Letter to the editor re: “The scarcity-weighted water footprint provides unreliable water sustainability scoring” by

Pfister, Stephan; Scherer, Laura; Boulay, Anne‐Marie; Motoshita, Masaharu; Núñez, Montserrat; Damiani, Mattia; Manzardo, Alessandro; Huang, Jing; Link, Andreas; Bunsen, Jonas; Berger, Markus

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154108

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 42 publications

(53 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Likewise, it can be related to the pressure on water resources exerted by other stakeholders in the area, such as African palm farmers and ranchers, especially in dry periods. Pfister et al [78] emphasize that SI blue contributes not only to establishing productive systems related to water but also helps to manage water resources within a region limited by water scarcity, such as the one found in this study.…”

Section: Identification Of the Activities With The Greatest Demand Of...mentioning

confidence: 64%

Assessment of the Water Footprint in Low-Income Urban Neighborhoods from Developing Countries: Case Study Fátima (Gamarra, Colombia)

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The increasing pressure on water resources due to population growth and high water consumption, especially in urban areas from tropical developing countries, has led to a rise in water stress. The sustainability analysis of the Total Water Footprint (WFtotal) and the Environmental Sustainability Index (SIblue) are holistic water management tools that allow for establishing pressures over water resources. This study assessed the WFtotal and their components (Blue, Green, and Gray) in the households of a low-income tropical neighborhood in Colombia with sanitation deficiencies. The activities associated with intra-household water use and higher environmental impact were identified, considering socioeconomic conditions and the water quality in the receiving water body, a wetland, through the application of surveys in a sample of households. The results showed that 86.7% of the WF was the WFgreen, followed by the WFgray (13.2%), and finally, the WFblue (0.2%). The high value of the WFgreen was related to food consumption patterns, which varied according to socioeconomic level. Likewise, the SIblue shows that the Baquero wetland presented scarcity scenarios regarding water quality and sedimentation, threatening the environmental service provision from this strategic ecosystem. Finally, tools such as the WFtotal and SIblue help identify strategies that could be implemented to reduce the pressure on the water resources and the water quality degradation in ecosystems relevant to global sustainability as wetlands.

show abstract

Section: Identification Of the Activities With The Greatest Demand Of...mentioning

confidence: 64%

Assessment of the Water Footprint in Low-Income Urban Neighborhoods from Developing Countries: Case Study Fátima (Gamarra, Colombia)

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Sturla et al [43] conceptualised a further measure of footprint, namely the Social Scarce Water Footprint (SoSWF), to account for social factors that affect the availability of water. These authors argue that water footprint should address the environmental impact generated by the exploitation of water resources, such as Scarcity-weighted Water Footprint (SWF) [42,43]. The SoSWF is based on the concept of the Scarce Water Stress Index (SWSI), which is an indicator of per capita water availability [42,43].…”

Section: Water Stress Footprint (Wsf)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These authors argue that water footprint should address the environmental impact generated by the exploitation of water resources, such as Scarcity-weighted Water Footprint (SWF) [42,43]. The SoSWF is based on the concept of the Scarce Water Stress Index (SWSI), which is an indicator of per capita water availability [42,43]. It is further argued that the SWF delivers unrealistic sustainability ratings because the single indicator of blue water stress and blue water efficiency undermines sustainable production [44].…”

Section: Water Stress Footprint (Wsf)mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

A Systematic Review of Social Sustainability Indicators for Water Use along the Agricultural Value Chain

Pilane,

Jordaan,

Bahta

2024

Hydrology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The concept of sustainable water use serves as an indicator of environmental, economic, and social pressure on freshwater resources globally; however, the social element of sustainability is not well researched within water-consumption studies. The objective of this paper is to consider the current state of the literature on social sustainability indicators for water use in agriculture, as well as to describe the social (people) element of sustainability and establish water use as an element of society. By combining viewpoints, systematic literature reviews address research topics with a strength that no single work can have. From 314 papers published between 2013 and 2023, 42 papers were eligible for the review. This work employed a mixed-methods approach that included a systematic review following the (PRISMA) framework, scientific mapping through VOSviewer software (version 1.6.19), thematic reviews, and a review of the grey literature retrieved from artificial intelligence and deep learning technologies. The findings indicate that social sustainability indicators are based on environmental indicators. There are no set standards for what to consider as a social indicator of water use or for how these indictors can be measured. Life-cycle assessment and water-footprint assessment frameworks have shown progress with indicators that capture the social value of water such as productivity-reducing externalities, equity, and jobs per cubic metre of water.

show abstract

Water Productivity and Irrigation Water Demand of Potatoes in Brandenburg (Germany) Between 1902 and 2020

Drastig,

Zimmermann,

Ammon

et al. 2024

Potato Res.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The aim of this publication was the derivation of reference values of the water productivity of fresh matter of potatoes (WPFM) with and without irrigation for Brandenburg (Germany). Furthermore, reference values of the irrigation water demand (IWD) were derived. For this purpose, the AgroHyd Farmmodel was used. Calculations were performed within two time periods, 1901–2010 and 2000–2020. The relationships between the traits were detected. The calculations were made for each county of Brandenburg. The water productivity of irrigated potatoes (WPirri) varied between 6.66 and 9.19 kg FM m−3. The irrigation water demand (IWD) of potatoes in each county varied between 173 and 212 mm. In the last 20 years, the trend of the irrigation water demand became positive. Irrigation water seems to be not always able to satisfy the water demand of the potatoes—the yield and, closely associated with the yield, the WPirri decreased. Water productivity of rainfed potatoes (WPnoirri) decreased with increasing precipitation (P). High yields and low water inputs leading to a higher WPnon-irri seem to be not realistic. The high yields during high IWD seemed to be only possible with irrigation. The focus for improving the water productivity has to be put on the large differences in water productivity between the counties. In counties with lower P and lower available water capacity, the increase of irrigation water use to increase WP should be planned carefully. Graphical Abstract

show abstract

Letter to the editor re: “The scarcity-weighted water footprint provides unreliable water sustainability scoring” by

Cited by 5 publications

References 42 publications

Assessment of the Water Footprint in Low-Income Urban Neighborhoods from Developing Countries: Case Study Fátima (Gamarra, Colombia)

Assessment of the Water Footprint in Low-Income Urban Neighborhoods from Developing Countries: Case Study Fátima (Gamarra, Colombia)

A Systematic Review of Social Sustainability Indicators for Water Use along the Agricultural Value Chain

Water Productivity and Irrigation Water Demand of Potatoes in Brandenburg (Germany) Between 1902 and 2020

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About