Abstract
The Water Footprint (WF) is an indicator of human freshwater appropriation which quantifies direct and indirect ("virtual") water use. The concept was introduced by A.Y.Hoekstra in 2002.
Since then it has been elaborated by different authors, especially in the field of food production. Agriculture accounts for 70 % of global water withdrawal and water resources are heavily exploited for crops cultivation.
Simultaneously, agriculture is heavily impacted by climate change, and yield reduction may result in the decline of food security worldwide. We calculated WF of the two most relevant crops for food security (wheat and maize) in the specific conditions of the Czech Republic, adopting the methodology for WF as introduced by Hoekstra.
National secondary data obtained from agricultural and meteorological research institutions were used. The results were compared to the WFs of wheat and maize cultivated in different geographical areas and the FW values were assessed in the context of water stress.
The potential of WF as a tool for evaluation of climate change impacts was discussed. Climate change as projected for the 21st century may significantly alter crop production.
WF can form a basis for new mitigation strategies and policies for water governance and planning of inter/national crop trade.