The water footprint of a river basin with a special focus on groundwater: The case of Guadalquivir basin (Spain)

Dumont, Aurélien; Salmoral, Gloria; Llamas, M. Ramón

doi:10.1016/j.wri.2013.04.001

Cited by 53 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…As is the case in many other basins, blue water scarcity in the Guadalquivir is best understood as a structural feature that arises due to overdevelopment of water resources such as dams, pipelines and irrigation canals (Molle and Wester, 2009). In particular, Dumont et al (2013) find irrigation for agricultural products, representing ~80% of blue water consumption, is by far the largest use of blue water in the basin. Berbel et al (2013) argue that the management responses to water scarcity in the Guadalquivir illustrate how adopting water-saving technologies can actually translate into greater consumption, despite expectations to the contrary (i.e.…”

Section: Blue Water Scarcitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Tracking resource use relative to planetary boundaries in a steady-state framework: A case study of Canada and Spain

Fanning

O’Neill

2016

Ecological Indicators

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There is a growing understanding of the biophysical processes that regulate the stability of the Earthsystem, yet human pressures on the planet continue to increase rapidly. Here, recent advances in defining Earth-system thresholds using the planetary boundaries framework are translated down to national and sub-national levels. A set of 10 indicators is developed in a biophysical accounting framework that links the sustainability of resource flows from the biosphere to final consumption. The indicator set includes three measures of physical stocks, three measures of aggregate resource consumption, and four indicators of sustainable scale. The four scale indicators are ratios of (i) cumulative carbon footprint relative to carbon budget, (ii) nutrient use relative to biogeochemical boundaries, (iii) blue water consumption relative to monthly basin-level availability, and (iv) land footprint relative to biocapacity. Taken together, the indicators measure how close high-consuming societies are to meeting the conditions of a "steady-state economy", defined here as an economy with non-growing physical stocks and flows maintained within shares of planetary boundaries. The framework is applied over a 15-year period to the economies of Canada and Spain, along with two sub-national regions (Nova Scotia and Andalusia). Nova Scotia is the only study site experiencing stable or decreasing biophysical stocks and flows. None of the study sites are consuming resources within their shares of all four planetary boundaries. Overall, the set of indicators provides guidance for prioritizing which environmental pressures need to decline (and by how much) for societies to be more effective stewards of Earth-system stability.

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Section: Blue Water Scarcitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Tracking resource use relative to planetary boundaries in a steady-state framework: A case study of Canada and Spain

Fanning

O’Neill

2016

Ecological Indicators

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“…In this respect, while most research on the water footprint has focused on the national or supranational level, some works are increasingly analyzing the water footprint at the regional or basin level [12][13][14][15][16]. For the particular case of Spain, quantifications of the water footprints can be found in [17][18][19][20].…”

Section: Background and Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Sustainable is the Increase in the Water Footprint of the Spanish Agricultural Sector? A Provincial Analysis between 1955 and 2005–2010

et al. 2015

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Abstract:In the context of a relatively scarce water country, the article analyzes the changes in 50 years in the water footprint (WF) in Spain evaluating its sustainability. For that purpose, firstly we make use of the regional information of the water footprints and crop production to estimate the WF of production over the 50 provinces in Spain, looking at the variation between the years 1955 and 2005-2010. The detail in the information of crops (more than 150 of them) statistics allows us to examine the types and origin of changes (in volume produced, shifts towards more or less water intensive crops). Secondly, we estimate sustainability indicators also at the provincial level, which let us evaluate whether this change has created or incremented the risk of physical and economic water stress. Thirdly, we introduce the economic perspective, providing evidence on the infrastructures built and public sector expenditure, as an approximation to the costs of the increases in WF, particularly meaningful for those water stressed areas. OPEN ACCESSSustainability 2015, 7 5095

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“…In addition, blue water footprints need to be distinguished between surface and groundwater resources, as the potential impacts associated with the use of each blue water source can vary considerably at the local scale (Zoumides et al, 2012(Zoumides et al, , 2013Dumont et al, 2013) Such complex applications, however, are well established in hydrological sciences, which implies that the actual contribution of the water footprint concept to water management policy is rather limited (Perry, 2014).…”

Section: Conclusion: Present Options and Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying the human impact on water resources: a critical review of the water footprint concept

Chenoweth

Hadjikakou

Zoumides

2014

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

134

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Abstract. The water footprint is a consumption-based indicator of water use, referring to the total volume of freshwater used directly and indirectly by a nation or a company, or in the provision of a product or service. Despite widespread enthusiasm for the development and use of water footprints, some concerns have been raised about the concept and its usefulness. A variety of methodologies have been developed for water footprinting which differ with respect to how they deal with different forms of water use. The result is water footprint estimates which vary dramatically, often creating confusion. Despite these methodological qualms, the concept has had notable success in raising awareness about water use in agricultural and industrial supply chains, by providing a previously unavailable and (seemingly) simple numerical indicator of water use. Nevertheless, and even though a range of uses have already been suggested for water footprinting, its policy value remains unclear. Unlike the carbon footprint which provides a universal measure of human impact on the atmosphere's limited absorptive capacity, the water footprint in its conventional form solely quantifies a single production input without any accounting of the impacts of use, which vary spatially and temporally. Following an extensive review of the literature related to water footprints, this paper critically examines the present uses of the concept, focusing on its current strengths, shortcomings and promising research avenues to advance it.

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The water footprint of a river basin with a special focus on groundwater: The case of Guadalquivir basin (Spain)

Cited by 53 publications

References 24 publications

Tracking resource use relative to planetary boundaries in a steady-state framework: A case study of Canada and Spain

Tracking resource use relative to planetary boundaries in a steady-state framework: A case study of Canada and Spain

How Sustainable is the Increase in the Water Footprint of the Spanish Agricultural Sector? A Provincial Analysis between 1955 and 2005–2010

Quantifying the human impact on water resources: a critical review of the water footprint concept

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