CRETUS, Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15705 Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Departamento de Ingenierías Química y Biomolecular, Universidad de Cantabria, Avda. de Los Castros, s/n, 39005 Santander, Spain.
Sci Total Environ. 2023 Jun 15;877:162845. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162845. Epub 2023 Mar 17.
Indicators from life cycle assessment methodologies (i.e., footprints) have emerged as useful tools for identifying and communicating the environmental impacts of a system thanks to they are accessible and intuitive and easy to understand to non-expert public. However, the focus on a single environmental problem is one of their main drawbacks. From this idea arises the concept of Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus, with the aim of raising awareness of the connections between the universal rights to water supply, energy security and food provision. Regarding the latter, the fisheries sector stands out as a fundamental pillar in the fight against malnutrition. In this sense, the European project "blue growth" aims to ensure that the development of the marine sector is not linked to the degradation of its ecosystems. However, although producers and authorities are willing to communicate the sustainability of products, there is still no standard methodology for reporting it. With the purpose of remedying this current situation, this paper aims to provide technical guidance to calculate a single WEF nexus index for ecolabelling seafood products in the European framework (Atlantic area). Therefore, through this, it is expected to create a useful communication channel between producers and consumers through an easy-to-read ecolabel. Nonetheless, certain aspects, such as the footprints selected or the calculation procedures selected have to be reconsidered to refine the methodology proposed, apart from broadening the approach to other food sectors with the aim that the proposed eco-certification can be present in major supply and retail chains.
生命周期评估方法的指标（即足迹）已经成为识别和传达系统环境影响的有用工具，因为它们易于获取、直观且易于非专业公众理解。然而，它们只关注单一的环境问题，这是它们的主要缺点之一。正是出于这个想法，产生了水-能源-粮食（WEF）关联的概念，旨在提高人们对供水、能源安全和粮食供应这三项普遍权利之间联系的认识。就后者而言，渔业部门作为对抗营养不良的重要支柱而引人注目。在这方面，欧洲项目“蓝色增长”旨在确保海洋部门的发展不会导致其生态系统的退化。然而，尽管生产者和当局愿意宣传产品的可持续性，但仍没有报告这一可持续性的标准方法。有鉴于此，本文旨在为在欧洲框架（大西洋地区）为海鲜产品贴上生态标签提供计算单一 WEF 关联指数的技术指导。因此，通过这种方式，有望通过易于阅读的生态标签在生产者和消费者之间建立一个有用的沟通渠道。然而，除了将方法扩展到其他食品部门之外，还必须重新考虑所选择的足迹或计算程序等方面，以完善所提出的方法，目的是使所提议的生态认证能够出现在主要的供应和零售链中。
