Virtual water trade - resource management in Libyan Jamahiriya

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In Africa, variabilities in rainfall, geologies, seasonality make rainfall distribution extremely uneven. Despite ample freshwater resources on the continent, many countries cannot achieve water of food security due to pre-existing challenges associated with water scarcity, desertification and structural challenges that are exacerbated by threats from climate change. The engineering solutions including water transfer projects and desalination seem economically and ecologically unsustainable for long-term water management. In this blog post, we will explore the idea of virtual water, and would it be a realistic concept for resolving the water crisis in Libya Jamahiriya. 


Virtual water, a definition 

The term was first identified by Tony Allan (1993) that describes the water needed to produce a commodity. In other terms, it represents the water embedded in the production of an agricultural good. For example, To produce one standard cup of coffee (125ml), the most important agricultural commodity being traded in the world, would require 140 L of water in the Neverthelands - this is the virtual water content of the coffee (Chapagain and Hoekstra, 2007). The global trade in goods has allowed a “flow” of water through trading agro-food commodities without the political stress of mobilising huge annual flows of water in existing resources like the Nile. Therefore, the import of virtual water may seem like a viable solution for water deficit economics in the Middle East and North Africa (Allan, 2003). 


Why does Libya need virtual water?

As in all arid and semi-arid regions of the world, annual rainfall in Ethiopia is low and varies greatly in intensity and distribution from year to year, with only 5% of the country receiving more than 100mm a year, Libya ranks among the driest countries in the world  (Asswad, 1995). Currently, about 85% of water is used for agricultural purposes, as the population grows, demand for water consumption and food production also rises. Although growing food locally sounds appealing, even with most of the most sophisticated water transfer projects - the Great Man-made River Project implemented to transfer fossil water, the country faces immense pressure over its readily-dwindling water resource for agriculture. Groundwater now supplies 90% of the water, but overreliance on massive water allocations for an increasingly demanding agriculture sector will become unsustainable (McDonald et al., 2012).


Domestic food supply in Libya. Source: Wheida and Verhoeven, 2007

With no additional water supplies becoming available, the only solution is to allocate agricultural supplies to other sectors, resulting in a major cutback in irrigated agriculture and risks of famine. How will Libya provide its population with sufficient food, in other words, how can food security be achieved (Wheida and Verhoeven, 2007)? 


The agricultural sector has the highest water consumption yet a low share of Libya’s economic sustainability, therefore it s regarded main reason for water shortage. The import of virtual water in the most economical form, food is therefore paramount for Libya (Wheida and Verhoeven, 2007). Since Libya’s local self-sufficiency in food production is low for high water-consuming crops (Figure 1), importing agricultural products that are high in virtual water content e.g. wheat seems to be an effective and economical solution for water-short Libya to maximise the value of the limited water resources. It enables food demands to be sustained whilst prioritising the use of limited water in meeting more immediate domestic and industrial demands (Chapagain and Hoekstra 2003; Allan, 2003). 


Whilst virtual water trade related to importing agricultural commodities can ensure water-dependent food security, and prevent further damage to the water environment (Allan, 2010),  there are concerns within the political economy debate and dependency on the Western agribusiness power


  • Wider issues inter-related to global “trade” e.g.“unfair”  agriculture trade agreement which is currently not a level playing field, purchasing food from foreign economies often comes with heavy taxes and duties  (World Water Council, 2004) 

  • Food trade may improve food security, but affordable food prices cannot be secured (Sojamo et al., 2012) 

Dependencies on import may have adverse effects on local farmers, including rising unemployment in rural areas

  • Food supply might be disrupted as a result of political tensions or sanctions.

The overarching problem in Africa is not about not having enough water, but it is a problem of uneven distribution. Since Libya cannot achieve self-sufficiency for food production in the near future with a growing population, it would be more rational for Libya to import agricultural products, and utilise its precious water resources to meet more immediate needs in the domestic and industrial sectors. However, risks associated with international trading of water and structural constraints such as technology and level of socio-economic development need to be considered. Nevertheless, governments in countries with low food self-sufficiency should consider new economic policies that integrate virtual water trade to ease the pressure off the limited water resources. 


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