The growing importance of international networks in agri-food supply chains poses an increasingly relevant and urgent need to reflect from an inter-scalar perspective on the sustainability of these productions and, in particular, on the global use of the natural resources employed in them, to start with the water ones. Agriculture represents the sector that consumes the largest amount of fresh water globally. Given the uneven distribution of these resources, trade in agricultural products could represent a possible efficient solution for using fresh water if trade flows were directed from countries with greater water resources (both in physical and economic terms) to countries with less availability, access and efficiency in the use of water. However, since the environmental characteristics and availability of resources of individual countries are not the only factors at play, international trade in agricultural commodities tends, instead, to reinforce inefficiencies and inequities, also in the use and (re)distribution of water resources. For a correct assessment of the sustainability of the overall agri food supply chains, it is therefore essential to think on a global scale by investigating more carefully which water resources are incorporated into the product flows and how these are exchanged. In this regard, this contribution proposes a methodology of analysis and geo-cartographic representation based on an international virtual water indicator of food production and the mapping of its expressions.
I flussi globali di acqua virtuale: un problema di sostenibilità per le produzioni agro-alimentari? Un’analisi geo-cartografica
Pietta Antonella
2023-01-01
Abstract
The growing importance of international networks in agri-food supply chains poses an increasingly relevant and urgent need to reflect from an inter-scalar perspective on the sustainability of these productions and, in particular, on the global use of the natural resources employed in them, to start with the water ones. Agriculture represents the sector that consumes the largest amount of fresh water globally. Given the uneven distribution of these resources, trade in agricultural products could represent a possible efficient solution for using fresh water if trade flows were directed from countries with greater water resources (both in physical and economic terms) to countries with less availability, access and efficiency in the use of water. However, since the environmental characteristics and availability of resources of individual countries are not the only factors at play, international trade in agricultural commodities tends, instead, to reinforce inefficiencies and inequities, also in the use and (re)distribution of water resources. For a correct assessment of the sustainability of the overall agri food supply chains, it is therefore essential to think on a global scale by investigating more carefully which water resources are incorporated into the product flows and how these are exchanged. In this regard, this contribution proposes a methodology of analysis and geo-cartographic representation based on an international virtual water indicator of food production and the mapping of its expressions.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
