Blind spots in water management, and how natural sciences could be much more relevant
Cazcarro, I.; Bielsa, J. 2020. Blind spots in water management, and how natural sciences could be much more relevant. Frontiers in Plant Science, section Technical Advances in Plant Science. Opinion. DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2019.01742
Estimates of crop evapotranspiration (ET) to measure the freshwater use indicator water footprint
(WF) have undoubtedly been popular and implemented (Chapagain and Hoekstra, 2004), as well as
the more recent extension to subnational regions and watersheds (Mekonnen and Hoekstra, 2010a;
Hoekstra and Mekonnen, 2012; Mekonnen and Hoekstra, 2012). As reviewed by (Chenoweth et al.,
2014; Lovarelli et al., 2016), these studies have gone from estimating products' water trade on a
global scale, to rigorous quantification for specific crops and geographical areas. Many studies have
extended the coverage and precision of estimates. However, when it comes to the implementation of
these improvements in local and river-basin water management, we find management problems
that are ultimately unaddressed. It is here that, in our opinion, the Plant Water Sciences (PWS) have
to shed light on these “blind spots.” We also illustrate these general ideas with two examples.
Estimates of crop evapotranspiration (ET) to measure the freshwater use indicator water footprint
(WF) have undoubtedly been popular and implemented (Chapagain and Hoekstra, 2004), as well as
the more recent extension to subnational regions and watersheds (Mekonnen and Hoekstra, 2010a;
Hoekstra and Mekonnen, 2012; Mekonnen and Hoekstra, 2012). As reviewed by (Chenoweth et al.,
2014; Lovarelli et al., 2016), these studies have gone from estimating products' water trade on a
global scale, to rigorous quantification for specific crops and geographical areas. Many studies have
extended the coverage and precision of estimates. However, when it comes to the implementation of
these improvements in local and river-basin water management, we find management problems
that are ultimately unaddressed. It is here that, in our opinion, the Plant Water Sciences (PWS) have
to shed light on these “blind spots.” We also illustrate these general ideas with two examples.