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Attention to water resources and consumption in Iran's industrial sector is important due to the existence of severe tensions in the country's water resources. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the virtual water trade in the oil industry of Iran. For this purpose, the technical-basic approach has been used to measure virtual water and the special water demand and virtual water trade of Iran's oil sector has been calculated from 1978 to 2019. The results show that due to the high volume of oil exports, Iran is a net exporter of virtual water. The amount of water consumed in the oil industry and the process of extraction and production of crude oil in the years under review averaged 594 million cubic meters per year and the amount of virtual water that left the country following the export of crude oil in these years averaged 356 million cubic meters per year. Also, the export value of virtual water in the oil sector has a value of 1838 thousand Rials per cubic meter. To manage the country's water resources and the leading crises in this sector of the industry, it is possible to greatly increase water efficiency in this sector by modifying production processes and updating equipment, facilities, and methods used to optimally consume water in this sector. .

Despite the recent droughts in Isfahan province, climatic changes and the rising trend of population growth, as well as development of industrial and agricultural activities, are exposed to the water crisis. Thus, in order to tackle this problem, the essential strategies should including exploring virtual water and water foot print for strategic crops in agricultural sector should be taken into consideration for the management of water supplies at risk. This study was aimed to examine virtual water and ecologic fingerprint of water for the wheat crop in Isfahan Province from the farming year 2006-7 through 2014-15. For this purpose, the quantity of virtual water was extracted using net irrigation demand by NETWAT software and the rate of irrigation efficiency was computed to be 48%. The results indicated that only in 2007, Isfahan province was an exporter of virtual water for the wheat crop, so this province exported about 0.15 billion cubic meters of virtual water to other provinces by wheat exportation, but Isfahan province was the only virtual water in the years (2008-15) and this was due to the annual population rise and the existing drought in this zone. During this period, the rate of the mean annual rate of ecological footprint of water was 5.87 billion cubic meters and Isfahan Province stored this volume of water from the given internal supplies annually, with the mean rate of 0.65 billion cubic meters of virtual water importation at that year.

Water crisis is of utmost importance due to the growing demand and consumption of water, especially in developing countries where its production and food security are facing serious challenges. Virtual water trade has been proposed as one strategy to combat the water scarcity crisis in arid and semi-arid regions. The strategy is based on the import of food and water-intensive supplies from neighboring regions that enjoy adequate supplies of water. Given the fact that the industrial sector has been proposed to serve as the basis of development in Zanjan Province, the present study was conducted to investigate the virtual water trade by the industrial sector in this province. For the purposes of this study, data from the statistical period 2010-2011 were obtained from the Statistical Center of Iran on enterprises employing ten member staffs or above. The data were used to categorize the industries surveyed, their water demands, and products to estimate the quantities of water needed for their continued operation. It was found that the highest quantities of virtual water in Zanjan are allocated to coking and petroleum plants, paper and cellulosic industries, and food and beverage processing factories with average values of 32.70, 26.14, and 11.63 cubic meters per million Rials, respectively. In addition, the total amount of virtual water exported from the industrial units operating in Zanjan Province is estimated at about 3.10 MCM, 50% of which belongs to base metal production. Conclusion: Our findings show that the industrial sector in Zanjan Province is a net exporter of virtual water.

Despite the recent droughts in Isfahan province, climatic changes and the rising trend of population growth, as well as development of industrial and agricultural activities, are exposed to the water crisis. Thus, in order to tackle this problem, the essential strategies should including exploring virtual water and water foot print for strategic crops in agricultural sector should be taken into consideration for the management of water supplies at risk. This study was aimed to examine virtual water and ecologic fingerprint of water for the wheat crop in Isfahan Province from the farming year 2006-7 through 2014-15. For this purpose, the quantity of virtual water was extracted using net irrigation demand by NETWAT software and the rate of irrigation efficiency was computed to be 48%. The results indicated that only in 2007, Isfahan province was an exporter of virtual water for the wheat crop, so this province exported about 0.15 billion cubic meters of virtual water to other provinces by wheat exportation, but Isfahan province was the only virtual water in the years (2008-15) and this was due to the annual population rise and the existing drought in this zone. During this period, the rate of the mean annual rate of ecological footprint of water was 5.87 billion cubic meters and Isfahan Province stored this volume of water from the given internal supplies annually, with the mean rate of 0.65 billion cubic meters of virtual water importation at that year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]