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University of Puget Sound

Publication Date

Fall 2023

Program Name

Portugal: Sustainability and Environmental Justice

Abstract

Avocado expansion has exponentially increased in the Algarve region of southern Portugal in recent years. The surge in expansion has provoked contention and discrepancy in the media regarding how and if avocado production can persist in the water-scarce region due to worsening drought conditions related to climate change coupled with the fruit’s significant water footprint. This paper aims to synthesize the arguments and response of the public, environmental associations, and government agencies to the expansion of avocado production in the water- scarce region of the Algarve, highlight the region’s current challenges of avocado expansion and water management regulation, and analyze the feasibility and sustainability of avocado production in the Algarve. Additionally, this paper provides proposed pathways of compromise to this layered issue. This research is based on a qualitative approach of reviewing, analyzing, and synthesizing main points found in the media, government reports, policy, and literature; data also consists of an interview with a key informant from the environmental association, Zero. The main convergences and divergences of perspectives about the Algarve’s avocado industry revolve around their water consumption compared to other monocrops, agrochemical contamination of water sources, as well as the lack of oversight and enforcement of regulations regarding their expansion and water usage. Furthermore, the conclusion is drawn that the avocado serves as a narrative for the primary issue in the Algarve - the expansion of irrigated monocultures in an area with limited water supply.

Disciplines

Agricultural and Resource Economics | Agriculture | Agronomy and Crop Sciences | Environmental Policy | Natural Resources Management and Policy | Water Resource Management

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