Drivers of virtual water flows on regional water scarcity in China

Cai, Beiming; Wei, Zhang; Hubacek, Klaus; Feng, Kuishuang; Li, Zhen Liang; Liu, Yawen; Liu, Yu

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.10.077

Cited by 117 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 71 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…By comparing the results for the years, 2007 and 2010, we found that eight provinces (i.e., Jiangxi, Shandong, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Beijing, Ningxia, Guangdong, and Hainan) had a decreased WF. The largest decrease was witnessed in Jiangxi, which was 1.72 billion m 3 The results revealed that, on average, the proportions of external WF for the years, 2007 and 2010, were 40.20% and 41.11%, respectively ( Figure 2). In 2010, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Beijing featured the largest proportions of external WF, which were 88.54%, 88.43%, and 79.44%, respectively, indicating that these regions relied heavily on VW imports.…”

Section: Data Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Most of the VSW came from northern provinces (Figure 6a, b). For instance, Xinjiang (66.14 billion m 3…”

Section: Inter-regional Virtual Scarce Water Flowsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Reallocation of physical water, such as the South-to-North Water Diversion project, is costly and may have negative impacts on ecosystems [3]. The concepts of virtual water (VW) and water footprint (WF) provide a new approach to solve the water scarcity issues.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Water Footprint and Virtual Water Accounting for China Using a Multi-Regional Input-Output Model

Zhang

Chen

Huang

2018

Water

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Water footprint (WF) is a measure of the actual appropriation of water resources. WF accounting can provide a scientific basis for the managements of water resources. In this study, a multi-regional input-output model is employed to measure the quantity of blue WF (WF) and inter-provincial virtual water (VW) flows in China for the years of 2007 and 2010. The results show that: (1) China’s total WF increased from 205.42 billion m3 in 2007 to 229.34 billion m3 in 2010. Approximately 42% of the WF was attributed to VW embodied in inter-provincial trade. Xinjiang is the largest province of VW export, whereas Shanghai had the largest net VW inflows. (2) From 2007 to 2010, the share of the agricultural sector in the entire VW trade declined, but was still as high as 82.78%, followed by the industrial sector. (3) The north-to-south and south-to-south patterns were witnessed in the domestic VW flows. The provincial WF variations are found to be affected by the per capital GDP, total water resources, per capita water resources, and urban population. (4) By linking VW with an integrated WAVE+ (water accounting and vulnerability evaluation) factor, it was found that virtual scarce water (VSW) was mainly exported by the provinces in northern China. At the national level, the amounts of VSW inflows were consistently greater than those of VSW outflows for both years, 2007 and 2010, implying an increased pressure on the provinces with water deprivation issues. Overall, these results can provide a basis for refining the spatiotemporal allocation of water resources and mitigating the conflict between water supply and demand in China.

show abstract

Section: Data Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Most of the VSW came from northern provinces (Figure 6a, b). For instance, Xinjiang (66.14 billion m 3…”

Section: Inter-regional Virtual Scarce Water Flowsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Water Footprint and Virtual Water Accounting for China Using a Multi-Regional Input-Output Model

Zhang

Chen

Huang

2018

Water

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Thirdly, the economic development consumed a lot of water. The "Western Development" strategy has enabled the central and western provinces to obtain economic benefits [17], but it has exacerbated local water consumption and caused severe water pollution. Finally, the agricultural irrigation consumed a lot of water [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Meanwhile, the virtual water strategy provides a new way to alleviate the pressure of regional water shortage. Based on the perspective of consumption, it transfers water-intensive products through trading to solve the problem of unbalanced distribution of regional water resources [17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Virtual Water Flows Embodied in International and Interprovincial Trade of Yellow River Basin: A Multiregional Input-Output Analysis

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

With the imminent need of regional environmental protection and sustainable economic development, the concept of virtual water is widely used to solve the problem of regional water shortage. In this paper, nine provinces, namely Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, and Shandong in the Yellow River Basin (YRB), are taken as the research objects. Through the analysis of input-output tables of 30 provinces in China in 2012, the characteristics of virtual water trade in this region are estimated by using a multi-regional input-output (MRIO) model. The results show that: (1) The YRB had a net inflow of 17.387 billion m 3 of virtual water in 2012. In interprovincial trade, other provinces outside the basin export 21.721 billion m 3 of virtual water into the basin. In international trade, the basin exports 4334 million m 3 of virtual water to the international market. (2) There are different virtual flow paths in the basin. Shanxi net inputs virtual water by interprovincial trade and international trade, while Gansu and Ningxia net output virtual water by interprovincial trade and international trade. The other six provinces all net output virtual water through international trade, and obtain the net input of virtual water from other provinces outside the basin. (3) From the industrial structure of the provinces in the basin, the provinces with a relatively developed economy, such as Shandong and Shanxi, mostly import virtual water in the agricultural sector, while relatively developing provinces, such as Gansu and Ningxia, mostly import virtual water in the industrial sector. In order to sustain the overall high-quality development of the YRB, we propose the virtual water trade method to quantify the net flow of virtual water in each province and suggest the compensation responsibility of the virtual water net inflow area, and the compensation need of the virtual water net outflow area, in order to achieve efficient water resources utilization.

show abstract

Spatially Allocating Life Cycle Water Use for US Coal‐Fired Electricity across Producers, Generators, and Consumers

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There are water consequences across every life cycle stage of coal‐fired electricity consumption, from production and processing to combustion, which have not been studied with regional specificity. There is often a spatial decoupling between where coal is produced and processed versus where it is combusted for power generation, complicating any analysis to estimate the life cycle water implications of electricity consumption. Furthermore, electricity generated by coal‐fired power plants can be consumed within its own balancing authority or exported to another balancing authority. This analysis spatially resolves the water consumed and water withdrawn for coal mining, coal preparation, and power plant cooling from 1) where the coal is mined to where the coal is burned for power production and 2) where the electricity is generated to where the electricity is consumed. Although the largest portion of coal consumed came from the Northern Great Plains province, coal from this region consumes the least amount of water for mining and preparation compared with other provinces. Water withdrawals for cooling power plants within each balancing authority are driven by cooling technology. Due to the interconnected grid, there can be differences between attributing water footprint at the producer level versus the consumer level.

show abstract

Drivers of virtual water flows on regional water scarcity in China

Abstract: Take-down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim.

Cited by 117 publications

References 71 publications

Water Footprint and Virtual Water Accounting for China Using a Multi-Regional Input-Output Model

Water Footprint and Virtual Water Accounting for China Using a Multi-Regional Input-Output Model

Virtual Water Flows Embodied in International and Interprovincial Trade of Yellow River Basin: A Multiregional Input-Output Analysis

Spatially Allocating Life Cycle Water Use for US Coal‐Fired Electricity across Producers, Generators, and Consumers

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About