Water Footprint included in law as part of the calculation of the water fee in the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina

Water Footprint as part of the calculation of the water fee in the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina

In the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, the water footprint concept was included in law to calculate the water consumption.

The link to the original document (link to pdf document):
http://www.gob.gba.gov.ar/Bole/pdfs/2013-09-04/SUPLEMENTO2013-09-041378212764.pdf?goback=.gde_5024308_member_271262925#


The part that relates to the water footprint translated into English:

The "Water Code" of the Province of Buenos Aires, Law No. 12.257, Article 43 (4th of September 2013):
"The fee for water use will be the main economic instrument which shall be part of the Integrated Water Resources Plans for each hydrologic region or sub-provincial level."

"For calculating the fee the formula determined by the Water Authority will be used containing the water footprint concept and all those arising from the improvement of hydrological understanding of the region and the use of the users."

"The water footprint concept was introduced in 2002 by Professor Arjen Hoekestra UNESCO-IHE, as an alternative indicator of water use."

"For the calculation, the methodology developed by Chapagain and Hoekstra (2004), updated in Hoekstra et al. (2009), and subsequently in Hoekstra et al. (2011) have set the worldwide calculation standard."

References:

Chapagain, A.K. and Hoekstra, A.Y. (2004) ‘Water footprints of nations' , Value of Water Research Report Series No.16, UNESCO-IHE.

Hoekstra, A.Y., Chapagain, A.K., Aldaya, M.M. and Mekonnen, M.M. (2009) Water footprint manual: State of the art 2009, Water Footprint Network, Enschede, the Netherlands.

Hoekstra, A.Y., Chapagain, A.K., Aldaya, M.M. and Mekonnen, M.M. (2011) The water footprint assessment manual: Setting the global standard, Earthscan, London, UK.
available at:
http://www.waterfootprint.org/?page=files/WaterFootprintAssessmentManual

2 Comments

1. Strongly related to this: Aldaya, M.M., Martinez-Santos, P. and Llamas, M.R. (2010) Incorporating the water footprint and virtual water into policy: Reflections from the Mancha Occidental Region, Spain, Water Resources Management 24(5): 941-958. available at: http://www.waterfootprint.org/Reports/Aldaya-et-al-2010.pdf

2. Working Session: NEW REGULATION FOR WATER USE FEE Working Session: NEW REGULATION FOR WATER USE FEE. Date & Time Slot: October 2nd, 10 am – 12 pm. Buenos Aires City, Argentina. Guadalupe Aristarain Socia en Castelli, Aristarain, Valls & Rossi Description: Buenos Aires Province has recently enacted new regulation regarding water pricing. Decree N° 429/2013 issued by Buenos Aires province establishes a provisional formula to determine water use fee. Additionally, it has been provided a surplus charge in the case of those users of water as principal resource for production. Furthermore, the new regulation refers to water footprint as a key foundation of pricing policy, even thow current formula does not provide any criteria based in such methodology. Speakers will analyze technical and legal implications of new regulation, promoting a creative brainstorming with participants. Speakers: Technical issues: Ana Carolina Herrero (Fundación Naturaleza para el Futuro, Water Footprint Network). Nicolas Francke, Programme Officer of WFN will be following the session from Skype. Legal issues: Alejandro Rossi (Partner, Castelli, Aristarain, Valls & Rossi, Executive Director ECOJURE environmental think tank) Organizer: Castelli, Aristarain, Valls & Rossi, Environmental Law Firm, Fundación Naturaleza para el Futuro. Venue: O'Higgins 4380 (Nuñez), Buenos Aires, Argentina. Contact: Guadalupe Aristarain, garistarain@cavyr.com.ar; tel (+54 11) 4704-0111. naturalezaparaelfuturo.org