Virtual Water Consumption: A Case Study in a Higher Education Institution in Northeast Brazil
Patrícia da Silva Costa
Department of Animal Science, Federal University of Campina Grande, CEP: 58708-110, Patos, Paraíba, Brazil.
Rener Luciano de Souza Ferraz *
Department of Agricultural Engineering, Federal University of Campina Grande, CEP: 58429-140, Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brazil.
José Dantas Neto
Department of Agricultural Engineering, Federal University of Campina Grande, CEP: 58429-140, Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brazil.
Franklin Alves dos Anjos
Department of Agriculture, Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Alagoas, CEP: 57500-000, Santana do Ipanema, Alagoas, Brazil.
Constantino Antônio Cavalcante Júnior
Department of Agricultural Engineering, Federal University of Campina Grande, CEP: 58429-140, Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brazil.
Newcélia Paiva Barreto
Department of Animal Science, Federal University of Campina Grande, CEP: 58708-110, Patos, Paraíba, Brazil.
Aldair de Souza Medeiros
Department of Plant Production, Federal University of Alagoas, CEP: 57072-900, Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil.
Marcelo de Andrade Barbosa
Department of Soils and Fertilizers, Paulista State University, CEP: 14884-900, Jaboticabal,São Paulo, Brazil.
Ivomberg Dourado Magalhães
Department of Plant Production, Federal University of Alagoas, CEP: 57072-900, Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil.
Suely de Lima Santos
Department of Animal Science, Federal University of Campina Grande, CEP: 58708-110, Patos, Paraíba, Brazil.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Water limitation has driven punctual global actions in search of efficient management strategies, to calculate the sustainability indices, as the water footprints can guide these efforts. With the aim of estimating the water footprint of the academic community of the Rural Health and Technology Center of the Federal University of Campina Grande, an exploratory study was carried out with sample groups of undergraduate and graduate courses of the unit. The exploratory research consisted of the application of questionnaires, the answers being processed in the calculator of the water footprint. The water footprint of the studied academic community is below the Brazilian average and higher than the global average, except for the degree course of the Masters in Veterinary Medicine, where the water footprint exceeded the national average. It was possible to reduce the twelve original variables into three latent variables, evidencing that the use of multivariate statistics was efficient in analysing the data of the water footprint.
Keywords: Water demand, index of sustainability, multivariate statistics, environment.