Applicability of the concept of life cycle analysis to agriculture when irrigated with treated wastewater, the example of Tipaza, Algeria
Applicabilité du concept d'analyse du cycle de vie à l'agriculture irriguée avec des eaux usées traitées, l'exemple de Tipaza, Algérie
Résumé
Algeria is in the category of water-scarce countries according to the scarcity threshold set by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) or the World Bank, which is 1,000 cubic meters per capita and year. The resource is currently estimated at 500 m3 and will only be 430 m3 in 2020, according GIECC projections. Accessible resources in Algeria are estimated at 18 billion m3, of which 10 billion are superficial resources (MRE, 2015). Agriculture is the largest consumer of water using about 64% of total water resources (Benmouffok, 2004). The controlled reuse of treated wastewater (Reuse) is seen as a solution for the future, requiring the implementation of a new interdisciplinary approach. These practices may impact the environment and a life-cycle analysis (LCA) approach makes it possible to understand and evaluate the technological options with regard to their respective impacts.