A fuzzy-DEA water sustainability index: an application in European Union water risk hotspots

Abstract The current global freshwater crisis threatens the present and future supply of water as a resource for humans. scarcity drinking dependence food industry on water-intensive chains require urgent development strategies to analyze guarantee sustainability countries. This study proposes fuzzy-data envelopment analysis composite index that measures, from benchmarking approach, by simultaneously considering capacity resilience, captures uncertainty associated with time series variations in three scenarios: pessimistic, indifferent optimistic. We apply an based five indicators resilience ten European Union countries risk hotspots. results terms presented higher variability due strong growth exploitation resources Greece, Spain, France, Italy Portugal. most sustainable were Bulgaria Estonia pessimistic scenario France optimistic scenario. In Belgium Portugal When together, some such lost positions ranking, occupying first position. Some countries, Bulgaria, could see their compromised economic if they do not improve governance productivity constraints.