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| Titel |
Quantifying the human impact on water resources: a critical review of the water footprint concept |
| VerfasserIn |
J. Chenoweth, M. Hadjikakou, C. Zoumides |
| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
Englisch
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| ISSN |
1027-5606
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| Digitales Dokument |
URL |
| Erschienen |
In: Hydrology and Earth System Sciences ; 18, no. 6 ; Nr. 18, no. 6 (2014-06-24), S.2325-2342 |
| Datensatznummer |
250120392
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| Publikation (Nr.) |
 copernicus.org/hess-18-2325-2014.pdf |
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| Zusammenfassung |
| 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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