Beyond deforestation: water use in global agricultural commodity supply chains

The document examines the relationship between tropical deforestation and water use in agricultural commodity supply chains, specifically those imported into the EU. It highlights that while high-risk deforestation commodities often rely on precipitation (green water), other commodities cause significant water scarcity through irrigation (blue water). The authors warn that focusing solely on deforestation may shift environmental burdens to water-scarce regions and identify critical data gaps regarding water use for beef and wood products.

• EU consumption of agricultural commodities was linked to nearly 20% of global tropical deforestation in 2017, totaling approximately 240,000 hectares.
• Agricultural commodities most associated with tropical deforestation, such as oil palm, beef, wood, and soy, rely almost entirely on green water (precipitation), making them vulnerable to regional climate change and precipitation variability.
• Certain commodities imported into the EU that are not necessarily linked to deforestation pose significant water scarcity risks in their producing regions, particularly in Asia and the Middle East; examples include pistachios from Iran and cotton from Uzbekistan.
• Deforestation in South America disrupts the water cycle by reducing the 'flying rivers'—atmospheric watercourses that deliver rainfall downwind—and can increase local temperatures by up to 2.5°C.
• Significant global data 'blind spots' exist for water use in the supply chains of beef and wood products due to the complexity of production systems and methodological challenges in estimating water use for tree plantations.
• In the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, an initial assessment indicated that half of the water used for cattle was attributed to the evaporation of farm impoundments used for drinking water.

APA

Lathuillière, M., Ran, Y., West, C., Croft, S., Flach, R., & Wang-Erlandsson, L. (2022). Beyond deforestation: water use in global agricultural commodity supply chains. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/220506a-burton-lathuillière-deforestation-water-2201c-brief.pdf

Chicago

Lathuillière, Michael, Ylva Ran, Chris West, Simon Croft, Rafaela Flach, and Lan Wang-Erlandsson. Beyond deforestation: water use in global agricultural commodity supply chains. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2022. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/220506a-burton-lathuillière-deforestation-water-2201c-brief.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Lathuillière |first1=Michael |last2=Ran |first2=Ylva |last3=West |first3=Chris |last4=Croft |first4=Simon |last5=Flach |first5=Rafaela |last6=Wang-Erlandsson |first6=Lan |title=Beyond deforestation: water use in global agricultural commodity supply chains |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=May 2022 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/220506a-burton-lathuillière-deforestation-water-2201c-brief.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{lathuillire2022beyond, author = {Lathuillière, Michael and Ran, Ylva and West, Chris and Croft, Simon and Flach, Rafaela and Wang-Erlandsson, Lan}, title = {{Beyond deforestation: water use in global agricultural commodity supply chains}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2022}, month = may, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/220506a-burton-lathuillière-deforestation-water-2201c-brief.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }