China’s southbound transboundary river basins: a case of asymmetry

Self Cite

Water shortage (availability per capita) is a key indicator of vulnerability to water scarcity. Spatial datasets enable the assessment of water shortage on multiple scales. The use of river basins and subbasins as analysis and management units is currently commonplace. An important but less acknowledged fact is that spatial assessments are strongly influenced by the choice of the unit of analysis due to the Modifiable Areal Unit Problem (MAUP). Climate conditions, agricultural activities, and access to groundwater also influence water availability and demand. In this study, a total of 21 different criteria were used to define areal units of analysis, i.e., zonings, for which water shortage was calculated. Focusing on Monsoon Asia, where water scarcity is a pressing problem, we found that zoning had a considerable impact, resulting in up to three-fold differences in the population under high water shortage (<1000 m 3 /cap/year), ranging from 782 million to 2.11 billion. In most zonings, however, the Indus and Yellow River Basins and northwest parts of India and China are under high water shortage. The study indicates that a multizonal and multiscale analysis is needed to minimize skewed or even misleading information that might be produced when using only one zoning.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the Modifiable Areal Unit Problem in Spatial Water Assessments: A Case of Water Shortage in Monsoon Asia

Salmivaara

Porkka

Kummu

et al. 2015

Self Cite

“…The Indus basin faces severe water scarcity during eight months of the year, while the Ganges River is experiencing decreasing flows during the dry season [75,78,79] (Appendix A). The downstream riparians are highly vulnerable to upstream water use, while having no control of upstream water flows [61,80]. As a large part of the region is energy and water deficient, food production through intensive and energy-consuming irrigation has a significant impact on overall water and energy security.…”

Section: South Asiamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As the name suggests, the purpose of the comparative analysis is to provide a general comparison of how the nexus manifests itself in different transboundary regions with large river basins. It builds on our previous research in these regions (e.g., [27,30,[56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66]) as well as key literature referred to in the text. Comparative analysis is not intended to provide an in-depth analysis of a nexus situation in any particular region or river basin.…”

Section: Comparative Nexus Analysis In Three Asian Regions With Largementioning

confidence: 99%

The Water-Energy-Food Nexus and the Transboundary Context: Insights from Large Asian Rivers

Keskinen

Guillaume

Kattelus

et al. 2016

Self Cite

119

Abstract:The water-energy-food nexus is a topical subject for research and practice, reflecting the importance of these sectors for humankind and the complexity and magnitude of the challenges they are facing. While the nexus as a concept is not yet mature or fully tested in practice, it has already encouraged a range of approaches in a variety of contexts. This article provides a set of definitions recognizing three perspectives that see the nexus as an analytical tool, governance framework and as an emerging discourse. It discusses the implications that an international transboundary context brings to the nexus and vice versa. Based on a comparative analysis of three Asian regions-Central Asia, South Asia and the Mekong Region-and their related transboundary river basins, we propose that the transboundary context has three major implications: diversity of scales and perspectives, importance of state actors and importance of politics. Similarly, introducing the nexus as an approach in a transboundary context has a potential to provide new resources and approaches, alter existing actor dynamics and portray a richer picture of relationships. Overall, the significance of water-energy-food linkages and their direct impacts on water allocation mean that the nexus has the potential to complement existing approaches also in the transboundary river basins.

“…Some scholars have argued that the level of vulnerability is fairly low for the upstream sections that lie within Yunnan, while the downstream influence is more substantial [6]. Others [7] further argue that upstream-downstream relations in the Mekong basin are not really clear-cut in a nation concept, but rather should be better differentiated between a powerful elite versus a large mass of rural poor.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Yunnan’s Fast-Paced Large Hydropower Development: A Powershed-Based Approach to Critically Assessing Generation and Consumption Paradigms

Hennig

Wang

Magee

et al. 2016

Southwest China's Yunnan province is evolving into one of the world's largest hydro-power-producing regions. It already rivals the world's largest hydro-producing nations. However, five of Yunnan's six basins are international and therefore its hydropower development is of great academic and geopolitical interest. While the implementation of large projects on Yunnan's three large rivers (Jinsha, Mekong and Nu) is relatively well studied, hydropower development outside these three main streams is hardly known. Here, we identified 128 large hydropower projects (≥50 MW) having a capacity of 16.5 GW, along with another 16.4 GW of other types of power generation, neither of which has been discussed in the academic literature yet. The paper utilizes a powershed approach to study the rapid hydropower development underway in Yunnan, both in its implication and challenges (at basin and administrative level) as well as in its trade-offs within the broader electricity context. Yunnan's power generation and consumption patterns are characterized by diverging interests of local/provincial usage and export utilization. Within the province, the largest (hydro-) power users are energy/electricity intensive industries, which themselves have strong impacts on land use changes. Yunnan is also evolving as a major power exporter, already in 2013 exporting about one-third of its generated electricity mainly to Guangdong's Pearl River Delta. We see a need for a critical revision of those existing generation and consumption paradigms, which includes a rethinking of major development modes, both in terms of future hydropower generation and utilization projects as well as export obligations.