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

Abstract

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.

Virtual Water Trade in the Yellow River Economic Belt: A Multi-Regional Input-Output Model

“…The YREB is one of the greatest comprehensive economic regions in northern China with a total area of about 4.76 million km 2 . The total GDP of the YREB reached 12,338.05 billion RMB in 2012.…”

“…The sustainable and efficient use of water resources has gained wide social concern [1,2]. On the one hand, rapid economic development, population growth, and changes in lifestyles have led to a higher demand for freshwater [3][4][5], and the increasing modern agriculture and irrigation systems exacerbated water consumption [6,7].…”

An Improved System Dynamics Model to Evaluate Regional Water Scarcity from a Virtual Water Perspective: A Case Study of Henan Province, China

“…We can also use multi-regional input-output (MRIO) analysis to distinguish the product use structure matrix and sectoral direct water use coefficient in different regions, together with the use structure matrix of the product from various regions, in the evaluation of the water footprint and virtual water flow. However, due to a lack of statistical data, sectoral trade data between any two regions in a country and the sectoral direct water use coefficient in some regions are always dependent on estimations in MRIO analysis, which makes the results sensitive, with great differences being reported in various research [56,57]. What is more, the data collection and calculation in MRIO are complex, as it contains many kinds of data, mass estimates, and balance adjustment of the MRIO table, etc.…”

Optimal Multi-Sectoral Water Resources Allocation Based on Economic Evaluation Considering the Environmental Flow Requirements: A Case Study of Yellow River Basin

“…Yellow River basin in China is taken as the target area in this study, based on the evaluation of the economic benefits; water allocation among five water sectors in Yellow River basin will be fully taken into consideration, while most existing studies mostly focused on water allocation between administrative regions [11,[51][52][53][54][55][56], or focused on one or two sectors such as agriculture and industry [57][58][59]. The lower reaches of the Yellow River experienced the phenomenon of river cut-off continuously as the result of excessive and irrational development by humans, which severely impaired the ecological balance of the river in the 1990s.…”