I am usually a third year PhD student working on detecting the causes of vertebrate population declines from time-series data at the Institute of Zoology, but for the past three months I exchanged my jeans and t-shirts, student life-style for ironed shirts and skirts, rush-hour tube journeys and Westminster business meetings.

I took a break from my PhD to work as an adviser for the UK Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) on the topic of “Water in Production and Products”, through a fellowship scheme funded by the Natural Environment Research Council.   Although not a topic I had any prior familiarity with, I was aware of the pressure which our growing, human population is imposing on the Earth’s natural resources and the need to address our unsustainable consumption.  The prospect of researching something completely different for a change was very exciting!

My task for the following months was to interview a wide variety of experts (which were to include academic researchers, environmental consultants, NGO staff, civil servants, supermarket sustainability officers and a Lord) on the topic of water use in production.  Using the information gained from these discussions, I would compile a four-page briefing, or POSTnote, intended to inform members of both Houses of Parliament.

I quickly learnt that water is one of the most stressed resources on the planet, with global demand forecast to outstrip supply by 40% over the next 20 years.   The thing about water is that we are unaware of the enormous volumes which we consume every day – through drinking it and bathing ourselves, but most of all, hidden in the production of the food we eat and the clothes we wear.   To be precise, 95% of the water which we consume is in this invisible form, known as “virtual” water, used within a good’s production process.  For example, an incredible 70 litres of water are used in the production of one apple, 75 litres for a pint of beer, 140 litres for a cup of coffee, 3,400 litres for 1 kg of rice, 15,500 for 1 kg of beef, and 27,000 litres to make a cotton T-shirt! Another fascinating fact I learnt about water is that 2,320 billion m³ of virtual water (roughly equivalent to one billion Olympic-size swimming pools) is transferred around the world every year through trade in products.

Using global trade, water-scarce countries can explicitly import water-rich goods to lessen their level of scarcity.  The main aim of my POSTnote was therefore to brief MPs and peers on the increasing risks associated with interruptions to global water supply and the need for  businesses and governments worldwide to better manage their water withdrawals.

Apart from researching my briefing, I enjoyed dropping in on debates in the Houses of Commons and Lords, select committee meetings, and lunching in the many parliamentary canteens along with the other POST fellows (the food was delicious and heavily subsidised!) – not to mention, making our way through the parliamentary bars and pubs. One time we even came across a parliamentary karaoke evening! I thoroughly enjoyed my time there – both working on my POSTnote and taking in life in the Palace of Westminster.

As I sit back in the Institute of Zoology’s “PhD factory”, while considering my latest statistical results, I feel miles away from my phone-conference interviews, lunches in Portcullis House and evenings on the House of Lord’s terrace.  Luckily, I still have my very own parliamentary business card to remind me.

My POSTnote can be downloaded from the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology‘s website here.

Martina Di Fonzo