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1. Definition
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Name
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EXTERNAL WATER
RESOURCES
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Brief definition
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Degree of dependence
of crop production on water coming from external (i.e.
non-local, distant) locations
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Unit of measure
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% of total water resource coming from external sources
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2. Position within the
logical framework DPSIR
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Type of Indicator
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Driving Force
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3. Target and political
pertinence
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Objective
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The purpose of
this indicator is to measure the dependence of irrigation
on non-local resources.
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Importance with
respect to desertification
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The challenge
for agriculture is to increase food production in
a sustainable way. This indicator shows how much the
production relies on water that has to be imported.
Water is a necessary
production factor in irrigated agriculture. The import
of external resources is necessary because of overexploitation
of local resources, and is therefore an indicator
of over-exploitation. Also, the import of resources
indicates long-range stress and a degradation risk
on foreign basins.
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International
Conventions and agreements
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The UNCCD emphasizes
that in order to combat desertification, it must be
tackled within the general framework of actions that
promote sustainable development
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Secondary objectives of the indicator
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This indicator has social value, reflecting interregional
tensions in water management and allocation
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4. Methodological description
and basic definitions
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Definitions and
basic concepts
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Percentage of
volume of water transferred from external sources
in relation to local consumption, (this being external
to the local watershed).
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Benchmarks Indication
of the values/ranges of value
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- 0,
- >0-10,
- 10-25,
- 25-50,
- >50
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Methods of measurement
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(external water
resources/total water consumption)x100
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Limits of the
indicator
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The problem of
the definition of what is or what is not an external
water resource is a limitation
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Linkages with other indicators
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This indicator is closely linked to others in the
agricultural and water groups, such as Water
availability, Water
consumption by sector, Mechanisation
index, Irrigation
potential realised.
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5. Evaluation of data
needs and availability
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Data required
to calculate the indicator
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Data on water
consumption.
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Data sources
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Official statistics
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Availability of data from national and international
sources
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Usually available at national and regional levels
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6. Institutions that
have participated in developing the indicator
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Main institutions
responsible
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University of
Murcia, Spain
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Other contributing
organizations
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7. Additional information
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Bibliography
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Other references
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Contacts Name and address
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University of Murcia
F. López-Bermúdez
email: lopber@um.es
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