Author Archives: Arjen Hoekstra

Arjen Hoekstra is Professor in Water Management at the University of Twente, the Netherlands. He holds an MSc degree, cum laude, in Civil Engineering and a PhD degree in Policy Analysis, both from Delft University of Technology. Hoekstra lived in Europe, Asia and Africa and has a broad international network. He has led a variety of interdisciplinary research projects and advised governments, civil society organizations, companies and multilateral institutions like UNESCO and the World Bank.

Hoekstra was the first to quantify the water volumes virtually embedded in trade, thus showing the relevance of a global perspective on water use and scarcity. As creator of the water footprint concept, Hoekstra introduced supply-chain thinking in water management. With the development of Water Footprint Assessment he laid the foundation of a new interdisciplinary research field, addressing the relations between water management, consumption and trade. Hoekstra is founder of the Water Footprint Network, was the organization's first Science Director and now Chair of its Supervisory Board.

Hoekstra's scientific publications cover a wide range of topics related to water management and include a large number of highly cited articles and book chapters. His books were translated into several languages and include The Water Footprint of Modern Consumer Society (Routledge, 2013),The Water Footprint Assessment Manual (Earthscan, 2011), Globalization of Water (Wiley-Blackwell, 2008) and Perspectives on Water (International Books, 1998). He has been teaching in a variety of subjects, including: water resources management, river basin management, hydrology and water quality, water footprint assessment, sustainable development, natural resources valuation, environmental systems analysis, and policy analysis. He developed various educational tools, including the River Basin Game and the Globalization of Water Role Play.