Explorando el ciclo urbano hidrosocial en entornos turísticos

This contribution attempts to examine first how different theoretical and methodological perspectives from Geography and environmental sciences explore water flows and their physical and social dimensions in the city, as well as their changes in response to the emerging urban complexities and challenges. Using in particular the framework provided by Urban Political Ecology, I look at how the physical and social dimensions of water flows unfold and influence the urbanization process and, in turn, are influenced by urbanization. In the second part, attention is paid to urban coastal areas of the Mediterranean as candidate laboratories of analysis under urban political ecology since they are subject to rapid processes of social environmental change in which water plays a fundamental part. Case studies included to examine physical and social dimensions of water flows include heritage towns (Venice) and mass tourism resorts (Benidorm).Esta contribución intenta examinar primero cómo diferentes perspectivas teóricas y metodológicas de la geografía y las ciencias ambientales exploran los flujos de agua en sus dimensiones física y social en la ciudad, así como sus modificaciones, en respuesta a las complejidades y desafíos urbanos emergentes. A través del marco establecido por la disciplina de la Ecología Política Urbana, miro cómo las dimensiones físicas y sociales de los flujos de agua se desarrollan e influyen en el proceso de urbanización y, a su vez, se ven influenciada por la urbanización. En la segunda parte, se presta atención a las zonas urbanas costeras del Mediterráneo como laboratorios candidatos de análisis en el marco de ecología política urbana, ya que están sujetas a rápidos procesos de cambio social y ambiental en el que el agua juega un papel fundamental. Los estudios de caso incluidos para examinar las dimensiones físicas y sociales de los flujos de agua incluyen la ciudad cultural de Venecia y el destino turístico de masas de Benidorm.This work is the result of a preliminary research conducted for the preparation of a PhD’s thesis in Geography, Spatial Planning and Public Policies; supported by the PhD scholarship, number FI_B 00773, of the Agency for Management of University and Research Grants of Catalonia (AGAUR), the Comisionado para Universidades e Investigación (CUR), the Departamento de Innovación, Universidades y Empresa (DIUE) and the European Social Fund

Demand uncertainty In modelling WDS: scaling laws and scenario generation

Water distribution systems (WDS) are critical infrastructures that should be designed to work properly in different conditions. The design and management of WDS should take into account the uncertain nature of some system parameters affecting the overall reliability of these infrastructures. In this context, water demand represents the major source of uncertainty. Thus, uncertain demand should be either modelled as a stochastic process or characterized using statistical tools. In this paper, we extend to the 3rd and 4th order moments the analytical equations (namely scaling laws) expressing the dependency of the statistical moments of demand signals on the sampling time resolution and on the number of served users. Also, we describe how the probability density function (pdf) of the demand signal changes with both the increase of the user’s number and the sampling rate variation. With this aim, synthetic data and real indoor water demand data are used. The scaling laws of the water demand statistics are a powerful tool which allows us to incorporate the demand uncertainty in the optimization models for a sustainable management of WDS. Specifically, in the stochastic/robust optimization, solutions close to the optimum in different working conditions should be considered. Obviously, the results of these optimization models are strongly dependent on the conditions that are taken into consideration (i.e. the scenarios). Among the approaches for the definition of demand scenarios and their probability-weight of occurrence, the moment-matching method is based on matching a set of statistical properties, e.g. moments from the 1st (mean) to the 4th (kurtosis) order

Measuring economic water scarcity in agriculture: a cross-country empirical investigation

Abstract High water availability enhances agricultural performance and food security. However, many countries where water is abundant according to hydrological indicators face difficulties in the utilization of water in agriculture, being in a situation of economic water scarcity (EWS), due to lack of institutional and material means for water management and governance. EWS faces a stronger challenge of measurability, if compared to physical water scarcity. Since the Sustainable Development Goal Indicator on Integrated management of domestic and transboundary water resources (IWRM) is a unique attempt to quantify information on water management at a national level, we explore whether it can represent a valid metric for EWS measurement. We first show that a high level of water management is neither necessarily associated to high economic power of the country nor to low physical water availability. Then, we analyze whether the indicator can predict typical EWS situations such as low agricultural productivity and inefficient water use. Although the importance of water institutions for agriculture is well known through case studies at the local level, we make the first attempt to quantify the strengths of this relation at a global scale for different crops in climatic diverse countries. We detect a positive and significant association between IWRM level and yield, and consequently a negative and equally significant association between the IWRM level and the crop water footprint. Statistical significance holds also when potentially confounding variables are included in a multiple regression analysis. We infer from this analysis that good water management, as detectable through the IWRM indicator, improves land productivity and water saving, in turn mitigating EWS. Our findings pave the way toward the use of the IWRM indicator as a valuable tool for measuring EWS in agriculture, bridging the measurability gap of economic water scarcity, with straightforward policy implications in favour of investments in water management as a lever for enhancing food security and development

WATER CONSUMPTION AND CROP PRICES: AN EXPLANATORY GLOBAL DATA-DRIVEN STUDY

We analyze the farm-gate prices of twelve representative crops in 1991-2016, considering data from 162 countries. The association between crop price and unit water footprint is investigated, also accounting for the country’s water scarcity and of the land footprint as possible confounding factors. We find that prices of staple crops (e.g. wheat, maize, soybeans, and potatoes) seem to embed the amount of water used for their production. Differently, food products whose production is more export-oriented (e.g. coffee, cocoa beans, tea, vanilla) exhibit weaker or negligible water price links. These variations may be ascribable to specific market dynamics related to the two product groups

Is water consumption embedded in crop prices? A global data-driven analysis

Agricultural production exploits about 70% of all water withdrawals around the globe, but to date, it is not clear if and how this water consumption is taken into consideration in the price of the agricultural primary goods. To shed light on this point, we analyze the farm gate prices of twelve representative crops in the period 1991-2016, considering data from 162 countries in total. The crop price dependence on the water footprint is investigated, also accounting for the country’s water scarcity as a possible additional determinant of the price, and of the land footprint as a possible confounding factor. We find that prices of staple crops (e.g. wheat, maize, soybeans, and potatoes) typically embed the amount of water used for their production. Differently, food products that do not contribute in an essential way to the human diet and whose production is more export-oriented (e.g. coffee, cocoa beans, tea, vanilla) exhibit weaker or negligible water-price links. These variations may be ascribable to specific market dynamics related to the two product groups. Staple crops are often produced in markets where many producers have more space for price setting and may have an incentive to include also the value of water in the final crop price. In contrast, cash crops are cultivated in situations where few producers are ‘price takers’ with respect to the international market. This mechanism may decrease the influence of the water used on crop farm gate price composition. The understanding of different water impacts on crop prices may be useful for increasing efficiency in water allocation and governance decisions, with the aim of improved environmental sustainability in this domain