Title: The water footprint as an indicator for managing water resources: the case of Italian olive oil

Authors: Vera Amicarelli, Giovanni Lagioia, Teodoro Gallucci, Vesselina Dimitrova

Addresses: Department of Geographical and Commodity Science, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy. ' Department of Geographical and Commodity Science, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy. ' Department of Geographical and Commodity Science, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy ' Department of International Economic Relations, University of Economics Varna, Varna, Bulgaria

Abstract: Researchers, politicians and decision-makers continue to search for a recipe for sustainable economic growth. International interest is growing in the use of material indicators for evaluating the impact of human activities on natural systems. Water footprinting is becoming a popular way of understanding the total water input used to produce goods and services to help managers and policy makers evaluate the sustainability of a country|s water resources. The goal of this study is to apply the water footprint (WF) indicator to Italy|s olive oil production. Based on the applied methodology, the total WF for annual Italian olive oil production is approximately 3,600–6,700 million m³. These figures are the sum of the internal and external WFs. Knowledge is a valuable contribution to understand future needs and freshwater availability. Furthermore, suggestions on its practical application are proposed.

Keywords: water footprint; physical indicators; sustainability; environmental management systems; sustainable development; water resources management; Italy; olive oil.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSE.2011.042797

International Journal of Sustainable Economy, 2011 Vol.3 No.4, pp.425 - 439

Published online: 04 Oct 2011 *

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