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Based on the water footprint (WF) concept, this book reviews WF-based water stress evaluation methods at the city, provincial and river basin levels respectively. In addition, it explores the factors that influence regional water footprint in the spatial sequence via the extended STIRPAT model. Highlighting the utilization of WF accounting in sustainable water management, one of the book's goals is to establish the optimization model of water allocation in various industrial sectors. Based on WF accounting, which thoroughly considers the water input for production, the relevant intermediate water inputs, and the water amount for wastewater discharge dilutions, the book provides a wealth of insights for scholars and practitioners with an interest in water resources and environmental management. In addition, it exhibits a scientific plan for regional water resource utilization and allocation, helping relieve regional water shortages.

The uncontrolled utilization of natural resources to supply to the water demands of the ever-growing population has brought about worldwide scarcity. The supply shortage has resulted in conflicts between countries, created prolonged drought, closing of industrial units, shifting of local inhabitants etc. The abnormality in climatic patterns due to global warming has only enhanced the uncertainties. Unregulated discharge of waste water into fresh water resources is also polluting the available water resources and making them non-utilizable. That is why the discrepancy between water supply and demand is slowly but steadily becoming a problem, which may lead to conflict and inequality all over the world. The present investigation is an attempt to find the impact of urbanization in the face of climatic uncertainties on water shortage or scarcity. How is climate responsible? What urbanization factors have an influence on the extent of shortages? What is the role of the socio-economicstatus of the inhabitants? Industrialization? Consumption pattern? Each of the causes and effects were analyzed with the help of data from a climate model, which was then fed into a hydrologic model. The hydrologic output data was then put into various other novel simulation platforms to predict the uncertainties that can be caused by urbanization in various sectors of the regions of interest. The impact was calculated based on IPCC recommended climatic and five distinct urbanization scenarios. The study results will help to predict what is in store of those living in the developing countries. Possible mitigation measures are also discussed.

This book pursues a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach in order to analyze the relationship between water and food security. It demonstrates that most of the world's economies lack sufficient water resources to secure their populations'food requirements and are thus virtual importers of water. One of the most inspiring cases, which this book is rooted in, is Italy: the third largest net virtual water importer on earth. The book also shows that the sustainability of water depends on the extent to which societies recognize and take into account its value and contribution to agricultural production. Due to the large volumes of water required for food production, water and food security are in fact inextricably linked. Contributions from leading international experts and scholars in the field use the concepts of virtual water and water footprints to explain this relationship, with an eye to the empirical examples of wine, tomato and pasta production in Italy. This book provides a valuable resource for all researchers, professionals, policymakers and everyone else interested in water and food security.