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. 2021 Apr 8;11(4):1047.
doi: 10.3390/ani11041047.

Evaluation of Virtual Water and Water Sustainability of Dairy Production in Trentino Alto Adige (North-Eastern Italy)

Pier Paolo Miglietta  1 , Federica De Leo  2 , Benedetta Coluccia  2 , Yari Vecchio  3 , Fabian Capitanio  4
Affiliations

Evaluation of Virtual Water and Water Sustainability of Dairy Production in Trentino Alto Adige (North-Eastern Italy)

Pier Paolo Miglietta et al. Animals (Basel). .

Abstract

Dairy products play a significant role in the human diet, but they are often associated with high freshwater resource depletion. In Italy, the dairy sector represents more than 12% of the total turnover of the agri-food sector. Trentino Alto Adige is the first Italian region in terms of number of dairy farms, but it does not register a quantitatively consistent dairy production. Notwithstanding, it is characterized mostly by small-scale farms whose strengths are the Protected Designations of Origin and typical mountain productions. The present study aims at: (i) accounting for the virtual water VW of the main dairy products (milk, butter and cheese) produced in Trentino Alto Adige; (ii) estimating the renewable water resources based on the water flow assessment of the study area; (iii) assessing water sustainability comparing the virtual water consumption of the dairy sector at a regional level to the water availability. The findings show that the consumptive virtual water related to dairy production represents about 1% of the water availability in Trentino Alto Adige. Italy's domestic dairy production is expanding to meet the growing demand, but the expansion of dairy farming in water-stressed regions should be avoided, preferring instead suitable mountain regions where small-scale farms represent a lively entrepreneurial substrate.

Keywords: butter; cheese; dairy farming; milk; mountain environment; product designation of origin; small-scale farms; water footprint.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The study area.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Hydrological cycle and consumptive virtual water of dairy products.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The blue, green, and grey virtual water of dairy products in Trentino Alto Adige in 2018.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Percentage of the main product categories on the total quantity of production and on the total consumption of water in the dairy sector.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Percentage composition of virtual water of the main categories of dairy products.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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