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Incorporating the Water Footprint and Virtual Water into Policy: Reflections from the Mancha Occidental Region, Spain

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  • Maite Aldaya
  • Pedro Martínez-Santos
  • M. Llamas

Abstract

Water resource management is often a controversial issue in semiarid regions. Most water resources experts admit that water conflicts are not caused by the physical water scarcity but they are mainly due to inadequate water management. The virtual water concept (the volume of water used in the production of a commodity, good or service) together with the water footprint (indicator of water consumption that looks at both direct and indirect water use of a consumer or producer), links a large range of sectors and issues, thus providing a potentially appropriate framework to support more optimal water management practices by informing production and trade decisions. This paper provides an analysis of these two concepts within the context of the Mancha Occidental region, Spain, exploring the hydrological and economic aspects of agricultural production. In doing so, this work not only distinguishes between green and blue water but also between surface and groundwater. We conclude by discussing the practical implications of the results, as well as their potential limitations from the policy standpoint. Copyright The Author(s) 2010

Suggested Citation

  • Maite Aldaya & Pedro Martínez-Santos & M. Llamas, 2010. "Incorporating the Water Footprint and Virtual Water into Policy: Reflections from the Mancha Occidental Region, Spain," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 24(5), pages 941-958, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:waterr:v:24:y:2010:i:5:p:941-958
    DOI: 10.1007/s11269-009-9480-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. M. Kumar & O. Singh, 2005. "Virtual Water in Global Food and Water Policy Making: Is There a Need for Rethinking?," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 19(6), pages 759-789, December.
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    1. José Sánchez & Juan Reca & Juan Martínez, 2015. "Water Productivity in a Mediterranean Semi-Arid Greenhouse District," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 29(14), pages 5395-5411, November.
    2. Ignacio Cazcarro & Rosa Duarte & Miguel Martín-Retortillo & Vicente Pinilla & Ana Serrano, 2015. "How Sustainable is the Increase in the Water Footprint of the Spanish Agricultural Sector? A Provincial Analysis between 1955 and 2005–2010," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(5), pages 1-26, April.
    3. Gino Sturla & Lorenzo Ciulla & Benedetto Rocchi, 2022. "Italy's Volumetric, Scarce and Social-scarce water footprint: a Hydro Economic Input-Output Analysis," Working Papers - Economics wp2022_17.rdf, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Scienze per l'Economia e l'Impresa.
    4. Tomaz, Alexandra & Palma, José Ferro & Ramos, Tiago & Costa, Maria Natividade & Rosa, Elizabete & Santos, Marta & Boteta, Luís & Dôres, José & Patanita, Manuel, 2021. "Yield, technological quality and water footprints of wheat under Mediterranean climate conditions: A field experiment to evaluate the effects of irrigation and nitrogen fertilization strategies," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    5. A. Hassan & M. Y. Saari & T. H. Tengku Ismail, 2017. "Virtual water trade in industrial products: evidence from Malaysia," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 877-894, June.
    6. Yu Zhang & Qing Tian & Huan Hu & Miao Yu, 2019. "Water Footprint of Food Consumption by Chinese Residents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-15, October.
    7. Zafar Hussain & Zongmin Wang & Jiaxue Wang & Haibo Yang & Muhammad Arfan & Daniyal Hassan & Wusen Wang & Muhammad Imran Azam & Muhammad Faisal, 2022. "A comparative Appraisal of Classical and Holistic Water Scarcity Indicators," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 36(3), pages 931-950, February.
    8. Pardo, J.J. & Martínez-Romero, A. & Léllis, B.C. & Tarjuelo, J.M. & Domínguez, A., 2020. "Effect of the optimized regulated deficit irrigation methodology on water use in barley under semiarid conditions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).
    9. Ángel De Miguel & Malaak Kallache & Eloy García-Calvo, 2015. "The Water Footprint of Agriculture in Duero River Basin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(6), pages 1-22, May.
    10. P. Oel & A. Hoekstra, 2012. "Towards Quantification of the Water Footprint of Paper: A First Estimate of its Consumptive Component," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 26(3), pages 733-749, February.
    11. Güngör Karakaş, 2024. "Investigation of sustainable water consumption behavior within the framework of value belief norm," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(11), pages 28465-28483, November.
    12. Taleb Abu-Sharar & Emad Al-Karablieh & Munther Haddadin, 2012. "Role of Virtual Water in Optimizing Water Resources Management in Jordan," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 26(14), pages 3977-3993, November.
    13. Castellanos, M.T. & Cartagena, M.C. & Requejo, M.I. & Arce, A. & Cabello, M.J. & Ribas, F. & Tarquis, A.M., 2016. "Agronomic concepts in water footprint assessment: A case of study in a fertirrigated melon crop under semiarid conditions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 81-90.
    14. Karandish, Fatemeh & Šimůnek, Jiří, 2018. "An application of the water footprint assessment to optimize production of crops irrigated with saline water: A scenario assessment with HYDRUS," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 67-82.
    15. Wang, Y.B. & Liu, D. & Cao, X.C. & Yang, Z.Y. & Song, J.F. & Chen, D.Y. & Sun, S.K., 2017. "Agricultural water rights trading and virtual water export compensation coupling model: A case study of an irrigation district in China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 180(PA), pages 99-106.
    16. Pilar Montesinos & Emilio Camacho & Blanca Campos & Juan Rodríguez-Díaz, 2011. "Analysis of Virtual Irrigation Water. Application to Water Resources Management in a Mediterranean River Basin," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 25(6), pages 1635-1651, April.
    17. María Jesús Beltrán & Esther Velázquez, 2011. "Del metabolismo social al metabolismo hídrico," Documentos de Trabajo de la Asociación de Economía Ecológica en España 01_2011, Asociación de Economía Ecológica en España.
    18. Marta Antonelli & Luca Fernando Ruini, 2015. "Business Engagement with Sustainable Water Resource Management through Water Footprint Accounting: The Case of the Barilla Company," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(6), pages 1-17, May.
    19. Maria J. Beltrán & Esther Velázquez, 2015. "The Political Ecology of Virtual Water in Southern Spain," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(5), pages 1020-1036, September.
    20. Shimelis Setegn & V. Chowdary & B. Mal & Fikadu Yohannes & Yasuyuki Kono, 2011. "Water Balance Study and Irrigation Strategies for Sustainable Management of a Tropical Ethiopian Lake: A Case Study of Lake Alemaya," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 25(9), pages 2081-2107, July.
    21. Hamidreza Manshadi & Mohammad Niksokhan & Mojtaba Ardestani, 2015. "A Quantity-Quality Model for Inter-basin Water Transfer System Using Game Theoretic and Virtual Water Approaches," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 29(13), pages 4573-4588, October.

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