Territorial and regional analysis of the monetary value of the “Water Footprint” in Spain, at present

Abstract

In this article we approach the analysis of the reality of the price of the indicator known as “Water Footprint”, from the Spanish regional perspective, at the present time. It shows that the relationship between the “Water Footprint” and the territory is linked to the fact that the water resource precipitates (blue water), flows (green water) and is used to generate gray water. It starts from the idea according to which all economic activity influences its generation and circulation, with which it must be regulated by means of a water policy and the pricing of prices and rates, in order to control the water resource, regulate the actual functioning of the market and promote a model of sustainable territorial development, which regulates their consumption. Likewise, the water resources used in our country, necessary to satisfy the demand for goods and services consumed, in the second decade of the current century, are analyzed. Two components are distinguished: the internal “Water Footprint”, which is the volume of water that is produced and consumed in Spain; and the external one, that is, the water used outside our borders, to obtain products that will later be imported and consumed by the Spanish population, along with the existing territorial inequalities, from an inter and intra-regional perspective, regarding the “Water Footprint”.