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    World Water Day: reducing water footprint in sardinian agriculture and tourism

    WORLD WATER DAY: REDUCING WATER FOOTPRING IN SARDINIAN AGRICOLTURE AND TOURISM

    Today, water is threatened by the growth of the world population, the growing needs of agriculture and industry, and the worsening of the impacts of climate change.

    For some years the MEDSEA Cagliari Foundation has been involved, with the Maristanis project, in the sustainable development and protection of the wetlands of the Oristano area together with public and private bodies in the fishing, crafting, agriculture, culture and tourism sectors.

     

    4 MILLION LITERS OF WATER SAVED IN AGRICULTURE IN THE ORISTANESE AREA IN 2020

     The farms of Oristano, after successfully testing out precision farming in 2020, have decided to embrace this model to reduce the environmental impact. In fact, thanks to the use of the drone to monitor the health conditions of the fields, it was possible to reduce the consumption of water - estimated at 4 million liters saved -, as well as fuel, seeds, fertilizers and pesticides.

    The project, carried out by Liverani Servizi Aeronautici, Coldiretti Oristano and the MEDSEA foundation, as part of the Maristanis program, brought together 10 local farms in order to adopt, in 50 hectares of land, a more virtuous production model. This year will aim to grow 3 time more in terms of hectares of land (from 50 to 200 ha).

    "The Maristanis project aims at combining innovation, environmental and social sustainability together with economic development”, Vania Statzu, vice president of MEDSEA, explains.

    “In the water reduction project, we have used technological innovation to make water consumption more efficient and minimize other impacts of agriculture on the environment, also contributing to creating new job opportunities. For instance, helping talented young people of our territory to stay in Sardinia is as much important to us as promoting concrete and effective projects in protecting the environment. This project has it all. For this reason, we have had no doubts in continuing this winning collaboration with renewed enthusiasm". 

    “From the possibility of following own pastures remotely - Giovanni Murru, President of Coldiretti Oristano, adds - the weather station in the orchard to optimize cultivation operations to the barn “on hand” (within reach of smartphone) are just some of the innovations the Italian farms have recently adopted. This monitoring system by drone is now necessary to adapt to the new challenges of climate change and this project goes in this direction. "

     

    THE IMPORTANCE OF SUSTAINABILITY COMMUNICATION IN TOURISM WITH FRIENDS OF MARISTANIS

    Some studies indicate that Italian hotels consume between 500 and 650 liters of water overnight, more than twice the usual consumption in the civil sector. Tourism can therefore have a significant impact on water resources, especially in the coastal areas of the Mediterranean regions, where water resources have always been scarce, due to recurrent periods of drought. Today the same resources are at risk because of the consequences of climate change 

    In Sardinia, especially on the coasts, the population reaches fivefold in the summer, but the water resources remain the same and are those that are collected in artificial basins in winter and spring.

    However, climate change makes rainfall uncertain and the risk of having to undergo restrictions on supply is high, with considerable inconvenience for both the population and agriculture and tourists. In these cases, the use of groundwater increases, with a rise in groundwater salinization, a widespread and worrying phenomenon. Water bodies, including coastal wetlands, do not receive sufficient supplies from either surface or groundwater.

    To reduce the local Tourism water footprint, MEDSEA launched in 2020 the “Friends of Maristanis Club”, today counting 18 tourist companies in the area (Aquae Sinis and the B&B Torremana di Cabras, Hotel Le Torri di Arborea and Hotel Mistral 2 in Oristano, just to name a few …).

    Goal of the Club is to reduce water waste behavior while travelling, by actively communicating to guests some helpful resources (ex.Acqua Check Maristanis app) and practices.

    "Good communication with the customer, inviting him to respect the environment and the fragile system of the wetlands he is visiting, is the key”, Giulia Eremita, MEDSEA representative of the Friends of Maristanis Club, explains. “Often on holiday we tend to overconsume all the resources such as water, electricity, energy, in the idea that because you pay, you can everything… But, in fact, we are all paying the bill for this and it’s such high price for our planet!”.

    The Friends of Maristanis Club in its phase two will onboard catering companies, wineries and farmhouses willing to reduce their water footprint, in order to create a more sustainable tourism supply chain.

     

    HOW MUCH IS WATER WORTH?

    During the World Water Day on March 22, 2021, the MEDSEA Foundation organized the online conference on the theme "How much is water worth?".

    Photos by Andrea Liverani

    Watch the online meeting

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