Bibliometric analysis of water footprint research in countries of former Yugoslavia

Abstract

Sustainable development of water resources requires new tools and research in these fields of study. A systematic overview of water footprint research in countries of former Yugoslavia is presented through bibliometric analysis and publication review. The Scopus database was used as the data source. Among the countries of former Yugoslavia, only researchers from Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Hercegovina published papers focused on water footprint research before March 2021. Research on water footprint in these countries was found to be insufficient in scope and intensity. The contribution of authors from the countries of former Yugoslavia is small compared to research in other countries all over the world but is not insignificant. Almost 2/3 of articles have already been cited by other authors. Two main centers of water footprint research are at the University of Maribor in Slovenia and at the University of Novi Sad in Serbia, respectively. The research is focused on the so-called volumetric water footprint, while the LCA water footprint stands outside the interest of the scientific community in countries of former Yugoslavia.