IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/ssefpa/v11y2019i5d10.1007_s12571-019-00966-3.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Impact of food consumption on water footprint and food security in Tunisia

Author

Listed:
  • Asma Souissi

    (University of Sousse)

  • Nadhem Mtimet

    (International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)
    University of Carthage)

  • Chokri Thabet

    (University of Sousse)

  • Talel Stambouli

    (University of Carthage)

  • Ali Chebil

    (University of Carthage)

Abstract

Over the next few years, Tunisia will face a growing scarcity of water. The concept of a food consumption water footprint has been recently applied to expand knowledge about water management and to respond to problems of food insecurity. In this study, following the Water Footprint Network (WFN) method, we assessed and analysed the food consumption water footprint of Tunisian households by geographical location and by group of food products. We used results from national food surveys to collect the quantities of food consumed and the WFN database containing water footprints of food products specific to Tunisia. We found that the average water footprint for the main consumed food groups has increased by 31% during recent decades, from 1208 m3/capita/year in 1985 to 1586 m3/capita/year in 2010. Despite the decline in cereal consumption in Tunisia, the food water footprint has continued to rise as a result of increased consumption of animal source products. This increase is associated with regional variations in food choices that imply large differences in water footprints. Urban diets present higher water footprints than rural diets proportionally to higher standards of living. This study provides a new perspective on the water footprint of food consumption in Tunisia by using dietary data at the household level and demonstrated significant variability in water footprints due to different food consumption modes, and socio-economic and geographic characteristics. Future food consumption trends will likely create more pressure on water resources, especially in Tunis city and coastal areas of Tunisia. Special measures related to price policies, sensitization of consumers, and changes in production systems may have to be taken by policy makers to reduce the water footprint in order to improve food security strategies and water management in Tunisia.

Suggested Citation

  • Asma Souissi & Nadhem Mtimet & Chokri Thabet & Talel Stambouli & Ali Chebil, 2019. "Impact of food consumption on water footprint and food security in Tunisia," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 11(5), pages 989-1008, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:ssefpa:v:11:y:2019:i:5:d:10.1007_s12571-019-00966-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s12571-019-00966-3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s12571-019-00966-3
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s12571-019-00966-3?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kerkhof, Annemarie C. & Nonhebel, Sanderine & Moll, Henri C., 2009. "Relating the environmental impact of consumption to household expenditures: An input-output analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(4), pages 1160-1170, February.
    2. Million Sileshi & Reuben Kadigi & Khamaldin Mutabazi & Stefan Sieber, 2019. "Impact of soil and water conservation practices on household vulnerability to food insecurity in eastern Ethiopia: endogenous switching regression and propensity score matching approach," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 11(4), pages 797-815, August.
    3. Jamel Chahed & Mustapha Besbes & Abdelkader Hamdane, 2015. "Virtual-water content of agricultural production and food trade balance of Tunisia," International Journal of Water Resources Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(3), pages 407-421, September.
    4. Sileshi, Million & Kadigi, Reuben & Mutabazi, Khamaldin & Sieber, Stefan, 2019. "Impact of Soil and Water Conservation Practices on Household Vulnerability to Food Insecurity in Eastern Ethiopia: Endogenous Switching Regression and Propensity Score Matching Approach," 2019 Sixth International Conference, September 23-26, 2019, Abuja, Nigeria 295897, African Association of Agricultural Economists (AAAE).
    5. Frija, Aymen & Chebil, Ali & Speelman, Stijn & Buysse, Jeroen & Van Huylenbroeck, Guido, 2009. "Water use and technical efficiencies in horticultural greenhouses in Tunisia," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(11), pages 1509-1516, November.
    6. Feng Huang & Zhong Liu & Bradley Ridoutt & Jing Huang & Baoguo Li, 2015. "China’s water for food under growing water scarcity," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 7(5), pages 933-949, October.
    7. Michael Gilmont, 2015. "Water resource decoupling in the MENA through food trade as a mechanism for circumventing national water scarcity," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 7(6), pages 1113-1131, December.
    8. Tukker, Arnold & Goldbohm, R. Alexandra & de Koning, Arjan & Verheijden, Marieke & Kleijn, René & Wolf, Oliver & Pérez-Domínguez, Ignacio & Rueda-Cantuche, Jose M., 2011. "Environmental impacts of changes to healthier diets in Europe," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(10), pages 1776-1788, August.
    9. A. Hoekstra & A. Chapagain, 2007. "Water footprints of nations: Water use by people as a function of their consumption pattern," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 21(1), pages 35-48, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Serge Savary, 2020. "Looking back on 2019: a selection of Food Security articles," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(1), pages 1-3, February.
    2. Mariana Lares-Michel & Fatima Ezzahra Housni & Virginia Gabriela Aguilera Cervantes, 2021. "A quantitative estimation of the water footprint of the Mexican diet, corrected for washing and cooking water," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(4), pages 849-874, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hailemariam Teklewold, 2021. "How effective is Ethiopia’s agricultural growth program at improving the total factor productivity of smallholder farmers?," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(4), pages 895-912, August.
    2. Abyiot Teklu & Belay Simane & Mintewab Bezabih, 2022. "Effectiveness of Climate-Smart Agriculture Innovations in Smallholder Agriculture System in Ethiopia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-26, December.
    3. Dependra Bhatta & Krishna P. Paudel & Kai Liu, 2023. "Factors influencing water conservation practices adoptions by Nepali farmers," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(10), pages 10879-10901, October.
    4. Lili Chen & Hongsheng Chen & Chaohui Zou & Ye Liu, 2021. "The Impact of Farmland Transfer on Rural Households’ Income Structure in the Context of Household Differentiation: A Case Study of Heilongjiang Province, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-20, April.
    5. Wei, Rui & Zhang, Wencheng & Peng, Shuijun, 2022. "Energy and greenhouse gas footprints of China households during 1995–2019: A global perspective," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    6. Serge Savary, 2020. "Looking back on 2019: a selection of Food Security articles," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(1), pages 1-3, February.
    7. Mousumi Das, 2021. "Vulnerability to Food Insecurity: A Decomposition Exercise for Rural India using the Expected Utility Approach," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 156(1), pages 167-199, July.
    8. Cornelis Leeuwen & Jos Frijns & Annemarie Wezel & Frans Ven, 2012. "City Blueprints: 24 Indicators to Assess the Sustainability of the Urban Water Cycle," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 26(8), pages 2177-2197, June.
    9. Lucia Mancini, 2013. "Conventional, Organic and Polycultural Farming Practices: Material Intensity of Italian Crops and Foodstuffs," Resources, MDPI, vol. 2(4), pages 1-23, December.
    10. Tsoutsos, Theocharis & Chatzakis, Michael & Sarantopoulos, Ioannis & Nikologiannis, Athanasios & Pasadakis, Nikos, 2013. "Effect of wastewater irrigation on biodiesel quality and productivity from castor and sunflower oil seeds," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 211-215.
    11. Ehsan Qasemipour & Ali Abbasi & Farhad Tarahomi, 2020. "Water-Saving Scenarios Based on Input–Output Analysis and Virtual Water Concept: A Case in Iran," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-16, January.
    12. Pottier, Antonin, 2022. "Expenditure elasticity and income elasticity of GHG emissions: A survey of literature on household carbon footprint," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    13. Pedrero, Francisco & Grattan, S.R. & Ben-Gal, Alon & Vivaldi, Gaetano Alessandro, 2020. "Opportunities for expanding the use of wastewaters for irrigation of olives," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    14. Liu, Lan-Cui & Wu, Gang, 2013. "Relating five bounded environmental problems to China's household consumption in 2011–2015," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 427-433.
    15. Kaltenegger, Oliver & Löschel, Andreas & Pothen, Frank, 2017. "The effect of globalisation on energy footprints: Disentangling the links of global value chains," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(S1), pages 148-168.
    16. Mohammad Aghapour Sabbaghi & Afsaneh Naeimifar, 2022. "Analysis of import substitution policy with an emphasis on environmental issues based on environmental input–output (EIO) model," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(12), pages 14130-14162, December.
    17. Xiao, Dengpan & Shen, Yanjun & Qi, Yongqing & Moiwo, Juana P. & Min, Leilei & Zhang, Yucui & Guo, Ying & Pei, Hongwei, 2017. "Impact of alternative cropping systems on groundwater use and grain yields in the North China Plain Region," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 109-117.
    18. Arjen Y. Hoekstra, 2017. "Water Footprint Assessment: Evolvement of a New Research Field," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 31(10), pages 3061-3081, August.
    19. Morena Bruno & Marianne Thomsen & Federico Maria Pulselli & Nicoletta Patrizi & Michele Marini & Dario Caro, 2019. "The carbon footprint of Danish diets," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 156(4), pages 489-507, October.
    20. Cynthia Yip & Glenis Crane & Jonathan Karnon, 2013. "Systematic review of reducing population meat consumption to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and obtain health benefits: effectiveness and models assessments," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 58(5), pages 683-693, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:ssefpa:v:11:y:2019:i:5:d:10.1007_s12571-019-00966-3. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.