Assessing regional virtual water flows and water footprints in the Yellow River Basin, China: A consumption based approach
Assessing regional virtual water flows and water footprints in the Yellow River Basin, China: A consumption based approach
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DOI：
10.1016/j.apgeog.2011.08.004
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发表时间：
2012-03-01
影响因子：
4.9
通讯作者：
Hubacek, Klaus
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Feng, Kuishuang;Siu, Yim Ling;Hubacek, Klaus
黄河是中国第二大河，由于快速发展的经济和日益城市化的人口用水密集的消费模式，黄河正面临着日益严重的缺水问题。黄河流域分为上、中、下游三个区域；每个国家在水资源、经济结构、家庭收入和消费模式方面都有非常不同的特点。虚拟水已被认为是将水从富水地区重新分配到缺水地区的潜在有用概念。在本研究中，我们开发了一个多区域投入产出模型（MRIO）来评估流域三段与中国其他地区之间区分绿水和蓝水的区域虚拟水流量，以及农村和城市家庭水足迹。结果表明：三段河段均为虚拟净输水区，即流域外的生产和消费活动也对长江三角洲水资源构成压力。结果表明，虚拟蓝水的出口可以减少，而不是用于生产高附加值但低水密集型产品。特别是，下游作为流域中最缺水的地区，应该增加从中国南方等其他水资源丰富的地区进口水密集型产品，如灌溉作物和加工食品。因此，虚拟水交易有助于维持流域内区域的经济增长，从而缓解水资源短缺的压力。此外，流域内城乡家庭水足迹差距巨大。城市家庭的平均水足迹是盆地农村家庭水足迹的两倍多。这是由于城市家庭对水密集型商品和服务的消费增加，例如加工食品、服装和鞋类、酒店和餐饮服务以及电力。(C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd.版权所有。
The Yellow River, the second longest river in China, is facing increasing water scarcity due to rising water consumption of a fast growing economy and an increasingly urbanized population with water-intensive consumption patterns. The Yellow River Basin (YRB) is divided into three regions: the upper, middle and lower reaches; each with very different characteristics in terms of water resources, economic structure and household income and consumption patterns. Virtual water has been recognised as a potentially useful concept for redistributing water from water-rich to water-poor regions. In this study, we develop a Multi-Regional Input-Output model (MRIO) to assess the regional virtual water flows between the three reaches of the basin and the rest of China distinguishing green and blue water, as well as rural and urban household water footprints. Results show that all three reaches are net virtual water exporter, i.e. production and consumption activities outside the basin also put pressure on the water resources in the YRB. The results suggest a reduction of the export of virtual blue water that could instead be used for producing higher value added but lower water-intensive goods. In particular, the lower reach as the most water scarce region in the basin should increase the import of water intensive goods, such as irrigated crops and processed food products, from other more water abundant regions such as the South of China. Thus, trading virtual water can help sustain the economic growth of the regions within the basin thus easing the pressure from water shortage. In addition, there is a huge gap between urban and rural household water footprints in the basin. The average urban household's water footprint is more than double the water footprint of a rural household in the basin. This is due to the higher urban household consumption of water-intensive goods and services, such as processed food products, wearing apparel and footwear, hotel and catering services and electricity. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.