The results show that the current global trade pattern significantly influences water use
in most countries of the world, either by reducing domestic water use or by enhancing it.
We therefore recommend that future water policy studies at national level include an
assessment of the effects of trade on water policy. The study shows that for water-scarce
countries, it would also be wise to do the reverse: studying the possible implications of
national water scarcity on trade. Finally, by showing virtual water flows, the study visualizes
the connection between consumption in one place and water use for production in another
place. When consumption of a certain good in one country relates to problems of water
depletion or pollution in another country, as we show for instance for European cotton
consumers and the desiccation of the Aral Sea (Chapagain et al. 2006b), this is an interesting
starting point for an analysis of responsibilities and mechanisms that could possibly mitigate
the environmental problem.