Impacts of climate change on water resources in the major countries along the Belt and Road

Du, Peijun; Xu, Ming; Li, Renqiang

doi:10.7717/peerj.12201

Cited by 20 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…The total water resources in Belt and Road region are only 36% of the global total, with an uneven distribution, posing higher pressure on water security compared with the world average level [ 27 ]. The highest water resources per capita among the Belt and Road region were found in South and Central America, with an average of 39,901 m 3 ·yr −1 compared with the lowest of 340 m 3 ·yr −1 in North Africa [ 34 ]. The spatial precipitation of the main water resource area of the Belt and Road region had complex conditions ( Table 4 ) [ 35 ].…”

Section: Ecological Environment Status In Belt and Road Initiative Re...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…With its fragile ecosystem, poor infrastructure, relatively low income and high vulnerability to climate change, the Belt and Road region has experienced accelerated warming at roughly twice the rate of the global land [ 61 , 63 ]. In the context of climate change, rising temperatures have further exacerbated water stress in the Belt and Road region by increasing surface evapotranspiration and stimulating considerable glacial retreat, especially in Central and West Asian countries, which are currently facing water shortage problems [ 34 , 55 , 60 , 61 , 64 ]. Furthermore, climate change might make future water resources more unevenly distributed among the Belt and Road region ( Table 7 ) [ 34 ].…”

Section: Ecological Environment Status In Belt and Road Initiative Re...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the context of climate change, rising temperatures have further exacerbated water stress in the Belt and Road region by increasing surface evapotranspiration and stimulating considerable glacial retreat, especially in Central and West Asian countries, which are currently facing water shortage problems [ 34 , 55 , 60 , 61 , 64 ]. Furthermore, climate change might make future water resources more unevenly distributed among the Belt and Road region ( Table 7 ) [ 34 ].…”

Section: Ecological Environment Status In Belt and Road Initiative Re...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Status and Prospect of Ecological Environment in the Belt and Road Initiative Regions

Qin

Huang

2022

IJERPH

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With the widespread recognition and in-depth implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), especially in the context of global climate change, the ecological environment of Belt and Road Initiative regions might be confronted with pressures and challenges with rapid socioeconomic development. In response to those potential environmental challenges, China has put forward Green BRI and enriched the new Silk Road with more environmental connotations, aiming to reduce the conflict between economic development and eco-environmental protection. Currently, there is a lack of systematic and holistic research on eco-environmental issues in BRI regions. In addition, feasible solutions to enhance BRI’s contribution to the eco-environment remain insufficient. Having systematically reviewed the relevant literature on the eco-environment in BRI regions, we found that most regions along the BRI routes are in sensitive zones of climate and geological change, with fragile eco-environments and strong vulnerability to climate change, natural disasters and human activities. The main eco-environment status of the BRI regions is as follows: (1) The total water resources in BRI regions account for only 36% of the global total, with uneven distribution and complex spatial precipitation, posing higher pressure on water security. (2) Vegetation varies significantly from region to region. The vegetation in South Asia is the richest, with its mean annual NDVI exceeding 0.7. The NDVI in East Europe, Russia and South China are between 0.4 and 0.7, and that in Central Asia and West Asia are below 0.2. (3) The BRI regions are abundantly blessed with natural resources, with the total recoverable oil reserves, natural gas reserves and the total mining area reaching 66%, 65.5% and 42.31% of the world’s total, respectively, but severe overexploitation and overconsumption of those resources degrade their eco-environment. Accordingly, future research directions, such as target on integrated, interdisciplinary and coordinated studies on eco-environmental issues in BRI regions, are proposed in this paper to achieve optimization of BRI’s contribution to eco-environment protection in BRI regions.

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Section: Ecological Environment Status In Belt and Road Initiative Re...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Ecological Environment Status In Belt and Road Initiative Re...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Ecological Environment Status In Belt and Road Initiative Re...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Status and Prospect of Ecological Environment in the Belt and Road Initiative Regions

Qin

Huang

2022

IJERPH

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“…The South Global is generally more vulnerable to climate impacts [1]. Climate Change impacts erosive vulnerability leading to land degradation [2], considering how changing temperatures and precipitation patterns affect water resources and watershed ecosystem [3], causing flood, river banks erosion, widening of river channels, increasing pollutant loads, decreasing aquatic life [4], increasing sea level [5], rising problem with regional and global water scarcity [6], broad impact on food security [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of Water Conservation Priority Locations in Upper Sub Watershed

Anggraini,

Yuliastuti,

Budihardjo

2024

IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci.

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Water is useful for supplying household, industrial, and agricultural needs. The availability of water supports food security and decent life. The process of sustaining water resources requires conservation, which is in line with sustainable development goals. The Keyang sub watershed is one of the catchment areas of the Upstream Madiun River, located in East Java. The development of agriculture land in Keyang sub watershed increases the number of disasters. The Central Statistics Office of Ponorogo Regency recorded 24 floods, 11 drought disasters, and 42 landslides in Keyang sub watershed during 2020. Floods and drought disasters in the same location show strong fluctuations in water resources, so Keyang sub watershed requires water conservation actions. The aim of this study is to analyze priority locations for water conservation. Indicateurs de Ruissellement Intense Pluvial (IRIP) is a method for determining water conservation priority locations. IRIP divides surface runoff vulnerability area into three types: generation area, transfer area, and accumulation area. Each area requires different adaptations to conservation techniques. The result shows that Keyang sub watershed has 4.96% strong potential surface runoff generation area. This priority area is suitable for wetland development, agroforestry, and sustainable agriculture. Then, Keyang sub watershed has 0.03% strong potential area of surface runoff transfer, this area is compatible with prevention of erosion and landslides. Keyang sub watershed has 0.63% very strong potential and 18.42% strong potential for surface runoff accumulation area. Accumulation area appropriate for developing flood mitigation strategies.

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“…The world, particularly the regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), has been undergoing sustained and steady economic development. The increasingly high levels of human activity have had a profound impact on the regional climate and natural environments [7,8]. Among them, land cover, as well as vegetation and hydrological conditions, are particularly prominent [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

GIS-Based Modeling of Human Settlement Suitability for the Belt and Road Regions

Zhu

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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(1) Background: Human settlements are a basic requirement for human survival and development. The natural suitability of human settlements directly affects human health and their quality of life and, to some extent, also dictates the size of the regional population and economy, as well as the level of urbanization. (2) Methods: This study presents a kilometer grid-based comprehensive human settlement suitability (HSS) evaluation model (containing the relief degree of the land surface (RDLS), the temperature–humidity index (THI), the land surface water abundance index (LSWAI), and the land cover index (LCI)). (3) Results: Based on the correlations between the four factors (i.e., the normalized RDLS (NRDLS), normalized THI (NTHI), LSWAI, and LCI), the NRDLS and NTHI were determined to be the leading factors, and the LSWAI and LCI were considered to be the auxiliary factors. The auxiliary factors were used to enhance the comprehensive HSS model determined by the leading factors. Based on this logic, spatial and index models were established separately. The HSS index for the BRI regions ranged from 0.07 to 1.00. Six levels of HSS were determined—namely, unsuitable, critically unsuitable, critically suitable, generally suitable, moderately suitable, and highly suitable conditions. In particular, the human settlements suitability is dominated by critically suitable and suitable conditions that accounted for 63% of the BRI. (4) Conclusions: The evaluation results of human settlements showed that topographic and climatic conditions are important limiting factors for the suitability of human settlements. Due to the renewability and manmade adjustability of hydrological and land cover conditions, the comprehensive suitability of human settlements shows differences in different geographic spaces along the BRI. The results provide a decision-making basis for the research on the resource carrying capacity and reasonable distribution of populations in the BRI, so as to realize the sustainable development along the regions.

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Impacts of climate change on water resources in the major countries along the Belt and Road

Cited by 20 publications

References 67 publications

Status and Prospect of Ecological Environment in the Belt and Road Initiative Regions

Status and Prospect of Ecological Environment in the Belt and Road Initiative Regions

Analysis of Water Conservation Priority Locations in Upper Sub Watershed

GIS-Based Modeling of Human Settlement Suitability for the Belt and Road Regions

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