF and CVF were 0.34 and 11.94 kg Neq kg−1 rice yield, respectively. The total WF of CVF (1470.1 m3 ton−1) was higher than that in OF (1216.3 m3 ton−1). The gray water in CVF was significantly higher than that in OF due to the use of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides. Although the rice yield in OF was nearly two times lower than that in CVF, the economic return was higher due to lower production costs and higher rice prices. However, more field studies and long-term monitoring are needed for future research.

Water, the most needed substance, is declining alarmingly worldwide. This huge water consumption is due to the increasing population and rapid unsystematic urbanization. Water footprint (WF) is an indicator used to understand water consumption, whether it is visible or invisible. Water is majorly consumed in the agricultural sector. This study estimated the crop WF of rice in two urban districts, Ranchi, and Dhanbad, and two forest-covered districts, Palamu and Hazaribagh, of Jharkhand. The study was done for the paddy (rice) crop from 2000 to 2017 through the Cropwat 8.0 model. Ranchi and Dhanbad showed a decrease in consumptive crop WF (WFconsumptive) of rice i.e., 39.92 and 48.29%, respectively, during the study period, whereas Palamu and Hazaribagh showed a comparatively lower decrease with 24.12 and 23.45%, respectively. All four districts experienced lower WFblue than WFgreen. Ranchi is suggested to cultivate rice through rainfed agriculture due to higher WFgreen, good rainfall, and the lowest average WFblue with 167 m3/ton throughout the study period. This study also suggests preparing a proper data management system to calculate white WF at a regional and global level to reduce irrigation loss and achieve sustainable water management goals.

The water footprint (WF) is a metric used to quantify the total volume of fresh water consumed directly and indirectly by individuals and communities; it helps to inform responses to global challenges such as water scarcity, climate change and sustainable water management. This study assessed virtual (VWF), direct (DWF) and total (TWF) water footprints in Mashhad, Iran’s second largest city. Data collected from 382 households showed that the average individual VWF was 1314 m 3 per month, the average individual DWF was 228 m 3 per month and the average individual TWF was 1538 m 3 per month. Additionally, key consumption patterns were identified, with rice and bread emerging as the most consumed items and vegetables as the least consumed. Over a 5-year period, direct water use declined. Significant correlations emerged between family size, annual cost and VWF and TWF, yet no association was found between age and the WFs. There were income-based disparities in VWF and TWF but no differences across education levels in terms of DWF, VWF and TWF. These findings offer crucial insights for policymakers and water authorities in formulating effective water-saving policies to address pressing environmental concerns.

Problems such as water scarcity and pollution frequently occur in coastal zones. This study investigated the grey water footprint and the sustainability and intensity of grey water footprint in Yantai between 2014 and 2019 by taking both surface water and groundwater into consideration. The research results indicated that the Yantai grey water footprint firstly increased and then decreased between 2014 and 2019. The lowest grey water footprint in 2019 was 744 million m3. The agricultural grey water footprint accounted for a large proportion of the total grey water footprint. Although the sustainability of grey water footprint fluctuates in Yantai, it maintains well. The Yantai grey footprint intensity gradually decreased to <10 m3/10,000 CNY. The economic benefit of grey water footprint and utilization efficiency of water resources have been improved yearly. The quality of the water environment in Yantai has also been improved. The research of this paper provides some useful information for water resources protection and sustainable utilization in coastal cities.

Qatar is a severely water-stressed country. Despite Qatar's aridity and its lack of freshwater resources, its per capita water consumption is one of the highest in the world, and it is expected to increase in the coming decades. Therefore, understanding water consumption and use through space and time becomes paramount. By employing water footprint assessment (WF) and analysis of virtual water trade (VWT), this research comprehensively examines Qatar's water consumption patterns both domestically and internationally on a sectorial level (agricultural, industrial and urban sectors) between 2010 and 2021. The findings show that, internally, the urban sector contributed the most to the WF, followed by the industrial and the agricultural sectors with an annual average WF of 3250, 1650, and 50 million m3/y, respectively. Although Qatar exports large amounts of VW (1450 million m3/y), its VW imports (7530 million m3/y) are very high, reflecting the country's agricultural demand, making Qatar a net VW importing country. Qatar exhibits a national WF of consumption of 11,900 million m3/y, with a water dependency index of 56% and a self-sufficiency index of 44%. Additionally, Qatar has a significant water export fraction of 20%, while only 3% of its water consumption relies on its natural resources. This study pinpoints sectors and areas where WFs can be reduced; the outcomes serve as a foundation for strategic planning, enabling Qatar to make informed decisions to optimize its water resources, enhance water use efficiency, and secure a sustainable water future in the face of escalating water stress. This study's methodology and findings not only pave the way for more efficient water resource management in Qatar, but also offer a replicable framework for other arid and semi-arid countries to assess and optimize their water footprint and virtual water trade, contributing significantly to global efforts in sustainable water use.

The power generation sector consumes significant amounts of water. A comprehensive water footprint (WF) assessment helps identify and monitor the processes consuming high amounts of water. This research evaluates the water footprint (WF) of electricity generation at a USC coal power plant, integrating on-site data for enhanced reliability. Based on the Water Footprint Assessment Manual, the electricity WF includes supply chain and operational WF. This study exhibits that the average electricity WF is 2.96 m 3 /MWh. The supply chain WF accounts for 95% of the total electricity WF, while operational WF contributes 5%. The blue WF accounts for 9.9% of the total electricity WF, while the grey water footprint accounts for 90.1%. The results of this research show a significant difference in the distribution of blue and grey WF in electricity WF. Factors contributing to the differences include the amount of coal consumption, power generation technology and power plant cooling technology. Furthermore, this study shows that grey WF depends on the concentration of pollutants considered. This research also conducted a WF impact assessment on local water resources and found that the blue and grey operational WF contributes to low impact. Monitoring the water footprint associated with electricity generation at a coal power plant would provide a more enhanced understanding of water consumption patterns, which could help influence water resources management.

【Objective】Food production is the primary consumer of water resources in many countries. At the catchment and basin scale, understanding the spatiotemporal variation of food production and the underlying determinants is crucial for improving water resource use efficiency and promoting sustainable development. We propose a new method in this paper to analyze this issue.【Method】Our study focuses on the Yangtze River Basin. The water used for food production and its spatiotemporal variation from 2000 to 2020 in the basin were calculated based on crop water demand. Path analysis was used to elucidate the underlying determinants affecting the blue and green water footprint per unit area.【Result】① The annual average grain water footprint in the basin from 2000 to 2020 was 205.25×109 m3, with the green water footprint accounting for 66%. ② Due to differences in cultivation scales, the upper, middle, and lower reaches contributed 36.5%, 46.8%, and 16.7%, respectively, to the total grain water footprint of the basin. Additionally, the grain water footprints in the middle and lower reaches have increasingly relied on green water. ③ Meteorological factors positively influenced the density of the green water footprint and negatively affected the density of the blue water footprint. Social development and economic factors significantly impacted the density of the blue water footprint. 【Conclusion】 The middle reaches of the Yangtze River Basin, where irrigation demand for grain crop production is high, are likely to face growing pressure due to land and water resource shortages. This challenge is particularly acute in Henan, Hubei, Hunan, and Jiangxi provinces, where investments in agricultural infrastructure, such as irrigation systems and advanced water management technologies, are essential. In Gansu, Qinghai, and Henan provinces, where water scarcity and pollution persist, adopting technologies such as soil mulching, rainwater harvesting and water storage can enhance green water utilization and alleviate regional water resource pressures.

Agricultural production is a major consumer of water resources, and the crop water footprint (CWF) serves as a comprehensive metric for assessing agricultural water use efficiency and its associated impacts, thereby providing new insights for agricultural water management. However, quantitative studies of regional CWF require extensive ground observations and are often constrained by scale effects, limited accuracy, and spatiotemporal discontinuities. To address these limitations, we developed a high‐precision CWF quantification framework that assimilates remotely sensed leaf area index and downscaled soil moisture into the World Food Studies crop model using the Ensemble Kalman Filter. Application of the proposed framework in the Hetao Irrigation District successfully mapped the high‐precision maize production water footprint, revealing a spatial pattern characterized by higher values in the eastern and western regions and lower values in the central area. The mean green water footprint, blue water footprint, and total water footprint of maize were 0.045 m3/kg, 0.660 m3/kg, and 0.705 m3/kg, respectively. Compared with estimates derived from remote sensing evapotranspiration products and the FAO Penman–Monteith method, the data assimilation framework improved the accuracy and spatial representativeness of maize water footprint estimation. Overall, the proposed framework provides a reliable tool for quantifying agricultural water‐use efficiency and lays a data and methodological foundation for refined water resources management.

The steel industry is known for its high water consumption and wastewater production, making it crucial to evaluate the environmental sustainability of water use in this sector. A product's water footprint (WF) represents the total freshwater volume used to produce consumer goods. In this study, the WF concept was used to evaluate the sustainability of water consumption in a steel plant in southeastern Iran. The WF components, including blue and gray water, were calculated for the steel production process from extraction to pelletizing. The findings revealed that indirect WF, such as water used in energy production, was nearly equal to direct WF, representing water used in the production process. To reduce the WF, seven scenarios based on the 3Rs (Reduction, Reuse, Recycling) strategies were proposed. The M-TOPSIS method, a multi-attribute decision-making technique, was used to prioritize the scenarios based on their effectiveness in gray and blue WF reduction, financial worth (income–expense balance), and the priority of the 3Rs strategy. The results indicated that the scenario of wastewater reuse from nearby cities achieved the highest priority due to its significant impact on reducing blue WF (by 38%) at a reasonable cost. The findings demonstrate that the proposed methodology can be applied to similar production systems.

Water footprint assessment is an analytical tool that helps us understand how activities, actions, and products from human activity influence the scarcity and pollution of water resources. The objectives of the paper are to study the water footprint that is necessary for the production of food for human consumption as an effective way to determine how food habits put pressure on water resources and to identify ways to reduce the stress found on them. To calculate the water footprint of food products consumed by Romanian residents, two types of data were used: information on the average annual net food consumption of each type of food considered during the research and the water footprint per unit of food consumed. In addition, an analysis was carried out based on the structure of the water footprint and the structure of food consumption. In terms of the structure of the water footprint, the contribution rate of the green water footprint is the highest, reaching 83.5%. This is followed by the blue water footprint and the gray water footprint, accounting for 9.04% and 7.46%, respectively. From the perspective of the structure of food consumption, the consumption of cereals, meat, milk, and dairy products contributed the most to the water footprint of residents’ food consumption, reaching 21.8% and 26.6%, respectively, and contributing 24.2% to the total water footprint of food consumption. Our research is useful for water management, improving the efficiency of use in agricultural technologies, and optimizing the structure of food consumption, such as reducing grain and meat consumption.