Even for a globalized water cap and trade system, many of the specifics have yet to be worked out. I suppose initially, water duties would have to be set for specified uses (agricultural, industrial, etc), and these water duties should be comparable to the location and availability of water. If duties were exceeded, the company, businesses, etc. would have to essentially pay for additional water used. This payment could be in the form of some type of taxation on global trade or through purchasing of credits similar to carbon credits (yes, I am cringing at the thought of this concept going array…). Additionally, there would have to be some type of international treaty signed, and incorporation of these water taxes/credits into the global trade system.

Now, that being said, my worry about such an endeavor would be the affect on small entities who could not afford to pay for such taxes/credits to compete in the global trade system, and therefore be excluded even more so, after the implementation of such system. Also, there may be a lack of participation from many countries, making the system near to obsolete.