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Defining freshwater as a natural resource: a framework linking water use to the area of protection natural resources

  • WATER USE IN LCA
  • Published:
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

While many examples have shown unsustainable use of freshwater resources, existing LCIA methods for water use do not comprehensively address impacts to natural resources for future generations. This framework aims to (1) define freshwater resource as an item to protect within the Area of Protection (AoP) natural resources, (2) identify relevant impact pathways affecting freshwater resources, and (3) outline methodological choices for impact characterization model development.

Methods

Considering the current scope of the AoP natural resources, the complex nature of freshwater resources and its important dimensions to safeguard safe future supply, a definition of freshwater resource is proposed, including water quality aspects. In order to clearly define what is to be protected, the freshwater resource is put in perspective through the lens of the three main safeguard subjects defined by Dewulf et al. (2015). In addition, an extensive literature review identifies a wide range of possible impact pathways to freshwater resources, establishing the link between different inventory elementary flows (water consumption, emissions, and land use) and their potential to cause long-term freshwater depletion or degradation.

Results and discussion

Freshwater as a resource has a particular status in LCA resource assessment. First, it exists in the form of three types of resources: flow, fund, or stock. Then, in addition to being a resource for human economic activities (e.g., hydropower), it is above all a non-substitutable support for life that can be affected by both consumption (source function) and pollution (sink function). Therefore, both types of elementary flows (water consumption and emissions) should be linked to a damage indicator for freshwater as a resource. Land use is also identified as a potential stressor to freshwater resources by altering runoff, infiltration, and erosion processes as well as evapotranspiration. It is suggested to use the concept of recovery period to operationalize this framework: when the recovery period lasts longer than a given period of time, impacts are considered to be irreversible and fall into the concern of freshwater resources protection (i.e., affecting future generations), while short-term impacts effect the AoP ecosystem quality and human health directly. It is shown that it is relevant to include this concept in the impact assessment stage in order to discriminate the long-term from the short-term impacts, as some dynamic fate models already do.

Conclusions

This framework provides a solid basis for the consistent development of future LCIA methods for freshwater resources, thereby capturing the potential long-term impacts that could warn decision makers about potential safe water supply issues in the future.

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Acknowledgements

The valuable feedback provided by Andrew Henderson and Cristina Madrid López during the article’s preparation is gratefully appreciated.

Funding

This study was conducted through the International Working Group for Water Use in Life Cycle Assessment (WULCA), which receives contributions from the UN Environment Life Cycle Initiative. Financial support of the Industrial Chair for Environmental and Social Sustainability Assessment “ELSA-PACT” (grant no. 13-CHIN-0005-01) was also received from ANR, the Occitanie Region, ONEMA, its industrial partners (BRL, SCP, SUEZ Groupe, VINADEIS, Compagnie Fruitière), and IMT Mines Ales.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ITAP, Irstea, Montpellier SupAgro, ELSA-PACT Industrial Chair, Univ Montpellier, Montpellier, France

    Charlotte Pradinaud & Ralph K. Rosenbaum

  2. LGEI, IMT Mines Ales, Univ Montpellier, Ales, France

    Charlotte Pradinaud & Guillaume Junqua

  3. Department of Civil Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, Australia

    Stephen Northey

  4. LIRIDE, Sherbrooke University, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada

    Ben Amor & Anne-Marie Boulay

  5. National Risk Management Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 26 West Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, OH, 45268, USA

    Jane Bare & Briana Niblick

  6. European Environment Agency, Kongens Nytorv 6, 1400, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Lorenzo Benini

  7. Chair of Sustainable Engineering, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Markus Berger

  8. CIRAIG, Polytechnique Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Anne-Marie Boulay & Manuele Margni

  9. Environment and Sustainability, Institute for Resources, Vancouver, B.C., V6T 1Z4, Canada

    Michael J. Lathuillière

  10. Stockholm Environment Institute, Stockholm, Sweden

    Michael J. Lathuillière

  11. National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, 16-1 Onogawa, Tsukuba, 3058569, Japan

    Masaharu Motoshita

  12. AgResearch Ruakura Research Centre, Hamilton, 3240, New Zealand

    Sandra Payen

  13. ETH Zurich, John-von-Neumann-Weg 9, 8093, Zurich, Switzerland

    Stephan Pfister & Thomas Sonderegger

  14. Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal

    Paula Quinteiro

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  1. Charlotte Pradinaud
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Pradinaud, C., Northey, S., Amor, B. et al. Defining freshwater as a natural resource: a framework linking water use to the area of protection natural resources. Int J Life Cycle Assess 24, 960–974 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-018-1543-8

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